Gongs and drums – a precious heritage of the ethnic minorities in Gia Lai.

VOV.VN - Amidst the modern pace of life, the preservation of this precious heritage is still being maintained with the dedication of artisans, the community, and the government, who daily teach, restore, and promote it, so that the cultural value of gong music continues to spread, becoming a spiritual resource and driving force for the development of community tourism.

Báo Điện tử Tiếng nói Việt Nam (VOV)•14/10/2025

2025 marks the 20th anniversary of the Central Highlands Gong Culture Space being recognized by UNESCO as a representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity. Over the past two decades, the sound of gongs has remained a source of pride and sacredness in every festival and important event for the ethnic minority communities in Gia Lai .

Amidst the hustle and bustle of modern life, the preservation of this precious heritage is still being maintained with the dedication of artisans, the community, and the government, who are daily teaching, restoring, and promoting it, so that the cultural value of gong music continues to spread, becoming a spiritual resource and driving force for community tourism development.

The new school year has begun, and studies have become busy, but the 17 members of the Pleiku Roh village children's gong team (Pleiku ward) still find time to practice their gong pieces. Artisan Siu Thưm (born in 1983) also manages to arrange his household chores to tutor the young players.

For 18 years, while running free gong-playing classes in Pleiku Roh, he has established three gong ensembles in the village, catering to middle-aged people, young adults, and children. The gong ensembles of Pleiku Roh regularly represent Gia Lai province in performances at various cultural promotion events both domestically and internationally.

Gongs and drums, a precious cultural heritage of the ethnic minorities in Gia Lai (image 1)

The image shows the Pleiku Roh gong ensemble practicing before their performance in South Korea in 2024. (Photo: Siu Thưm)

Artisan Siu Thum said: "I teach the children so that they don't lose their roots. I try to encourage them to maintain the gong culture, so that if the province organizes a festival in the future, there will be a team ready; then we can practice quickly to participate in the festivals."

Located nearly 90 km from Pleiku ward, To Tung commune, the birthplace of Hero Nup, is one of the exemplary areas in the preservation of the gong culture. Each Bahnar village here has at least one gong ensemble, reviving the depth of tradition in the community's rituals.

What is valuable is that today, in many families, gongs remain precious assets, closely associated with the lineage. Mr. Dinh Hdot from S'Tơr village, who owns a set of 13 ancient gongs, shared: "Gongs are a spiritual bridge; preserving them shows respect for our ancestors." Mr. Dinh Hdot explained: "A set comes in many sizes, with 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 meters being the largest. The village often holds weddings and harvest festivals at the end of the year, where gongs are used for entertainment, dancing, and playing all day and night."

Gongs and drums, a precious cultural heritage of the ethnic minorities in Gia Lai (image 2)

In ethnic minority villages in Gia Lai, many families still collect and preserve ancient gongs. (Photo: Nguyen Thao)

Accompanying the villages of Gia Lai in preserving their heritage, Mr. Le Thanh Son, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of the People's Committee of To Tung commune, said: The preservation and promotion of the cultural space of gong music is identified as a key task in the local strategy for developing community tourism and rural tourism.

The Resolution of the Commune Party Congress for the 2025-2030 term has concretized this goal with many practical solutions. In the coming time, the commune will conduct an inventory of ancient gong sets; restore unique traditional festivals such as the new rice harvest festival, the buffalo sacrifice ceremony, the peace prayer ceremony... so that the sound of gongs continues to resonate in community life; both maintaining cultural and festival activities and contributing to creating a highlight to attract tourists.

"The local authorities plan to strengthen the festivals and celebrations of the people; at the same time, they will organize gong festivals and competitions... both to preserve and promote the cultural identity, and to invite schools and centers with the capacity to train and guide gong playing classes and to ask artisans to teach gong tuning," Mr. Le Thanh Son added.

Gongs and drums, a precious cultural heritage of the ethnic minorities in Gia Lai (image 3)

The weekend gong performance program, which Gia Lai province used to organize for a long time at Dai Doan Ket Square, was very popular with tourists. (Photo: Nguyen Thao)

Gia Lai province currently has nearly 5,000 sets of gongs and drums, and 600 cultural and artistic clubs associated with gongs and drums, bringing together thousands of artisans, women, youth, and students to participate in maintaining and promoting the value of this heritage.

The province has organized many activities linking the preservation of gong culture with community tourism development, such as Gong Festivals, the "Gong Weekend" program, or "Cultural Colors - Gong Preservation," which vividly recreate the scene of Central Highlands villages every Sunday morning, creating an attractive highlight in the province's cultural tourism products.

Simultaneously, Gia Lai has issued a Project for the Preservation and Promotion of the Central Highlands Gong Culture Space for the period 2023–2025, focusing on restoring traditional festivals, expanding gong-playing training classes for the younger generation, and promoting the heritage. The aim is to make the gong culture space a distinctive symbol in Gia Lai's tourism development, while also helping ethnic minority communities create sustainable livelihoods from their own heritage.

Gongs and drums, a precious cultural heritage of the ethnic minorities in Gia Lai (image 4)

The Central Highlands Gong Festival was once held in Gia Lai province. (Photo: Nguyen Thao)

Ms. Le Thi Thu Huong, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Gia Lai province, said that the gong heritage will continue to be further promoted by the province in the coming period: “The province has issued a plan for the period 2023-2025. In the future, the Department will continue to advise the Provincial People's Committee to issue a plan for the period 2026-2030. Every year, the Department still advises the Provincial People's Committee to organize gong teaching classes, creating a successor generation and always reviewing and advising the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to recognize the title of Outstanding Artisan in gong music,” Ms. Huong emphasized.

In the midst of modern life, in the ethnic minority areas of Gia Lai, the sounds of gongs still resonate – a testament to the enduring journey of preserving the cultural identity of Gia Lai's ethnic communities. This heritage continues to be cherished and widely disseminated by the community and the local political system.

Source: https://vov.vn/van-hoa/di-san/cong-chieng-di-san-quy-bau-cua-dong-bao-dan-toc-thieu-so-gia-lai-post1237420.vov