Preserving the art of making Tinh lutes.

(To Quoc) - The Tinh lute (also known as Tinh Tau) is a typical musical instrument of the Tay, Nung, and Thai ethnic groups in general. It is used in spiritual life, festivals, singing, courtship, and friendship. The Tinh lute holds an important position and role in Tay music . Along with Then singing, the Tinh lute has been inscribed by UNESCO as a representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity, a source of pride for the Tay, Nung, and Thai communities.

The guitar remains faithful from beginning to end.

The Tay, Nung, and Thai people have passed down the following legend about their Tinh lute: Once upon a time, there was an orphaned young man, so poor that he didn't even own a plot of land. One day, while begging for food, he met an old man with white hair and a healthy, rosy complexion, like a celestial being. The old man invited him into his house, offered him a meal, and kindly inquired about his personal circumstances. The young man recounted that his parents had died early, leaving him without land, a house, or relatives. Every day, he had to go into the forest to dig up wild yams and Stephania tetrandra roots to survive. With a kind heart, the old man gave the young man a tube of rice, a mulberry branch, five gourd seeds, and instructed him: "Later you will have plenty to eat and live comfortably, but you must do these things: Go home and plant these five gourd seeds. When they bear fruit, do not eat them unripe. Let the mulberry branch you plant grow, and let its leaves spread in all directions; do not cut it. When the gourd ripens, use it to make the gourd for a musical instrument, and carve the mulberry root into a handle. Use the leaves to feed silkworms, and use the silk to make a stringed instrument that will produce melodious sounds."

The Tinh lute is inextricably linked to Then singing.

When the young man finished making the instrument, the whole village flocked to listen to him practice singing and playing. A hardworking girl fell in love with him, and the villagers nurtured their love. The original five-stringed Tinh instrument produced many melodies, so captivating that many people lost interest in their work. The young man went to an old man and asked him to remove two strings, keeping only three, which remain to this day. These three strings are the front, back, and middle strings. The front, back, and middle strings symbolize having a beginning, an end, and loyalty, faithfulness, and unwavering devotion.

Historically, around the 15th-16th centuries, during the conflict between the Le and Mac dynasties, the defeated Mac king seized control of Cao Bang , establishing the Mac feudal dynasty. Because this region was too far from the bustling capital of Thang Long, coupled with the despondency of the defeated king and officials, and the weary, homesick soldiers, they felt a need for cultural activities. They discovered that Cao Bang had long possessed the Tinh lute, which was being used by the people to enrich their cultural life and boost their spirits. The king selected talented young men and women to perform at the royal court. He appointed the scholar Be Van Phung as the music director to oversee the musicians, singers, and courtesans; and appointed a renowned scholar named Dat, surnamed Ma, to compose lyrics for the Tinh lute, known as Then singing. From then on, the Tinh lute and Then singing became a form of court music under the Mac dynasty.

Having weathered the ups and downs of history, the art of Then singing and Tinh playing was inscribed on the list of Representative Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the United Nations Educational , Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on December 12, 2019.

When talking about Then singing, the Tinh lute is indispensable. The sound of the lute serves as both a guide and an accompaniment, but it also acts as a second voice, supplementing the vocals of the performing artist.

Artisan Ma Doan Khanh practices making the Tinh lute.

Preserving the art of making Tinh lutes.

However, each ethnic group (Tay, Nung, Thai) in each locality has its own unique techniques for making the instrument. Making a Tinh instrument involves many complex steps.

Ma Doãn Khánh, a Tày ethnic craftsman from Nà Chén village, Thanh Định commune, Định Hóa district, Thái Nguyên province, is the 7th generation to make the Tinh lute. He shared that the Tinh lute consists of several main parts: the soundbox, made from half a dried gourd; the neck, usually made from mulberry wood; and the strings, made from spun silk. The most difficult part of making a Tinh lute is finding the right gourd. It must be neither too big nor too small, with a round mouth, a circumference of 60-70 cm, and must be mature, with a beautiful round shape, a thick shell, and a clear, resonant sound when struck – only then will the lute have the correct tone.

"Previously, the elders drilled holes in the bottom of the instrument, so when playing and holding it close to the body, the sound couldn't escape. There are 6 points for drilling holes, each with 9 holes, totaling 54 holes around the instrument. Smaller instruments have smaller holes, while larger instruments have larger holes so that the sound can escape. When the instrument plays well and the sound is satisfactory, that's when it's ready. If it's not, you have to drill more holes," said artisan Ma Doãn Khánh.

Artisan Ma Doan Khanh practices making the Tinh lute.

The next step is making the lid of the instrument. The lid is a lightweight piece of wood, usually made from the trunk of the milkwood tree, but in some places it is made from the wood of the Vong tree, because the wood is soft enough to create resonance, and is about 3 mm thick. In the past, before glue was available, the Tay people had to go into the forest to find sap from the rosewood tree. Collecting this sap was not always possible because it only happened once a year.

According to artisan Ma Doan Khanh, for the Tinh lute, whether the sound is accurate depends on the experience and discerning ear of the instrument maker. Therefore, to have a good instrument with accurate sound, the craftsman must also know how to sing Then melodies, and understand basic musical intervals and theory. For artisan Ma Doan Khanh, who knows both Then melodies and plays the Tinh lute, tuning the strings doesn't take much time. After completing the Tinh lute, he plays a Then melody to check the sound quality.

Tourists enjoy playing the Tinh instrument.

Compared to the past, artisan Ma Doan Khanh only regrets that the strings are no longer made of silk and must now be made of nylon. "Silk strings have a clear, ancient sound. But now silk strings are hard to find," lamented artisan Ma Doan Khanh.

According to artisan Ma Doan Khanh, another concern is passing on the craft of making the Tinh instrument to the eighth generation of his family. Currently, artisan Khanh has four children, but none have passed on the craft yet because they all work in industrial zones. How to pass on the ancestral craft to his descendants and preserve the Tinh instrument is a major concern for artisan Ma Doan Khanh. However, artisan Ma Doan Khanh believes that with the attention of central and local authorities, the art of Then singing and Tinh playing will continue to develop and spread widely. With his own passion, he will be able to pass on the ancestral craft to his children and grandchildren, contributing to the preservation and dissemination of the art of Then singing and Tinh playing.

Source: https://toquoc.vn/gin-giu-nghe-thuat-lam-dan-tinh-20241202215040374.htm