Quảng Phú Cầu, the incense village near Hanoi
In the countryside south of central Hanoi, a craft village has made incense for generations, and its courtyards of red bundles fanned out to dry have become one of the most photographed scenes of the north.
Around Hanoi, many villages are known by their craft: pottery, silk, conical hats, paper. Quảng Phú Cầu, in the countryside south of the city centre, is known for incense, and in particular for the bamboo sticks that form its core.
The work is divided into stages. Bamboo is split and shaped into thin sticks, the ends are dyed, usually a deep red, and the sticks are tied into bundles. To dry, the bundles are opened and fanned out like flowers in yards, lanes and on rooftops, filling whole courtyards with colour. The incense paste itself is often added elsewhere, so much of what the village produces is the base of the incense rather than the finished product.
Work tends to peak in the months before Tết, when demand for incense rises with visits to temples, pagodas and family altars. Burning incense is part of ordinary devotion in Vietnam, a way of greeting ancestors and marking important days.
The photos in this set show incense drying in this traditional fanned style and the colours it brings to a working yard.
Photos: xuanduongvan87, vietfotos, tho, michoff on Pixabay, used under the Pixabay Content License. These are not my photographs.
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