During the season, boats are placed along both banks of the canal, every ten meters there is one. From morning to afternoon, people go fishing, shopping, and choosing fish. The river and countryside products are diverse, bringing to the people of my hometown a rich source of river fish, field fish, and field shrimp.
The results of the visits are selected by the people, some are weighed for traders, and some small fish are released into large fish nets under the canal edge to grow and sell. My mother roasted a bunch of shrimps, caught a few grilled snakehead fish and cooked a bowl of gourd soup for a delicious meal. Thanks to the don, the people in my neighborhood have more sources of livelihood and countryside meals rich in river flavors.
People in Can Cu hamlet, Vinh Phong commune, Vinh Thuan district (Kien Giang) make bamboo and reeds.
The boat is placed in many different terrains, depending on the water level and width of the area where the boat is placed, the appropriate size can be adjusted. In Kien Giang, during the flood season, people in Giang Thanh, Hon Dat, Chau Thanh, and Giong Rieng districts still place their crops in the fields. Because it is at the end of the source, the flood season in the field is relatively shallow, only small ponds are placed to catch fish.
In the Dong Thap and An Giang regions, where the floodwater season begins, every year the people of this area welcome an abundant fish season, especially flexible fish. The hamlets at the upstream are busier and busier, people take advantage of repairing old ponds to make new ones to place on the water fields.
At the beginning of the season, young ling fish are in full bloom, sometimes a single pour can fill a boat. If you don't catch it in time, the fish will run so much that it can even burst its big boat. Therefore, when the fish season is in full swing, the fish workers often go to the fields to cultivate the fish at night, pouring water every few hours. In the cold, foggy night, in the middle of a vast floating field covered by quiet night, the boats that go out to watch the river still have their lights on.
While waiting to pour, everyone sat around a pot of hot tea, sipping warm glasses of wine, talking about life stories, career stories, stories about this year's fish season, last year's and the following seasons. Just like that, all the hardships are gone, replaced by the joy of the growing season on floating fields full of fish and shrimp.
On that muddy alluvial canal is where many rural children learn to swim and cool off. That stream of water also gives us delicious hometown gifts, which are fragrant grilled fish on windy afternoons.
Every time he comes back from a visit, my grandfather often gives us some perch and snakehead fish to grill and eat. The newly caught fish is still fresh, the meat is firm, sweet and delicious, we all like it. The sweetness of the alluvium nourishes the fish stock and also nourishes many children in the river countryside.
The rustic village boat has remained attached to the canals and fields for many years, every time the rainy season comes, the flood season floods the fields. For the farmers in my hometown, their wish is very simple, that is to hope that the rivers and canals of our hometown will always be fertile with alluvium and have abundant product resources like in the past so that farming will always continue. It is also preserved as the culture and customs of the people of the Mekong River region.
Article and photos: HONG MUI
