Co Tu village festival connects

*The Co Tu community of Song Kon commune dances the Tang tung da da dance during the cultural festival. Photo: ALANG NGUOC*

Village gong festival

Gongs and drums sounded. Right in the yard of the People's Committee of the commune, thousands of local people and tourists witnessed the opening ceremony of the first Co Tu Traditional Cultural Festival of Song Kon commune - 2025, performed by the owner of the land. This is considered the opening journey for the story of proud identity, with an open space and the largest scale of the festival held in the mountainous localities of Da Nang city at this time.

Mr. Do Huu Tung, Chairman of Song Kon Commune People's Committee, said that the festival carries a clear message of solidarity, evoking national pride associated with the preservation of traditional cultural values. This message is expressed throughout the festival season, with the highlight being the Pơrngoóc ceremony, a long-standing custom preserved by the Cơ Tu people. In Pơrngoóc, cultural values are expected to become a typical tourism product serving tourists.

*Joy on the faces of Co Tu boys and girls during the gong performance. Photo: ALANG NGUOC*

“Thousands of artisans and tourists have come here, gathering in the colorful space of the Co Tu culture. Everyone can immerse themselves in the Tang Tung Da Da dance, witness and experience the unique art forms of the Co Tu people, from the Pơrngooch twinning ceremony, drum and gong performances, Tang Tung Da Da dance, to culinary performances, slingshots, stilt walking, and Ly singing and talking... Each traditional ritual is recreated, deeply reflecting the cultural and spiritual life of the community, opening up a new perspective for tourists on the journey to preserve traditional cultural values”, Mr. Tung shared.

Each performance by Co Tu artisans in 11 villages in the commune always creates surprises, containing a story about the spirit of solidarity after the merger. Bustling to the beat of drums and gongs to open the festival, Co Tu boys and girls join in the colorful traditional costumes. The night the campfire was lit, thousands of people and tourists joined in the "dance to the sky", singing together in the floating mountain mist.

Spreading cultural values

On the first night of the festival, the Co Tu elders sat inside their traditional houses, singing the melodies to the delight of visitors. Ly singing and talking, a unique art form recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage, is usually reserved for the village elders. In the warm atmosphere of rice wine, the melodies are sung as an opportunity to "compete", opening the story of community solidarity.

*The Co Tu village elders "compete" in speaking and singing reason. Photo: ALANG NGUOC*

Village elder Poloong Jui, a prestigious person in A Roch village, said that according to the custom of the Co Tu community, during traditional festivals, the art of talking and singing is considered the opening story between the village elders. Bustling with the art of drums and gongs, talking and singing in harmony, adding to the traditional cultural value. Proud of their ancestors' identity, the Co Tu people strive to preserve their precious assets, creating motivation to pass on to the younger generation to connect and spread the unique values of the community.

Each of the Ly talks and Ly songs has unique content based on the story of the Co Tu village that the singer wants to tell. The beauty of Ly talks is that all the images of animals and places are compared in it, evoking flexible thinking and response from the listener. The more layers of meaning the speaker brings out, the more skillfully he or she demonstrates his or her Ly talk and Ly song abilities.

*The innocent beauty of Co Tu children. Photo: ALANG NGUOC*

“This year, the theme of Ly Ly - Ly singing revolves around the spirit of solidarity between the Co Tu community of the three communes of Song Kon, Jo Ngay and A Ting. Through Ly Ly singing, the Co Tu people understand each other better, thereby contributing to building an increasingly innovative homeland,” said old Poloong Jui.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Nghiem, Secretary of the Party Committee of Song Kon commune, said that after the success of the festival, the locality plans to develop a plan to maintain the organization annually.

The content is flexible according to each topic, in which the ritual reenactment is linked with the preservation of traditional culture to respond to innovation, create strong spread, and soon turn the Co Tu cultural value into a unique tourist "specialty" for visitors on their journey to explore and experience the Truong Son mountains and forests...

Source: https://baodanang.vn/hoi-lang-co-tu-gan-ket-3303420.html