"Student" Le Thi Canh and the journey to preserve and promote Ngu Tro Vien Khe

Becoming a national intangible cultural heritage, the journey of “revival” and shining of Ngu Tro Vien Khe (Dong Khe commune, Dong Son) is a journey full of difficulties and challenges. On that journey, we cannot fail to mention the contribution of “child” Le Thi Canh (Vien Khe 1 village) - who has been attached to Ngu Tro Vien Khe for 35 years.

Ms. Le Thi Canh at the 20th Ethnic Culture Festival and performance of traditional costumes of Thanh Hoa province in 2024.

We met Ms. Le Thi Canh (born in 1971) at the 20th Ethnic Culture Festival and Traditional Costume Performance of Thanh Hoa Province in 2024, taking place in Thanh Hoa City in March 2024. With a petite and lively figure, Ms. Canh played a good role as a companion, leading the team of 40 members to successfully perform the Lamp Dance - a performance that left a deep impression on the audience.

Sharing with us, Ms. Canh said that she did not know when the Five Tro Vien Khe had appeared, but since she was a child, she loved and "memorized" all 12 plays. With many typical performances, such as: Lamp Dance, Fairy Cuoi, To Vu, Drum and Wooden Bell, Thiep, Van Vuong (Tiger), Thuy (Water Ward), Leo Day, Xiem Thanh (Champa), Hoa Lan, Tu Huan, Ngo Quoc... Among them, Drum and Wooden Bell is the most unique and difficult performance that Ms. Canh had to practice diligently.

Until now, Ms. Canh still remembers clearly the strict rules in selecting the students in the past when participating in Ngu Tro Vien Khe. The students chosen, in addition to being attractive, must be unmarried girls, unmarried boys, have no funerals, have a reason... Depending on each student, the number of students selected will be different. Therefore, when being selected as a "student", for Ms. Le Thi Canh, it is an extremely great pride and the result of a whole process of hard training. Being agile and artistically talented, since 1989, Ms. Canh has been honored to be one of the typical students, honored to bring Ngu Tro Vien Khe to perform at many events and major cultural festivals in the district and province.

“Since I was little, I have memorized all 12 plays, but to master all the movements, skills and drum beats, each play has to practice for at least 10-15 days. To do well, the play needs to both act and sing, so only those who are truly passionate and dedicated can do all 12 plays,” Ms. Le Thi Canh shared.

Although Ngu Tro Vien Khe is so unique, this type of intangible cultural heritage is also at risk of fading away and being lost. Realizing this, from about 1991 until now, Ms. Canh has always made efforts to connect and gather people who share the same passion to preserve and promote the value of Ngu Tro Vien Khe. Along with that, she often organizes practice sessions at home for her children, relatives and participates in teaching at schools and cultural and artistic clubs in localities in Dong Son district. However, her teaching has encountered opposition from a part of the people in the commune, because they think Ngu Tro Vien Khe is their own "property" and should not be passed on to other localities. “Faced with conflicting opinions, I still firmly affirm that Ngu Tro Vien Khe not only needs to be widely promoted but also needs to be taught more seriously and systematically. This is the way to preserve and promote the value of the heritage left by our ancestors,” said Ms. Canh.

Until 2000, the Vietnam Institute of Musicology coordinated with the local government and the people of Dong Khe commune to carry out a project to restore, preserve and promote the cultural values of Ngu Tro Vien Khe. During the time when the Vietnam Institute of Musicology and the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Thanh Hoa collected documents and images for research and preservation, Ms. Canh accompanied the village's art troupe and researchers in practicing, visiting each house of the old troupe and the elderly who still remembered the troupe's stories to record and restore. Until 2017, Ngu Tro Vien Khe was recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage. Recalling that time, Ms. Canh could not hide her joy and emotion: "Not only me but also the local people at that time were extremely excited and proud. This is the motivation for me and the students of Dong Khe commune to continue to nurture our passion for Ngu Tro Vien Khe, and to contribute to the journey of preserving and promoting the value of that intangible cultural heritage."

Before saying goodbye to us, Ms. Canh expressed: "I really hope that Ngu Tro Vien Khe will become closer to the young generation, especially students in schools and cultural and artistic clubs in the district. Accordingly, it is necessary to include Ngu Tro Vien Khe in some extracurricular activities or perform at some school movement activities... From there, help children love and participate in preserving and promoting the value of the precious cultural heritage left by their ancestors."

Article and photos: Hoai Anh

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