phát nương
Definition
- Verb phrase:
- To clear land for swidden cultivation: The primary meaning refers to the agricultural practice of cutting down wild trees, bushes, and grass on a hillside or forested area to create a temporary field (a nương) for farming. This is a form of slash-and-burn agriculture.
Usage Examples
- Verb phrase:
- Người dân tộc phát nương để trồng lúa và ngô. (The ethnic minority people clear land for swidden cultivation to plant rice and corn.)
- Phát nương là một phương thức canh tác lâu đời ở vùng núi. (Clearing land for swidden cultivation is a long-standing farming method in mountainous regions.)
Advanced Usage
- The term is specific to traditional agriculture and is often associated with the practices of ethnic minority groups in Vietnam's upland regions. It describes the initial, labor-intensive step in creating a swidden field.
Variants and Related Words
Làm nương (v): to work on/to cultivate a swidden field. This is a broader term that can include the entire cycle of swidden farming, from clearing to planting and harvesting.
- Cả gia đình lên rừng làm nương. (The whole family goes to the forest to work on the swidden field.)
Nương rẫy (n): swidden fields; upland fields created by slash-and-burn methods.
- Những thửa nương rẫy bám theo sườn đồi. (The swidden fields cling to the hillsides.)
Synonyms
- To slash and burn: a direct equivalent agricultural term.
- To clear land for cultivation: a more general descriptive phrase.
Related Concepts
- Swidden agriculture / slash-and-burn agriculture: The full agricultural system of which is the initial action. It involves rotating fields rather than crops, allowing the forest to regenerate after several seasons of use.
- Shifting cultivation: Another term for the same broad agricultural practice.