Her traditional Vietnamese singing style hasn't 'faded' yet in Trung Than.

In Trung Than hamlet (Dong Hy commune), the traditional San Diu folk songs still resound every weekend evening. Amidst the electric lights and the sounds of smartphones, the elderly patiently teach their children and grandchildren each ancient song. For them, preserving the folk songs is about preserving a folk melody, and more than that, it's a way to retain the language and identity of their ancestors.

The elderly members of the singing group participated in cultural exchange activities.

Trung Than hamlet currently has nearly 200 households, 98% of whom are San Diu people. According to Ms. Truong Thanh Tam, Head of the San Diu Ethnic Culture Preservation and Promotion Club in Trung Than hamlet, her biggest concern today is not the lack of people interested in ethnic culture, but rather the fact that the younger generation is speaking San Diu less and less. Not only the language, but also the cultural living space of the San Diu community has changed significantly over time.

Mr. Truong Van Khanh, 82 years old, recalled: "In the old days, young people in the village would go out every evening to sing love songs. They would sing from one hamlet to another, from dusk until dawn, sometimes for several nights in a row before returning home. Back then, soong co (traditional Vietnamese folk songs) was an indispensable part of life. But now, few young people have the patience to learn to sing these old songs."

The changes brought about by modern life are putting the traditional Soọng Cô folk singing of the village at risk of disappearing. Young people in the village, some busy with studies or working far away, and exposed to social media and new forms of entertainment, pay less attention to traditional folk songs. Many of those who know how to sing in the village are now elderly. Some still remember the old lyrics but are too frail to perform or participate in cultural exchanges.

What's even more worrying is that many young San Diu people today can only understand their ethnic language by listening, but cannot speak it fluently. Some want to learn to sing but have to learn to speak it from scratch.

Driven by this concern, in 2023, the people of Trung Than began to establish a club for preserving and promoting the cultural values ​​of the San Diu ethnic group. Initially, only 20 people participated, but now the club has more than 80 members from many generations. About 30 people know how to sing Soong Co, and notably, among them are young children as young as 8-9 years old.

Ms. Truong Thanh Tam said that some young children can now sing the "soong co" song in the San Diu language. Ms. Tam said confidently: "The children will only enjoy learning if they find it interesting. But to preserve it, grandparents must speak the ethnic language at home and sing to the children."

Lacking a dedicated practice room, the club members divide into small groups to practice singing at people's homes. Mr. Minh, a club member, even photocopies songbook notebooks for the elderly to take home and study. The practice sessions lack modern musical instruments, relying only on a small speaker previously provided by the district during a cultural training course in 2023.

Ms. Truong Thanh Tam stated: "Since its establishment, the club has received almost no funding to support its activities. But the biggest challenge for the club now is not just funding, but how to make young people truly love and want to be connected to their ethnic culture. Because preserving the singing also means preserving the language, the memories, and the history of the San Diu community amidst a modern life that is changing every day."

In recent years, the club has frequently been invited to participate in cultural exchanges in various localities. Traditional costumes and ancient songs, once only heard within the village, have now traveled with the people to many more places. But for those who keep the "flame" of Soọng Cô alive in Trung Thần, what they hope for most is the day when the children in the village will speak the Sán Dìu language as naturally as standard Vietnamese...

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/van-hoa/202605/dieu-soong-co-chua-tat-o-trung-than-b5a2589/