1. As a tour guide, Mr. Y Thien Adrong (35 years old, Ako Dhong village, Buon Ma Thuot city) has chosen a new and creative way to bring the sound of gongs and cymbals to the public via social networks. For nearly 8 years, he has become a bridge between technology and cultural heritage, contributing to spreading the beauty of gong culture to the community.
In 2017, after living and working in Ho Chi Minh City, Y Thien decided to return to Dak Lak. With a deep love for his ethnic culture, he began posting videos , images and articles about Ede culture on his personal Facebook account. Those simple, rustic shares quickly received great attention from the community...
Through social networks, he has connected with many culture lovers at home and abroad. Many tourists and travel companies have sought him out as a local tour guide to witness and listen to the sound of gongs echoing in the mountains and forests, and to immerse themselves in the life and customs of the Ede people through practical experiences.
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| From the social media post of Mr. Y Thien Adrong (standing on the far left) , many tourists have come to experience the culture and life of the Ede people. |
Not stopping there, he also expanded his communication channel on the TikTok platform and continued to share short videos about festivals, traditional music , and daily activities of the Central Highlands people. The combination of modern technology and traditional culture has helped him spread the image of gongs closer to young people.
Y Thien confided: “Currently, many artisans are old while the young generation is not really interested in gongs in particular and traditional musical instruments of the Ede people in general. I am afraid that one day, these sounds will fall into oblivion. Therefore, I want to preserve and share images, sounds, and stories so that future generations will have something to learn and understand.”
In 2023, he and a friend founded a website called Sap Rje with the desire to preserve, conserve and develop traditional musical instruments in a sustainable way. Sap Rje specializes in manufacturing, maintaining, repairing and restoring traditional musical instruments such as gongs, t'rungs, etc.; organizing specialized performances and cultural events for tourist groups. Y Thien plans to develop and connect a YouTube channel, which shares many videos about festivals, artisans performing traditional musical instruments and journeys to learn about identity, with this website to help people access the culture of the Ede people more easily.
2. Since September 2024, a group of students including Trao Nhat Hang, Luu Vuong Khanh Ha, Luong Nhat Thi and Cao Hoang Anh (majoring in Multimedia Management, FPT University, Ho Chi Minh City) has initiated a project called "Gong Coordinates". This is a project that applies digital technology to preserve the Central Highlands Gong Cultural Space.
Trao Nhat Hang, project manager, shared: “In the beginning, when researching and implementing the plan, we encountered many difficulties in finding artisans as well as documents about the heritage. The group's efforts were rewarded when we met special people, including music researcher Bui Trong Hien, who supported the group with a collection of ancient gong pieces collected by him and his colleagues.”
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| Young people are listening to digitized ancient gong songs. Photo provided by the character |
To date, the project has achieved important milestones by launching a digitized set of 40 ancient gong pieces, completing the heritage digitization set, including 10 3D gong models, inspired by 5 sets of ancient gongs currently on display at museums in Gia Lai and Dak Lak. In addition, the project also coordinated with the Student Affairs Department, FPT University, Ho Chi Minh City to organize the exhibition of traditional musical instruments "The Country's Strings", announce the heritage digitization set and exhibit traditional costumes.
The highlight of the project is the music event "Gong Night", taking place with the support of Young City Festival and Thu Duc City Youth Union. This is a place where traditional values and modern creativity converge, helping the public, especially young people, have the opportunity to experience and feel the richness of the Central Highlands Gong Cultural Space through performances combining gongs, electronic music and visual arts.
Starting out as just a graduation project, but not stopping there, the project team, together with young people passionate about digital design and music, brought the inspiration of the Central Highlands Gong Culture Space into design and music products to spread widely to everyone.
Source: https://baodaklak.vn/van-hoa-du-lich-van-hoc-nghe-thuat/202505/danh-thuc-nhip-chieng-bang-cong-nghe-14c16c5/
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