Our Village

Na Looi Village was made up of twelve rows of houses.  Between each column was an alley for local traffic.  The village square was at the front.  In the rear was a tall and thick bamboo thatch.  The ancient trail passed through our village square.  Total population was about 500.  #44 was our house. (The tan colored block)

We had four temples. (The pink colored blocks)  The temple A was used as a men's club and dorm.  Temple B was burned down when I was three.  Temples C and D were vacant.  Temple D was next to our house.  It was once used for an opium den until my grandma chased them out with a broom stick.

All vacant lots were fenced off and used for vegetable gardens.  At a hidden corner of each garden there was usually a shack for the women's toilet.  The men's toilet was at the very south end of the village.  There were shacks and pits, also used for storage of manure.  At location E was an ox barn.  At the north end of the village square there were two duck houses, built with bamboo frame and palm-leaf coverings.

The village was busy and noisy most of the day.  Before dawn, we heard cocks crowing, dogs barking, ducks quacking, oxen mooing, babies crying, birds singing, adults shouting (at animals and kids).  At dawn, some oxen were led by men to work on the rice paddies, or led by boys to graze at the hillsides.  Women folk were heading for the river to take water, do laundry, or both, and to gossip.  Some kids were busy collecting manure.  Some lucky kids went to school.  By sunrise, things for sun drying were laid outdoors, such as rice grain, hay, ferns, firewood, laundry.  Kids and old folks were assigned to watch them against intruders, hogs, chickens, and birds.  When it suddenly rained, these items had to be hurried indoors.  Occasionally there was a peddler, barking to sell his cosmetic merchandise and needlework to the ladies, or to trade his matches for our chicken feathers and pork bones.  Another peddler might be a surgeon working to castrate the chickens or pigs, or an expert repairman for broken woks.  By late afternoon, most people were home for supper.  Oxen were "parked" in the shady square.  Some kids played games.  Some folks were busy making bamboo baskets, braiding hay rope, or going to the water for a dip or to catch a fish or two.  By night, it was total darkness except for the moonlight.

Foot traffic on the trail was busy, too.  Mountain folks brought their produce and catches of raccoon, fox, etc. to the market.  Outside folks went into the mountains for ferns and firewood.

As kids, we roamed the village, we knew everyone and every corner.  We helped out with house chores, or played in the village square and temples.  We bathed naked in the river and learned swimming before we were school age.  As teenagers, we joined the men's club more often.  Since no one was rich enough to buy toys, we made our own toys from bamboo, mud, wood, paper, wax, and tin.  We made kites, flutes, bamboo guns, wooden boats, mud wagons, etc.  We also made bamboo baskets of all sizes and all kinds.

At home, our life was disciplined and warm.  In the village, our life was a rich group-life.  We never felt lonesome in our village.