Go find the Sluong fishing line

Meritorious artist Ma Van Vinh still teaches Sluong singing to his children and grandchildren in the family.

Lingering love melody

Sluong Luong is a typical form of love singing, long associated with the cultural life of the Tay people.

This art form was once strongly developed, especially popular before the 1960s of the 20th century. In particular, some localities in the northern region of the province have the tradition of singing Sluong luon such as Yen Han, Yen Cu, Binh Van communes of Cho Moi district (old), now Yen Binh commune.

This locality is so famous for maintaining Slương singing that it has entered the poetry of the artists: “That luon du coc phat. Thay luon du Ban Tinh”. Meaning, “The place for singing luon on the bamboo bank, the master of singing luon in Ban Tinh” - emphasizing that Ban Tinh (Yen Binh commune) is the cradle of the art of singing luon Slương.

We sought out the excellent artist Ma Van Vinh, in Yen Binh commune, who has collected many Luon Sluong verses passed down from the previous generation. Through many years of research and recording, he has collected 35 Luon verses with more than 750 stanzas and published them in the book Luon Sluong - Viet Bac Communal House Festival.

The book not only introduces the festival atmosphere of the 50s and 60s of the last century, but also helps readers visualize the Slương performance space of the Tay people at that time.

While enthusiastically talking about Sluong singing, Mr. Ma Van Vinh recalled the singing space that he witnessed when he was a child.

According to the story of the meritorious artist Ma Van Vinh, the space of Luon Sluong is quite rich. If the Luon singing takes place in the traditional stilt house of the Tay people, the Luon couples will sing "Luon chom ruong" to praise the homeowner for having a beautiful and spacious house.

If the "Luon giao duyen" space takes place at a wedding, the song "Luon chuc chom dam lau vang" will be sung, praising the good and thoughtful wedding and wishing the young couple a long and happy life.

Luan singing usually takes place in the spring, but can also be performed at happy occasions such as weddings, housewarmings, full-month celebrations, etc. Many "Luan giao duyen" singing sessions can last from 1 to 2 months, each group singing through the villages has from 15 to 20 pairs of luan singers.

Meritorious artist Ma Van Vinh confided: Luon Sluong has many chapters such as "luon moi" (inviting to sing luon), "luon quyen" (advising luon), luon di duong, luon tuc canh (singing luon describing the scenery), luon chia tay... All use the seven-word quatrain verse form.

The content of the songs mainly praises love between men and women, praises nature and scenery, life of labor and production, or sings about the four seasons of the year... Slương singing performances have quite strict rituals.

In addition to the appropriate time to organize a dance, there must also be a space to sing. Depending on the content of the song, the space will take place in different places.

One special thing is that Sluong singing requires the singers to be of the opposite sex, not of the same bloodline, and not from the same village or commune.

Preserving ancient melodies

Meritorious artist Ma Van Vinh is one of the few people passionate about researching and collecting Sluong songs of the Tay ethnic group.

Despite the effort in research and collection, the excellent artist Ma Van Vinh had to admit that currently the number of people who know how to sing Sluong luon is very small and they are all elderly artists. Also because this is an ancient art form, the younger generation finds it difficult to understand and sing, so the number of people studying it is very small.

Mrs. Ma Thi Tuoi, Yen Binh commune, is very concerned that the Sluong luong tune is gradually fading away. She said: Currently in our locality, besides Mr. Vinh, very few people know how to sing it. I hope that this tune will be of interest to the younger generation and that they will learn to sing it more.

Meritorious artist Ma Van Vinh also added: Not only collecting Sluong luon songs, I also organized Sluong luon singing classes for local young people. However, there are very few people who have the talent and perseverance to learn to sing this tune. I cannot teach it to outsiders, so I sometimes teach my children and grandchildren about this tune.

Implementing the Project to preserve and promote the fine traditional cultural values of ethnic groups associated with tourism development, under the National Target Program for Socio -Economic Development of Ethnic Minority Areas for the 2021-2030 period, in recent times, the province's cultural sector has carried out activities to preserve and promote the values of the national intangible cultural heritage of the Tay people's Luong Sluong with the following contents: Organizing field work, investigating and assessing the current status of the Luong Sluong heritage.

Along with that, organize training classes for 30 artisans; organize scientific seminars to clarify the origin and value of the intangible cultural heritage of Sluong and propose some solutions to preserve and promote the value of this cultural heritage associated with tourism development; organize restoration and re-enactment of the heritage; produce documentaries to preserve and promote the heritage.

These efforts not only contribute to preserving a unique cultural value of the Tay people, but also arouse pride and awareness of heritage preservation in the community, especially the younger generation. Hopefully, when each person sees the beauty and value of the Sluong melody, the melody will continue to resonate, in harmony with the village.

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/tin-moi/202510/di-tim-cau-luon-sluong-1f53ca3/