Viet Hung commune, on the cadastral office map,
lain to the Northern East of Thang Long capital, has common border with
Due Giang town to the North and two communes Thach Ban - Gia Thuy to
the Southern West and South, has common border with Hoi Xa commune to
the East, Giang Bien in the Northern East and with Gia Lam town in the
Northern West.
Le Mat ancient village is an purely agricultural
one but it is famous for its snake - catching vocation. Until before
the August Revolution over 90 percents of Le Mat people lived on
planting rice. This number reduced with over 60 percents in 1999
(according to census data in the April of this gear). The amount of
population living on the vocation of raising and catching snake with
new services generated around this job just takes 5 percents of total
village people. The rest lives on many different subordinate jobs such
as sewing, trade, transport. These new jobs have appeared since the
country renovated economic structure.
The snake catching job in
Le Mat village, according to elders here, is a secret handed down from
father to son. Together with the snake catching job, there is the snake
- raising job and few families in the village make patent medicines for
injury bitten by venomous snake. The snake catching job in Le Mat is
famous all over regions because Le Mat people usually go to catch
snakes everywhere but they don't hand down the vocation outside. May
be, Le Mat is the place where there are number of people who work at
catching snake more crowded than anyplace in all over the North delta.
Several legends and funny stories of snakes have been being preserved
in cultural activities of Le Mat people community. This job makes the
fame for Le Mat, but itself also makes many persons in the villages
injurious, even died due to being bitten by venomous snakes. Le Mat
people owns a treasure of knowledge and experience about snake catching
techniques, making tonic medicine from snakes or medicine for treating
injury bitten by snakes etc. They can recognise snakes' names as well
as determine the light or weighty rate of injury when seeing a bite.
Who was the first person handed down the snake catching vocation,
nobody knows exactly. According to elders in the village, till the end
of Nguyen court, this region still had plenty of snakes. Snakes usually
lived in stagnant pools of water, in marshes around Le Mat villages and
in the neigh bourhood. The tradition of catching snakes in Le Mat has
been partially lost in oblivion gradually since the second half of the
20th century. One part due to snake has no longer played the important
role in daily eating and drinking activities of people as before. Other
part due to this vocation has been lost tradition gradually. Thus,
nowadays, the number of people living on this work has been a little
bit. In spite of that, along village paths or big roads in Le Mat. you
still see quite a lot of restaurants of snake specialities. Several
families incomes have been increased considerably thanks to these
restaurants.
More than different dishes from only one snake may
be made. In order to enjoy all dishes, it is necessary for customs to
prepare a smalless sum of money. Not only of snake, dishes from other
animals such as birds, goats, rabbits... are also processed in these
restaurants with snake wine. The abundance makes ceaseless increase
restaurant bosses incomes.
Le Mat is one of villages having many
temples of forefathers. Le Mat people always respect the death
aniversary and all bloodline relationships. According to elders in the
village, from formerly till now, four biggest clans in Le Mat is
Nguyen,-Truong, Pham, Tran. Besides, Hoang clans is also fairly big and
of reputation in this locality. Le Mat is also the village whose
persons passed many exams and did mandarins in courts of Le - Nguyen.
Le Mat is also a land of plenty of daughters in - law and sons - in
-law means persons from different places come here to reside and make a
forture. They almost work for their living prosperously. Le Mat village
is of wide relations with bordering ones because its people's character
is very open - hearted with progressive opinions about funerals and
weddings. A girl in village is permitted to get married to another one
in a different village, she was not forbidden austerely.
There
is no superflous and wasteful procedure in funerals. An objective
reason making such "free character" of Le Mat people is thanks to
favourable geographical position and natural environment for exchanging
and trading.
Located near Thang Long capital, it is easy for Le
Mat people to receive nice tradition from two great cultural regions to
be Thang Long and Kinh Bac. Le Mat people do not refuse "aliens" like
other villages in Viet Nam. On the contrary, they receive them open
heartedly and regard this as truism. This represents humanity in Le Mat
people's opinions, way of life and cultural behaviours in communal life.
