Offering incense is a ceremony carried out at home, temples, and pagodas every day or on traditional festival occasions by Oriental countries. Incense is a bridge connecting between human being and ancestor and gods. The workshops of incense making have answered the Orientals’ need. In North Vietnam, There are many incense producing craft villages but Cao Thon Village (Bao Khe Commune, Hung Yen Town, Hung Yen City) is the most famous.
Cao Thon Incense Village has had for a long time. The old men said that Lady Dao Thi Khuong, who was from Cao Thon, got married to a Chinese man and followed him to China for living. After some years, she returned to Cao Thon and taught the occupation of incense making to villagers. Since then, people here have called her ancestor of the village. In the present, Lady is worshiped in the house of ancestor worshiping of Dao family in Cao Thon Village.
Cao Village Incense has traditional perfume: pure and light because it is made of over 30 herbs with the traditional folk incense making way. That perfume shows faithful heart of incense offering person with ancestor and gods. Finding the character and the meaning of traditional perfume, Cao villagers never give up their craft. There are over 100 households in the village in the business of incense making. Many families in the village of Cao Thon have produced incense for three or four generations.
Cao Thon Incense Making Village is one of the most ancient and famous traditional craft villages in North Vietnam. If you have a chance to travel to Hung Yen Province, do not forget to visit this special craft village. By the way, you can visit some traditional craft villages in the province such as Ban soy sauce, Long Thuong bronze casting, and Truong Xa liquor.
