Unique Cham folk performing arts

Khanh Hoa is a land where various ethnic communities have lived for generations, including the Cham people. Over time, the Cham people have built a rich, diverse, and distinctive cultural heritage. Prominent among these is Cham folk performing arts, with its folk songs, dances, and music reflecting the beauty of the Cham people's souls and emotions across generations.

Values ​​that endure through the years.

Currently, the Cham community in the province has 106,222 people, accounting for 4.75% of the province's total population. In their daily lives, the people still preserve many great spiritual values ​​through rituals, customs, traditions, and festivals. Through these, folk performing arts are practiced and performed as a connecting thread between the past and the present, between people and the spiritual world . “In most rituals and festivals, the Cham people use traditional musical instruments including: ghinang drums, paranung drums, saranai horns, ceng (gongs), grong (rattles), seng (cymbals), and kanhi string instruments to perform their own melodies or provide accompaniment for Cham folk songs and graceful, fluid Cham dances. Cham folk performing arts are very unique, deeply rooted in their own identity, and highly prevalent in the lives of the people,” said Meritorious Artist Dang Nang Duc - Provincial Traditional Arts Theater.

The performance features traditional Cham musical instruments performed by artists from the Provincial Traditional Arts Theatre.

Among the various forms of Cham folk performance, the system of Cham folk songs encompasses many genres such as: Daoh mayut (love songs), Daoh dam dara (call-and-response songs), Daoh rathung chai (rice milling and pounding songs), Daoh pandau (riddle songs), Daoh ndam matai (funeral songs), Puec jal (fishing song)... The sound structure, melody, and rhythm of Cham folk songs, especially in the genres of courtship folk songs (daoh dam dara, daoh mayut), are usually tight and concise. Listeners can easily perceive the clarity, vibrancy, innocence, and lyricism; at the same time, there is a close resemblance to the melodies of the Hoai Nam, Ly Con Sao, and Ly Ngua O in the folk songs of Binh Tri Thien, or Ly Con Ngua, Ly Thien Thai, and Xuan Nu Bai Choi in the folk songs of Zone V, and especially the Vong Co melodies of Southern Vietnam. In terms of content, Cham folk songs are closely associated with every aspect of life, from love songs, lullabies, songs sung during work, songs praising gods and heroic figures... to ceremonial music serving religious rituals and beliefs at temples, towers, and traditional festivals.

The traditional musical instruments of the Cham people include: percussion instruments (paranung drum, ghinang drum, hagar praong drum - large ceremonial drum, ceng, grong, seng, etc.); wind instruments (saranai horn, abaw - trumpet, taliak - transverse flute, etc.); and stringed instruments (kanhi lute, kaping lute, champi lute, etc.). Although the number of traditional Cham musical instruments is not large, and the level of use of each instrument varies, when combined into an orchestra, they can produce a wide variety of sounds and melodies suitable for different performance environments in rituals and festivals.

Cham folk dance art exists and develops in close connection with music and folk songs. Folk dances often blend with the melodies of traditional Cham musical instruments to create impressive performances in terms of sound, color, and body language. Cham folk dances are generally divided into two main groups: sacred dances and daily life dances. Sacred dances are those performed as offerings to the deities at temples and towers. Common images include Cham dancers carrying candles, water, flowers, fruits, betel nuts, etc., on their heads to offer to the gods. Meanwhile, daily life dances include fan dances, knife dances, whip dances, boat dances, yin-yang dances, jar dances, etc., expressing emotions or recreating familiar labor activities of the people. Through these, dance art contributes to vividly reflecting the cultural life of the Cham community.

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Khanh Hoa province has a well-developed tourism industry. In particular, the exploitation of folk performing arts, cultural and historical relics, and spiritual and religious cultural heritage is considered key in building cultural tourism products. In fact, during annual traditional festivals such as the Po Nagar Tower Festival, the Katê Festival, and the Ramuwan New Year, Cham folk art performances always attract tourists who want to watch and learn. At the special national relics of Po Nagar Tower and Po Klong Garai Tower, Cham performing arts troupes, consisting of young Cham men and women, perform Cham musical instrument ensembles, Cham dances, and Cham folk songs. The presence and connection between these tangible and intangible cultural elements provide tourists with unique cultural experiences, contributing to a distinctive mark for local tourism.

The Cham people in Huu Duc village (Phuoc Huu commune) perform folk songs and dances during the Katê festival in 2025.

However, the Cham people's folk performing arts are facing many difficulties in preservation and promotion. In this context, integrating Cham folk performing arts into tourism activities contributes to both preservation and promotion of the community's traditional cultural values. According to Mr. Nguyen Tan An, Deputy Head of the Department of Culture and Family Management (Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism), in recent years, Cham folk performing arts have begun to be exploited in tourism activities associated with temples, towers, and major festivals throughout the year. Cham folk performing arts, combined with traditional costumes, appearing at ancient towers and during festivals, have made a strong impression on tourists. Furthermore, Cham folk performing arts have appeared frequently in domestic and international publications and television broadcasts. This is one way to contribute to preserving and promoting the value of folk performing arts in the current context. However, daily performances at temple and tower relics remain small-scale, mainly focusing on providing basic introductions to Cham singing, dancing, and music for tourists; there is a lack of regular collaboration from major tourist areas and resorts in the province in developing specialized Cham art performance programs. Furthermore, the shortage of successor performers is also a major obstacle in preserving and promoting this traditional art form.

To integrate Cham folk performing arts more closely with tourism, the Department of Culture, local authorities, and the Cham community need to focus on diversifying performance spaces and formats. For example: developing live performance programs specializing in Cham folk performances with clear themes and programs, combined with modern sound and lighting effects to serve tourists; actively introducing and bringing Cham performing arts groups to perform in art programs welcoming national and international conferences and events. In addition, resorts and tourist areas should be encouraged to organize Cham art performances, even Cham folk culture nights that combine performing arts with traditional cuisine and handicrafts, thereby contributing to promoting and spreading the unique cultural values ​​of the Cham community.

GIANG DINH

Source: https://baokhanhhoa.vn/van-hoa/202603/doc-dao-nghe-thuat-dien-xuong-dan-gian-cham-9655a44/