Love Market in Moc Chau Highland

September 1st is a special day for the Mong people in Moc Chau, Vietnam because it is not only the independent day of the ethnic group but also a chance for everyone to enjoy the Love Market of the year. Participated in by many different sub-groups such as White Mong, Black Mong, Red Mong, Floral Mong, etc., the market is indubitably a festival of the whole region.

Love Market, though a strange concept to people from other regions, is a familiar notion to the people of Moc Chau. According to local inhabitants, the market is not a trading place but a place for people to gather, to date, to express their feelings towards their beloveds. It is also the place for strangers to meet and fall in love. Most importantly, It reflects the most typical aspects of an ethnic group’s culture
Photo: Internet

Some people stated that the Love Market in Moc Chau somehow resembles that in Ha Giang. However, we can surely say that Moc Chau Love Market has its very own values and characteristics. For many years, generations of young people have become spouses after their meeting at the market. Many other people become friends, giving one another advices with daily problems. Therefore, when a family goes to the Love Market at night, each member goes his or her own way. They decide to meet again in the morning in a certain place and return to the village together without asking about what other people did the night before. Another interesting characteristic of this market is that, though busy and crowded, the market is totally free of arguments and drunken people. During the day, beside chatting and sharing their stories, men and women also accompany one another in different traditional games.

As time marches on, the Love Market in Moc Chau becomes more and more popular. In the past, when life was harder, one needed to walk or ride a horse in order to get to the market. Nowadays, the main transportation of people, motorcycle, fills up the roads to the venue. There are many young men who decide to stop their motorcycle near the market to put on their traditional costumes. They also bring the small radios to the market to play their favorite songs, hoping to attract people of the opposite sex. When two people meet at the market, they hold each other’s hands, take a walk together and record each other’s voice or music. Then they give each other the record so that when one of them misses the other person, he or she can play the record and remember the time they shared together.
Photo: luhanhvietnam.com.vn

Sometime, amidst the “forest” of people, we can run into the innocent faces of the 13 or 14 year old girls going to the market for the first time. No matter how old they are, all participants of the Love Market look radiant in this special day. Young men and young women tease one another, running around the market without the older ones complaining. Everyone knows that it is the day of happiness, so they tolerate the loving actions of young people until the next morning when the market ends, leaving the crowd with a sense of sadness.

Sometime people say that the Love Market in Moc Chau is the beginning of an innocent love, and this statement is widely accepted. Without a doubt, this is a wonderful event for love to bloom all over the land of Son La!