Lesson 2 - Challenges for sustainable existence

The "tall trees" are absent.

Considered the core force to preserve, conserve and promote traditional culture in Pac Nam district, the number of artisans is gradually decreasing over time because most of them are old.

For decades, in a small house in Na Cooc village, Boc Bo commune, Meritorious Artisan Hoang Van Phuc has been diligently collecting, recording and preserving hundreds of Tay Nom books. Knowing that we wanted to see the precious book collection, Mr. Phuc quietly and tremblingly opened the wooden cabinet on the ground floor of the house.

Although he is 95 years old this year, Meritorious Artisan Hoang Van Phuc is still very passionate about Tay Nom script.

When the cabinet door was opened, inside were books with stitched spines filled with characters. This legacy of his had been passed down for hundreds of years, along with books he had recorded during his study and research of Nom Tay script. The genres of the books were also very rich and diverse. From folk literature books such as stories of Luong Nguyen, Pham Cong-Cuc Hoa, Tan Chu; Nom Tay poems... to books on Tay religious practices such as Ky Yen, Giai Han, Noi So, Menh Thang, and Cap Sac books.

“There are many books in Nom Tay, I currently have several hundred. Most of them were passed down from the elders and some I learned and wrote down myself. Nom Tay was passed down to me by the elders. Now very few people know about it. In Pac Nam district, there are only about five to six people who know it. If there are no urgent conservation measures, this heritage will be lost in a few years,” Mr. Phuc shared thoughtfully.

Because in the past, the number of literate people was small, so books recording stories, poems, and folk knowledge that needed to be transmitted to the people often had to go through a local person who was fluent in Tay Nom script.

Class teaching the intangible culture of Luon Coi of the Tay people in Pac Nam district.

Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, Head of the Department of Culture, Science and Information of Pac Nam district, said: "The number of people accessing, practicing and using Nom Tay script is currently very small. The district also identifies Nom Tay script heritage as one of the precious heritages. However, there has not been any project or program related to the preservation of Nom Tay script. We hope that the departments and provinces will pay attention and support the district to preserve Nom Tay script heritage in the coming time."

Folk artists who know about traditional cultural forms are all at an age where they are “close to death, far from heaven”, so each year their numbers become less and less, and the worry about successors remains a difficult problem.

Very few young people attend traditional cultural classes.

Successor concerns

With 98% of the population being ethnic minorities, the process of cultural exchange and interaction has created Pac Nam district with many rich ethnic and community cultural features. In recent years, most young people have little interest or are no longer interested in the traditional culture of their ancestors. A part of the young people working far away do not have many conditions to access, practice and preserve traditional culture; another part is not proactive in preserving traditional culture. Meanwhile, folk artisans are getting older and less numerous, creating great challenges for the work of preserving and promoting traditional culture.

Mr. Tan and his niece are talking about how to make a good panpipe.

Mr. Hoang Minh Tan, Ban Nghe village, Co Linh commune, Pac Nam district.

Mr. Hoang Minh Tan, in Ban Nghe village, Co Linh commune, is one of the people who knows how to make and use the Mong panpipe skillfully. However, teaching the art of the Mong panpipe has encountered many difficulties. Because the Mong people's descendants mainly work far away; many children do not want to learn because they find it difficult and require time to practice, although he has tried his best to teach it.

Mr. Tan shared: "The worry about successors is also something that worries me, because I myself will grow old. If my children, grandchildren, and the younger generation do not want to learn, then in the future, no one in my family or clan will know about the musical instruments and folk songs of our people."

The state of decline and difficulty in preservation is still in the areas of architecture, traditional costumes, traditional rituals of ethnic groups... According to the Department of Culture, Science and Information of Pac Nam district, the traditional culture of ethnic minorities in the district is facing great challenges, because the relationship between conservation and development has not been properly resolved.

In fact, there are many reasons leading to this situation: First of all, the local state management agency for culture does not have specialized personnel in the field of traditional cultural preservation; funding for preservation work is still difficult and does not really meet the needs; there are no adequate policies to support, encourage and motivate folk artists and traditional cultural teachers in the localities. The establishment of folk cultural clubs in villages and hamlets is mainly self-sustaining, so the maintenance of practice is not carried out regularly, and even has to be dissolved.

When he saw young people wanting to learn about the panpipe or songs of the Mong people, Mr. Tan was very happy.

On the other hand, in organizing the teaching of folk culture, artisans mainly teach based on practical experience and what they remember by word of mouth, without documents or materials, which somewhat affects the results of implementation.../.

(To be continued)

Ma Man - Bich Huyen

Source: https://baobackan.vn/bai-2-nhung-thach-thuc-cho-su-ton-tai-ben-vung-post70964.html