The "junior" gong ensemble in Tnung village

The young Ba Na artisans in Tnung-Mang village (Ya Ma commune, Kong Chro district, Gia Lai province ), with their creative, pure, and joyful gong playing style, have brought a fresh and inspiring new energy to the gong culture of the Central Highlands. This is also proof of the pride in their ethnic cultural identity, reflecting the strong inheritance and creativity of the Ba Na people in Kong Chro in preserving the "Central Highlands Gong Culture Space" heritage.

The "junior" gong team from Kông Chro district participated in the Gia Lai Province Ethnic Culture Festival 2024.

The younger generation is passionate about gongs.

From kindergarten, Dinh Thi Le (born in 2010) could hum along to the melodies of traditional musical instruments played by adults in her village. Thanks to her talent and persistent practice, she soon learned to play many songs on these two instruments. At the age of 12, Le was selected by the commune to join the "junior" gong team, regularly participating in competitions organized by various levels and sectors. As a result, Le's experience and technique in playing traditional musical instruments have steadily improved.

The children's gong team from Tnung - Mang village is practicing enthusiastically.

In particular, with the specific guidance from her father, who is also a gong tuner in Tnung-Mang village, on how to play each type of musical instrument, Le's passion was further fueled, and she became even more confident. She excitedly shared: “The stone xylophone and the T'rưng are two musical instruments with their own unique playing styles and techniques. Therefore, when learning both instruments simultaneously, I found it difficult. However, because I often followed and listened to the songs performed by the artisans, and after some practice, I was able to play many songs on these instruments. I dream of becoming an artisan who makes and plays traditional musical instruments so that I can later teach the younger children in the village.”

Among the children's gong ensemble of Tnung-Mang village is Dinh Tuy (14 years old). With her skillful and pure gong playing, she had the honor of performing with the Ya Ma commune's gong ensemble at the "Weekend Gong Performance - Enjoy and Experience" program and the "Gia Lai, Oh!" brocade fashion art program at Dai Doan Ket Square (Pleiku City). These were two of Tuy's most meaningful and memorable trips.

Dinh Tuy (on the left) practices playing the gong with her friends in the village.

“I started learning to play the gong when I was 10 years old. Now, I know how to perform some basic gong pieces and I'm also proficient at playing bamboo gongs. Since learning the gong, I've participated in many programs in the district. Especially the two most recent trips to Pleiku City, which made me feel proud to wear my ethnic group's traditional costume. I tried my best to perform the gong pieces for everyone to enjoy, and I received a lot of applause and praise,” Tuy excitedly shared.

During village festivals and celebrations, the children's gong ensemble receives enthusiastic support from the villagers and is given a special performance space. In their performances, the children are very active and excited, passionately playing gongs and drums; performing various traditional musical instruments with clear, innocent, smooth, and resonant sounds.

Extending the cultural heritage

In 2009, the "Junior" Gong Team in Tnung-Mang village was established, with 40 members, including 30 members of the Gong Team and 10 members of the Xoang Dance Team. As a gong tuner and instrument maker in Tnung-Mang village, artisan Dinh Hlich dedicated his time to teaching the village's children.

To support this work, a few months ago, he bought a set of 16 gongs worth 35 million VND with his savings. As a result, the children's gong team has become increasingly passionate about playing the gongs and has grown in size. To date, many of these young artists have grown up, but the children's gong team continues to attract younger generations to practice, maintaining a current membership of 40.

"Seeing the children in the village passionate about playing gongs and other traditional musical instruments makes me very happy. I'm ready to guide them and pass on to them how to play them correctly and beautifully so that they can continue the tradition and not let the sound of the Ba Na people's gongs and drums resonate for generations to come," shared artisan Dinh Hlich.

Artisan Dinh Hlich teaches the children's gong team of Tnung - Mang village how to play musical instruments.

Thanks to their passion and diligent practice of gong playing, the "junior" gong team of Tnung - Mang village, along with other artisans from the commune, participated in the 2nd Provincial Youth Gong Festival in 2015, winning first prize overall in the categories of folk singing, gong performance, and t'rưng instrument ensemble.

Recently, at the 5th Youth Gong and Folk Song Festival and Traditional Exhibition of the Ba Na people in Kong Chro district - 2023, the "junior" gong team from Ya Ma commune also won first prize overall. This achievement was partly due to the contribution of the "junior" gong team from Tnung - Mang village.

To create opportunities and nurture the passion and efforts of young artisans, Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Ho, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Ya Ma commune, said: After its establishment, the "junior" gong team regularly receives training from artisans and participates in competitions and festivals. As a result, the children's skills in performing various musical instruments have improved and they have achieved good results in competitions.

"Ya Ma commune regularly organizes cultural, artistic, and sports exchanges to preserve traditional culture for artisans; as well as the Tnung - Mang 'junior' gong team's exchanges and performances. From this program, we select outstanding young people to join the local gong team to participate in competitions and performances at events organized by various levels," added Ms. Ngoc Ho.

Ngoc Thu (Ethnic Groups and Development Newspaper)

Source: https://baophutho.vn/doi-chieng-nhi-o-lang-tnung-mang-219086.htm