Medicinal bathing is a local feature of
the indigenous Red Dao in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai. In Ta Phin Commune (Sa Pa District), tourists can spot many families drying herbs in their front yards.
Legend has it that on the last day of the year the Dao
boiled leaves from the forest for medicinal bathing before welcoming the new
year in. As this practice proves both effective and salubrious, a
majority of Kinh people have considered it a unique feature of Red Dao culture. Each barrel of water usually contains at least 10 types of
herbs, even up to 120. Every bathroom has a wardrobe to keep personal belongings
and visitors feel quite relaxed to bathe in the typical wooden tubs filled with
hot water and the aromatic smell of different herbs.
There are two types of bathrooms: a single for one wishing
to bathe alone and a double for couples to share.
Stepping out from a steam-filled bathroom, Christine
Smith - an American tourist - says; "I feel so relaxed, like being full of
energy". Christine is no exception. Other Western tourists also feel
the same about medical bathing in Sa
Pa after a long trip through
north-western provinces. Ly Ta May, 30, says bathing with medicinal herbs is a
traditional practice of the Red Dao.
“In our village, either in winter or summer, the whole
family boils a big pot of medicinal herbs to fill wooden tubs for themselves to
bathe in the hope of curing ailments such as knee, hand, and foot pain, muscle
pain, headache, back pain, excess alcohol, fatigue, poor blood circulation, and
skin diseases.
“If women take to bathing with these herbs after giving
birth, they will recover quickly and have a better blood circulation and
beautiful skin”, she says.
Red Dao people in Sa Pa are famous for curing bone,
joint, and muscle pains, common cold and flu symptoms. Collecting medicinal herbs is no easy task, says Chao Man
May from Ta Van Village. “Medicinal herbs grow along the streams or in the forest. If
you want to pick them, you’d rather go deep into the forest”, she says.
Like other Dao women, May has spent time teaching her young
daughter about how to pick medicinal herbs where they often grow, and how to
tell the difference between the
medicinal plants and poisonous varieties.
“This is very important because some poisonous herbs look
much like medicinal ones. Only after about five or six trips to the forest, can
my daughter find the right herbs”, she says.
She says the best time for picking medicinal herbs is in the
early morning, as the dew preserves the essence of the sky and earth in them.
The Dao only take the branches and leaves, leaving the roots
intact for growth until the next time of pruning.
The final step is to chop and dry the herbs in the sun so
that they can be used for a long time. However, according to May, using fresh
herbs is better than dried herbs.
The Red Dao’s treatment secrets have been passed down from
generation to generation. Today, some medicinal remedies are given in Sa Pa
as a special tourist service
Preparing water for medicinal bathing is time-consuming. It
is boiled with both fresh and dried herbs in liquid form for people to soak up
through the skin.
Dr. Tran Van On from Ha Noi University of Pharmacy says:
“Each remedy of the Red Dao usually consists of between 10-120 different kinds
of herbs, depending on regular or irregular medication”.
After many years of research, On has helped other Red Dao
people process several kinds of herbs into pulverized substance for future use.
The Red Dao’s medicinal bathing has become one of the northern mountainous
province‘s attractions, even though it is still a mystery to foreign tourists
who first
set foot in Sapa.
>> Read more: Top trekking tours in Sapa by ACTIVETRAVEL ASIA
Posts
