Impressive “to he” collection features Mid-Autumn Festival

To he (toy figurines) are folk toys of Vietnam, which are small, colourful figurines made from glutinous rice powder. (Screenshot from HMM Film)

In Vietnam, “Tu linh” means four holy animals – dragon, unicorn, turtle and phoenix. Dragon is a symbol for the power of the emperor who was like the Son of Heaven. Phoenix is a symbol of the richness and purification of females such as princesses, empresses, the emperor’s mother or grandmother. Turtle is a symbol of the longevity and education (long-life and wisdom). At Thien Mu pagoda in Hue city in central Thua Thien-Hue province, there is a giant turtle made by marble from 1675. Because of the symbol for education, many students, before taking examinations, come to the Thien Mu pagoda to touch the head of the giant turtle to get good luck. (Photo: VietnamPlus)

‘To he’ figurines are made based on the familiar images such as Vietnamese women in traditional costumes. The craftsman first grinds rice into fine powder, then pours water into the powder and mixes it until he achieves a sticky lump. He places the lump in a pot of water, brings the water to a boil, and cooks the paste for an hour. When the lump rises to the water’s surface, dips, and rises again, the craftsman removes it from the pot. Then he applies seven colours: white, black, green, yellow, violet, pink, and red. Miraculously, the different colours never stain one another when he assembles the parts of a figurine. (Photo: VietnamPlus)

Figurines of cattle in rural areas are made attractive with diverse colours. Old craftsmen said that ‘to he’ toys were originally only made by farmers with skillful hands and rich creativity. They made for their children to give them some fun. In their free time, the farmers grind rice into fine powder, steam it and then use different kinds of vegetables and ash to colour the rice powder with seven basic colours (green, sea blue, red, purple, yellow, white and black). After that, they shape the dough into edible figurines such as trees, animals, flowers or characters from folk stories. Children can even eat ‘to he’ after playing with them. (Photo: VietnamPlus)

The ‘To he’ figurine in the shape of a doctor often represents a wish for success in exams. Many children and adults are delighted to see the beautiful toys created by skillful and creative artisans with simple tools, including a knife, a small comb, a bunch of bamboo sticks and a box to display their products. The two most important occasions each year for ‘to he’ craftsmen are Tet (lunar New Year) Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival because they are the favourite holidays among Vietnamese children. However, ‘to he’ is made and sold all the year round in public places like parks and gardens. Along with modern toys and games, ‘to he’ is favourite folk toys of children. (Photo: VietnamPlus)

For children, ‘to he’ can open a colourful world where they can see characters from history, movies and cartoons, from the famous monkey named Ton Ngo Khong in “The Journey to the West” Chinese novel to Picachu and Pokemon, Sailor Moon and Minions, characters from famous Japanese cartoons to princesses in fairy tales. Today, now that children are showered with modern games, toys and other forms of entertainment, ‘to he’ craftsmen have to be creative to keep their characters relevant. The toy figurines, which have brought joy to many generations of Vietnamese, have experienced many ups and downs. But time has proved their vitality. (Photo: VietnamPlus)