Preserving Thu Lao folk songs

In the localities of the province, Thu Lao people live mainly in the upper reaches of Chay River, in the old districts of Muong Khuong and Si Ma Cai. Thu Lao people have a rich folk song heritage expressing thoughts, feelings, and reflecting daily life. Although young Thu Lao people are not interested in folk songs, in the highland villages there are still people who quietly preserve the traditional flow of the nation day and night.

San Cha village, Sin Cheng commune is located on a high mountainside covered in clouds all year round. There are over 160 Thu Lao households living here for many generations.

Today, next to the traditional land-covered house of the nation, Ms. Vang Sang Vien and other women in the village were rolling cotton and weaving cloth, while singing folk songs passed down to each other by their ancestors.

Ms. Vien said, Thu Lao people call singing "khao". Thu Lao folk songs have many "khao" songs, including songs expressing gratitude to parents, lullabies of mothers and grandmothers that everyone knows by heart.

Then Ms. Vien sang us the song "Khao bo mi" (Remembering the gratitude of parents), the lyrics were gentle, warm, and full of love.

The lyrics are simple and plain, but contain the gratitude of a child for his parents who gave birth to him and raised him every day: "When I was little, my parents were afraid I wouldn't grow up, so they fed me every bite of rice/ My parents didn't hesitate to sacrifice, endure the sun and rain, hoping that I would grow up to be like my friends."

Talking to us, Ms. Vien shared: In the past, the life of the Thu Lao people was very difficult and poor. There were years when they did not have enough food to eat or enough clothes to wear. That is why, when they were sad, the Thu Lao people would sing to ease their sadness, wishing for a more prosperous life.

In the poem "Khao khan" (Poor fate), there are the lines: "In the past, there was no rice or corn, so we had to dig for cassava and yam/If we had a piece of clothing, we had to sew it over and over again/We had to work hard to have a more prosperous life."

The Thu Lao people have many songs about the poor status and common feelings of the poor in the mountains in life. Typical songs include: “Khao kha rang” (Poor families have to work for hire), “Khao tau dun” (Song of wanting to start a family for their son but being too poor), “Lac nu lac kham” (Poor family’s song).

Learning more about the folk songs of the Thu Lao people in the upper reaches of the Chay River, we learned that the folk song treasure of the Thu Lao people is very rich, with dozens, even hundreds of songs, diverse in content. Among them, the most popular are songs about getting acquainted and singing in response to love affairs.

As a person passionate about folk songs of the nation, spending a lot of time collecting songs left by the ancients, artisan Vang Sin Phin, old San Chai commune (now Si Ma Cai commune) knows many folk songs and teaches them to the next generation.

In the past, when guests came to visit, Thu Lao people often sang to get to know each other. There were nights when men and women gathered to sing all night long, very happily, the sound of instruments and singing echoed throughout the village.

Sin Phin Gold Artisan

When there is a wedding in the village, the men and women of the groom's and the bride's families often sing and respond to each other. When they come to ask for the bride, the groom's family must choose someone who sings well, responds skillfully, and can sing back, then the bride's family will agree to let them take the bride. In addition, in the wedding, there are also songs to invite wine, songs to bless the bride and groom, songs to thank relatives and friends who come to celebrate with the family...

In addition to songs expressing family affection and love between men and women, Thu Lao folk songs also have many songs praising the Party and Uncle Ho such as: "Pu Chi Min" ( Ho Chi Minh ), "Tang Ren" (song about the Party) expressing the gratitude of Thu Lao people to the Party and beloved Uncle Ho. In addition, there are songs about the beauty of the homeland and country, strengthening the bonds of village affection...

Visiting the Thu Lao village and listening to the people sing folk songs, we understand that the Khao songs are an indispensable part of the spiritual and cultural life of the people. It is not only a precious intangible cultural heritage left by the ancients, but also a vivid reflection of the life, customs and practices of the Thu Lao people from the past to the present.

Hopefully in remote villages there will be more dedicated people preserving each folk song like Ms. Vang Sang Vien and artisan Vang Sin Phin so that the folk songs of the Thu Lao people will resonate forever.

Presented by: Van Thao

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/giu-dieu-dan-ca-thu-lao-post886094.html