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Introduction of a very special smoke in Thăng Long-Hà Nội

20/09/2010

VGP - Thuốc lào (pipe tobacco) is a very popular smoke of Vietnamese people, mainly for men. Thuốc lào (nicotiana rusticum L) comes from a plant with wide, soft leaves with sticky hairs. Some people smoke by rolling the tobacco in a piece of banana leaf or a piece of paper into the size of a little finger. The majority of people, however, use a hubble-bubble. There are different kinds of hubble-bubble: điếu bát which is popular in most families; điếu ống which is used in rich families; and, điếu cày which is used by working class.

A Western tourist tries with the Vietnamese điếu cày in Hà Nội – Illustration photo
Điếu cày is the simplest. This is a bamboo cylinder of about half a meter long with a small hole for a wooden bowl. When smoking, people put tobacco in the bowl, light with a spill, keep the spill burning, take a breath, puff loudly then discharge the smoke. “Điếu cày” gives a very strong taste.

Điếu bát has the shape of a small pomelo made of glazed terra-cotta or porcelain. Its bowl is made of metal or wood inlaid with bronze. The stem is a small and straight small bamboo tube of about half a meter long with a lot of dots. Điếu bát is always placed in a wooden or white-glazed porcelain bowl with decorative patterns.

Điếu ống is more special. This is a round tube made of wood or bamboo of 30cm high. Wood used to make điếu ống must be a rare kind and skillfully inlaid with mother of pearl. Điếu ống has a hoop, handle, and rim made of silver. The stem is a short-dotted bamboo tube.

People have to put water nearly to the top of the bowl in these pipes so that smoke will absorb through the water steam and reduce the amount of nicotine in the body. Therefore, smoking thuốc lào creates very interesting bubbling sounds.

Thuốc lào Vĩnh Bảo (Hải Phòng City) is the favorite kind for Thăng Long-Hà Nội people. The box for thuốc lào is made of the skins of pomelos, oranges, and tangerines which are pressed and dried to become as hard as tanned leather. This box helps keep thuốc lào soft, fragrant, and dry.

In the past, hubble-bubbles, along with betel-trays, and tea sets, were indispensable things to welcome guests in families in Việt Nam in general and in Thăng Long in particular.
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