To He are made from sticky rice flour. Formerly, even the flour was made by hand, but now it is all milled by machine. The flour is cooked for a good while, after which the paste is divided into small portions, cooled down and blended with colorants. Thuan said that if the To He maker adds some beeswax to reduce cohesiveness, the To He are edible. If soup is used to reduce cohesiveness, those To He are inedible.
Farming is still the main way of life in Xuan La. However, many villagers do other things to make money like weaving blankets and mosquito nets or making statues. And some villagers make To He. Thai, a Xuan La resident who has been making To He for more than 10 years, said that each day she travels 30km to Thu Le Park in Hanoi to make and sell To He. Dozens of other villagers go with her to do the same. Thai reminded us that years ago, children were very happy to be given To He. But that was before plastic toys became so popular and cheap. Sales of To He nowadays is not too brisk. On a normal day, when the weather is fine, a To He maker sells an average 20, getting VND3-5,000 for each To He. At special times like on festivity days, a To He maker might sell 50 or even 70 in one day. Some To He makers have been invited to make the toys in the big hotels before foreign visitors.
It is not easy for a farmer in the countryside to make the tens of thousands of dong that To He making can bring. Generations of Xuan La maintain their craft as a way of making a living. After his trip to the US, and seeing the museums and general interest in folk art,
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{K:163889} 4/8/2006
