Can Cau Market

Saturday morning in Si Ma Cai starts early. While mist still lies on the mountain slopes, the sound of buffalo walking on wet dirt paths can already be heard. Beside a wooden fence, lengths of brocade cloth hang in the early sun, a deep red. From a food stall at the head of the market, the smell of boiled corn drifts out on the breeze. This is the Cán Cấu market.

The market lies in Cán Cấu commune, in Lào Cai province. It is held every Saturday, and also on public holidays and at Tết.

It is mainly a meeting place for the Flower Hmong and the Giáy. The area is also home to the Phù Lá and the Xa Phó peoples, and to the Dao. Now and then an outfit from a more distant village catches the eye.

What sets Cán Cấu apart is its buffalo market.

According to the Lào Cai newspaper, hundreds of buffalo and cattle are brought here at every market, mostly buffalo. They are driven in from villages all around Bắc Hà and Si Ma Cai. Others come from Mường Khương. Some travel from as far as Xín Mần, in the old Hà Giang province, now part of Tuyên Quang. Still more come from the old Yên Bái area. The buffalo area lies at the edge of the market and is its largest part. There is the heavy breathing of the animals, the Hmong calling to one another in their own language, and the thud of hooves on packed earth. Here a farmer looks a buffalo over, pats it, and picks the strongest one to plow and harrow for a whole season.

Beyond the buffalo, the market has a farm produce section full of green vegetables, wild honey, shiitake mushrooms and medicinal herbs. There is a brocade section bright with skirts, scarves and bags that the people wove with their own hands. There is a food section rich with the smell of highland phở, thắng cố and mèn mén. Thắng cố is a traditional dish of the Hmong, a stew of horse, buffalo or beef cooked with organ meats and herbs. And there is one small corner of its own, a meeting place for people who love the instruments of their peoples. Hmong from Si Ma Cai and from Sín Chéng come here. They lift a khèn to their lips and try a sênh tiền stick. They listen to the sound rising in the middle of the market, and buy only when they are satisfied.

Above all, the Cán Cấu market keeps to the rhythm of the people's lives. Once a week they come down from the mountains, bringing what they grew, raised and wove themselves. They meet friends, eat a bowl of hot phở, trade the news of the week, and carry their loads home in baskets on their backs before dark. It is a real festival day, lively and warm with human feeling.

Then, as the sun climbs, the market is still full of voices and buffalo. It is one of the few highland markets that still keeps the real rhythm of its people's lives. And the sound of the Hmong khèn goes on ringing out across the great forest.