To He artisans strive to promote rare surviving Vietnamese traditional toy
16:22, 2014/11/08
Sometimes while wandering Hanoi streets, one can see vendors of `To He`, a traditional toy manually made with glutinous rice powder. Without any noisy advertisement, `To He` vendors walk across Hanoi streets and silently attract the attention of passers-by.
Magic came out from skilled hands
With simple tools including a tray of glutinous rice powder in various colours, a small comb, a bunch of sticks, and a spongy box to display their products, To He artisans can knead many shapes thanks to their skilled hands and creativity.
To He artisans not only draw the interest of children, but adults as well who enjoying waiting and looking at the way beautiful flowers, funny animals or popular cartoon characters are gradually created by the artisans.
To He craft making originated from Xuan La Hamlet, Phuong Duc Commune, Phu Xuyen District in Hanoi more than 300 years ago. At first, the craft was a way for the villagers to spend their spare time.
They steamed grinded glutinous rice and then dyeing it with powder. There are seven basic colours of To He ─ green, blue, red, purple, yellow, white and black ─ which are made from natural and edible ingredients, including gac fruit to produce red, vegetables for green and turmeric for yellow.
The soft and colourful flour made it easy for them to shape cute little things. In the past, the product was then pinned on the top of a small horn, which generated sounds like “to… te…” when it was whistled. As time went on, the toy was named ‘To He’ as a play on the sound “to…te…”
Tran Van Mien from Xuan La hamlet has devoted most of his life to To He making. In less than five minutes, Mien can produce a colourful horse requested by a young couple.
Struggling to find new way for development
According to Mien, To He craft can generate remarkable income for the craftsmen, earning an average of VND 200,000 – VND300,000 a day by selling their products during festivals.
However, the craft experienced many ups and downs as it faced the threat of fierce competition from foreign toys, particularly Chinese toys, which are much cheaper and diversified in designs and colours.
Like other traditional craft villages, Xuan La villagers encounter obstacles to increasing output for their products and widely advertise the toys.
To He cannot be widely introduced outside the traditional communal market due to its traditional ingredient; rice power makes it easy for the craftsmen to knead but on the other hands, it causes the toy’s appearance to quickly get mouldy, dry and split. A To He product can be kept for three to 30 days, depending on the craftsmen’s skill and weather condition.
The obstacle urged the craftsmen to try experiments to seek new suitable ingredient.
Mrs Dien’s family is the first and the only one in Phu Xuyen to try to make To He using tapioca flour. The huge advantage of the paste is a shelf-life of up to one year, without any threat of moulding.
However, it takes the artisans longer to complete their crafts with tapioca flours as it needs to be boiled in water before being brought the market. With this technique the craftsmen can only provide premade crafts, diluting the uniqueness of To He as customers cannot request custom designs.
In the same move to advertise their products, the To He artisans also try to catch up with the increasing demand of customers, particularly children. In the past, To He used to be in the shape of fruits, flowers, and main characters in the ‘Journey to the West’ TV series. Nowadays, the artisans update children’s favourite cartoons in case they have orders on making characters from these films.
In the past, To He was made and sold only during festivals, particularly Tet (traditional Lunar New Year) holiday and Mid-Autumn festival. Nowadays, the toy is regularly present in most traditional festivals, and public places, such as squares, parks, gardens.
To He artisans hope for support and involvement from relevant agencies to provide them with directions for further development as well as from scientists to find an advanced recipe for To He making, in a bid to preserve and uphold one of the rare surviving traditional toys of Vietnam.
With simple tools including a tray of glutinous rice powder in various colours, a small comb, a bunch of sticks, and a spongy box to display their products, To He artisans can knead many shapes thanks to their skilled hands and creativity.
To He artisans not only draw the interest of children, but adults as well who enjoying waiting and looking at the way beautiful flowers, funny animals or popular cartoon characters are gradually created by the artisans.
To He craft making originated from Xuan La Hamlet, Phuong Duc Commune, Phu Xuyen District in Hanoi more than 300 years ago. At first, the craft was a way for the villagers to spend their spare time.
They steamed grinded glutinous rice and then dyeing it with powder. There are seven basic colours of To He ─ green, blue, red, purple, yellow, white and black ─ which are made from natural and edible ingredients, including gac fruit to produce red, vegetables for green and turmeric for yellow.
The soft and colourful flour made it easy for them to shape cute little things. In the past, the product was then pinned on the top of a small horn, which generated sounds like “to… te…” when it was whistled. As time went on, the toy was named ‘To He’ as a play on the sound “to…te…”
Tran Van Mien from Xuan La hamlet has devoted most of his life to To He making. In less than five minutes, Mien can produce a colourful horse requested by a young couple.
Struggling to find new way for development
According to Mien, To He craft can generate remarkable income for the craftsmen, earning an average of VND 200,000 – VND300,000 a day by selling their products during festivals.
However, the craft experienced many ups and downs as it faced the threat of fierce competition from foreign toys, particularly Chinese toys, which are much cheaper and diversified in designs and colours.
Like other traditional craft villages, Xuan La villagers encounter obstacles to increasing output for their products and widely advertise the toys.
To He cannot be widely introduced outside the traditional communal market due to its traditional ingredient; rice power makes it easy for the craftsmen to knead but on the other hands, it causes the toy’s appearance to quickly get mouldy, dry and split. A To He product can be kept for three to 30 days, depending on the craftsmen’s skill and weather condition.
The obstacle urged the craftsmen to try experiments to seek new suitable ingredient.
Mrs Dien’s family is the first and the only one in Phu Xuyen to try to make To He using tapioca flour. The huge advantage of the paste is a shelf-life of up to one year, without any threat of moulding.
However, it takes the artisans longer to complete their crafts with tapioca flours as it needs to be boiled in water before being brought the market. With this technique the craftsmen can only provide premade crafts, diluting the uniqueness of To He as customers cannot request custom designs.
In the same move to advertise their products, the To He artisans also try to catch up with the increasing demand of customers, particularly children. In the past, To He used to be in the shape of fruits, flowers, and main characters in the ‘Journey to the West’ TV series. Nowadays, the artisans update children’s favourite cartoons in case they have orders on making characters from these films.
In the past, To He was made and sold only during festivals, particularly Tet (traditional Lunar New Year) holiday and Mid-Autumn festival. Nowadays, the toy is regularly present in most traditional festivals, and public places, such as squares, parks, gardens.
To He artisans hope for support and involvement from relevant agencies to provide them with directions for further development as well as from scientists to find an advanced recipe for To He making, in a bid to preserve and uphold one of the rare surviving traditional toys of Vietnam.
18:07, 2025/02/22
Vietnam heritage painting contest launched
The international painting contest "Brilliant Vietnam" seeks to celebrate Vietnam's rich traditions and values by spotlighting the country's intangible cultural heritage and involving both the expatriate Vietnamese community and the public from other countries.
15:35, 2025/02/20
Vietnamese lacquer: Traditional artistry meets modern innovation
Born in the early 20th century, Vietnamese lacquer art has evolved through time and artistic changes but remains a vital element of the country's fine arts today.
15:53, 2025/02/19
Indochina fine arts heritage in the heart of Hanoi
The artistic consciousness of Vietnamese artists was awakened by the Indochina School of Fine Arts in Hanoi, and Vietnamese fine arts evolved in tandem with modern nationalism to become more globally integrated.
20:50, 2025/02/18
Da Sy Blacksmith Village - a fascinating destination for traditional craft enthusiasts
Famous for its handcrafted knives and scissors, Da Sy Blacksmith Village in Hanoi offers visitors a unique glimpse into Vietnam's traditional metalsmith craft.
15:19, 2025/02/17
Three prominent Vietnamese painters spotlighted in Paris exhibition
For the first time, a special collection at the Musée Cernuschi in Paris pays tribute to Le Pho (1907-2001), Mai Trung Thu (1906-1980), and Vu Cao Dam (1908-2000) through works on display until May 4.
21:22, 2025/02/11
Hanoi artists' Spring exhibition captivates public
The exhibition pays tribute to the contributions of contemporary Vietnamese artists.
- Admiring Dong Ho folk paintings on traditional ao dai
- Thousands flock to Van Mieu for calligraphy tradition
- New treasures unveiled from Thang Long Imperial Citadel
- Fire from the earth: A musical homage to Hanoi's revolutionary history
- Behold the unique collection of snake lacquer statues
- Young voices celebrate and preserve Hanoi’s cultural heritage