ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the uses of bamboo in three forms: as a living plant; in its cut form, without any further transformation; and when cut into sections (for use as tubes or pipes). The second part concerns the uses of bamboo once cut into sticks and strips. The main products thus formed, such as basketwork, are presented. The use of bamboo for military and defensive purposes in Việt Nam is both ancient and widespread. Until the colonial period and the modern era, many villages in northern Việt Nam were still surrounded by thorny bamboo hedges as protection against bandits and thieves. Nowadays, some villages have still retained vestiges of these hedges intact. Lengths of bamboo are used in waterwheels, as water containers. Bamboo trunks could be felled and used as they are for building (roof structures or scaffolding). Vietnamese people use bamboo as vessels for cooking. Walking sticks and knife handles can be made of bamboo. The sound qualities of bamboo can be used for the manufacture of musical instruments. Bamboo can also be used after crushing. Done in the right way using a hammer and chisel, a single length of bamboo can be crushed and transformed into a hammock by weaving in a few cross-strips. Vietnamese people use the spring effect of bamboo branches. After pruning, the slim branches are not thrown away or wasted. They are useful either for mending and reinforcing baskets or their springy quality is put into use for setting traps.
