Arouse love of national culture
On the evening of August 9, the Pleiku City Children's House became bustling and lively with the presence of more than 200 ethnic minority youth from several communes and wards in the area such as Hoa Lu, Yen Do, Thang Loi, Dong Da, Chu A, Tan Son. In traditional costumes, members of each team carefully checked their props to prepare for their performance.
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| Performance by Hoa Lu ward team (Pleiku city). Photo: MN |
A pole was erected in the middle of the yard of the Pleiku City Children's House. In order of drawing lots, the teams took turns performing gongs (or playing traditional musical instruments) and singing folk songs reflecting the daily life of ethnic minorities; praising love for homeland and country; love between couples...
Regularly selected to participate in provincial and city level competitions, the members of the Yen Do Ward Competition Team have gained a lot of performance experience. Coming to this Festival, the ward's competition team excellently took the lead in the folk song singing and gong performance, contributing to the team's overall first prize.
Accordingly, the Yen Do ward team performed two gong songs at the festival: Celebrating the new rice and Celebrating the victory. The 40 members of the team, although of different ages, coordinated very well. Not only did they impress with their outstanding performance, everyone was also delighted to see the image of Puih Thang (3 years old) quickly and confidently playing gongs with his older brothers and sisters.
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| Performance by the Yen Do ward team (Pleiku city). Photo: MN |
In the folk song section, the female members showed off their smooth and deep voices with the songs Lullaby on the field and Morning sun rise. Rcom H'Yen - a member of the Yen Do ward team - said: "I have known these folk songs since I was 10 years old. I am very happy to introduce the cultural beauty of the Jrai ethnic group to everyone. My team members and I are all delighted to have won the highest prize at the festival. This is the result of the team's efforts in practicing over the past time."
Mr. Thinh Thuong Tin - Secretary of the Youth Union of Yen Do Ward - shared: "The members of the team all come from Pleiku Roh village. Participating and winning high prizes at the Festival has motivated the local youth to continue practicing and join hands to preserve the national cultural identity".
The Thang Loi Ward team also impressed the judges and the audience with 2 folk songs: Lullaby (The Clouds Become Cotton Candy), Gong Festival Night and 2 gong songs: Celebrating Victory, Pothi Ceremony. Each performance brought different emotions to the audience.
In each performance, the team arranged additional props such as miniature tomb models, wine jars, and puppets. In addition, some members also wore masks, banana leaf shirts, and performed funny movements to highlight the performance.
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| Children dressed in costumes made of banana leaves, performing funny moves to highlight the performance. Photo: MN |
With their efforts in training, the Thang Loi ward team won 2 C prizes in both gong performance and folk song singing ; at the same time, they won the B prize for the whole group. “The 35 members of the team are all from Chuet 2 village. I am very proud of the cultural traditions of my people. I hope there will be more meaningful programs like this in the future so that we have the opportunity to exchange and learn,” said Hi (16 years old; member of the Thang Loi ward team) happily.
Strengthening solidarity
The 6 teams brought to the Festival very impressive and unique performances. The space of the Pleiku City Children's House was filled with the sounds of gongs and emotional folk songs. After each performance, the audience gave a round of applause and encouragement to the "young artists". Many people also used their phones to record the performances of each team or took souvenir photos with the children.
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| The organizing committee awarded prizes to all competing teams. Photo: MN |
Ms. Nguyen Thi Hang (Group 5, Yen The Ward, Pleiku City) expressed: “I took my child to attend the gifted class at the Pleiku City Children's House, so I had the opportunity to watch the performances of the competing teams. In front of hundreds of people surrounding them, the children all performed confidently, with a very rhythmic and flexible rhythm. The festival was very interesting, helping me understand more about the unique culture of ethnic minorities in the city.”
Mr. Nguyen Van Hoa - Deputy Director of the Center for Culture, Sports and Information of Pleiku City, Deputy Head of the Organizing Committee, Head of the Jury - commented: The festival of gongs and folk songs of ethnic minorities is organized by the Center for Culture, Information and Sports of Pleiku City in coordination with the Vietnam Youth Union of Pleiku City every summer. This is also an activity to celebrate the success of the 8th Congress of the Vietnam Youth Union of Pleiku City (term 2024-2029).
This year, the teams from the communes and wards have invested quite well in their performances, from content, program to costumes and props. Many children are only 5-6 years old but already know how to play gongs and traditional musical instruments. Through the festival, the Organizing Committee hopes to create a playground for children to exchange, inherit and continue the cultural values of the nation as well as further strengthen solidarity among the youth of the grassroots Youth Union organizations.
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| More than 200 ethnic minority children in Pleiku City hold hands and sing and dance around a fire. Photo: MN |
After the award ceremony, when the campfire was lit in the yard of the Pleiku City Children's House, more than 200 young people participating in the Festival joined hands with the audience to form a large circle. Songs about youth began to play, creating an atmosphere of solidarity and closeness.
At the end of the Festival, the Organizing Committee awarded 2 A prizes, 2 B prizes, 2 C prizes and 6 consolation prizes to the competing teams (divided equally into 2 categories: folk singing and gong performance). In addition, the first prize for the whole group was awarded to the Yen Do ward team, the Thang Loi ward team won the second prize, and the Chu A commune team won the third prize. The 3 consolation prizes for the whole group went to the Dong Da ward, Hoa Lu ward and Tan Son commune teams.
Source: https://gialai.gov.vn/tin-tuc/lan-toa-tinh-yeu-van-hoa-truyen-thong-trong-thanh-thieu-thi-pleiku.80163.aspx
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