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| Mr. Sam Van Dun talked with delegates and people about the sound of the Sanh drum. |
Preserving the native language
Today, Tan Phu 1 village is as crowded as a festival, people are bustling to the village cultural house. People talk to each other in Cao Lan: "Ngên nay anh lo, may pay su tich hang pay!", which means: "Today is so much fun, if we don't go, we'll regret it all year!".
Cao Lan people in Phu Luong gathered here to attend the Opening Ceremony of the program "Building a model to preserve and promote traditional folk dances of the Cao Lan people". In that colorful space, the voices of the Cao Lan people spread like the morning sunlight, murmuring like the birdsong on the lips of the elderly and the young. For them, their voices are the source of their roots, pure, gentle and enduring, flowing through many generations, keeping the spirit of the mountains and forests never extinguished.
In front of that cultural space with strong identity, many delegates expressed their respect for the efforts to preserve the traditional culture of the Cao Lan people. Mr. Nguyen Canh Phuong, Deputy Director of the Museum of Cultures of Vietnam's Ethnic Groups, emotionally shared: "I have traveled to many lands, met many communities, and realized that where people still preserve their original language, the culture still shines with its identity."
In the mountains and forests of Phu Luong, the Cao Lan people, from the old men with white hair to the children who have just learned to speak, still speak the Cao Lan language in every daily story. They preserve the language as if cherishing a treasure of their ancestors, as if keeping the heartbeat of the nation's soul through many generations.
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| Dance performance at the Opening Ceremony of the program Building a model to preserve and promote traditional folk dance of the Cao Lan ethnic group. |
Because only when speaking their mother tongue, the Cao Lan people can truly understand the profound meaning of each lyric and melody in Sinh ca, can sing with all their soul, so that each movement and dance becomes sacred and proud like the source of culture. From those dances, the ancient cultural space seems to be revived, appearing in the shape, in the eyes, in the footsteps of today's young people.
In the hustle and bustle of modern life, preserving identity is like lighting a candle in the wind. However, the Cao Lan people still persistently keep the fire and the language of their ancestors as a way of "preserving gold and jade", so that the singing and speaking will forever resonate in the great forest, never fading away.
Ms. Hoang Ngoc Huong, Dong Xay village, Phu Luong commune, has been familiar with speaking Cao Lan since she was a toddler. Her voice is warm and simple, just like the land that raised her. She smiled and shared: I really like participating in cultural exchange activities with Cao Lan clubs. Every time I attend, I get to meet and talk with people and learn many interesting things.
For her, the mother tongue is not only a means of communication, but also the flesh and blood, the source that nourishes the soul of the nation. That language flows in her mother's lullabies, in the Sinh ca melodies that resonate at festivals, in the stories told around the red fire every night.
Ms. Huong confided: “Once I went to a festival and happened to hear the person next to me speaking Cao Lan, so I immediately turned to greet them in my ethnic language: “Nung chào báo” which means “hello brother”. That person also responded in that familiar voice. So, from being strangers, I suddenly felt as close as blood brothers. Anywhere, just hearing the Cao Lan voice makes my heart warm, as if I met a relative”.
For Ms. Huong and many Cao Lan people in Phu Luong, preserving their mother tongue is not just preserving a language, but also preserving the soul of their people. Because only when the language still resonates, the culture still lives. Only when the language is passed down, the origin will not fade away amid the relentless steps of time.
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| People of Phu Luong commune in traditional costumes of the Cao Lan ethnic group. |
Don't "lose" culture
To preserve the culture of their people like keeping a pure stream flowing forever in the mountains and forests, in Phu Luong there are artisans who have devoted their whole lives to keeping the fire of traditional language, songs and dances alive. They are quiet but persistent, like guardians of an inexhaustible source of culture. Among them, People's Artisan Sam Van Dun is one of the "living treasures" of Cao Lan culture. Although he is over eighty this year, every time he mentions ethnic culture, the familiar Sinh ca melody, his eyes sparkle, his voice is lively and enthusiastic as if youth is rushing back. For the past several decades, he has been a lasting "bridge" between the past and the present, between the soul of Cao Lan culture and generations of young people. Every time the festival drums sound, Mr. Dun seems to awaken with memories. His hands tremble but are still steady with each beat of the drum, each of his movements seems to awaken an entire cultural region. That sound is the rhythm of the village festival, the call of ancestors echoing through many generations. He emotionally said: “In the past, the Cao Lan people only needed to hear the sound of the drum to know it was time for the festival. Now, teaching it to the younger generation, I only hope they remember this drum sound. Remember to know who they are, so they don’t lose the call of their homeland.”
Mr. Sam Van Dao, the youngest son of artisan Sam Dun, has now become one of the typical young faces in the journey to preserve and spread Cao Lan culture. Continuing the tradition from his father, he brings the drums and dances of his people to all the villages where Cao Lan people live in and outside the province. Whether it is Chim Gau, Khai Den or Tam Thanh dances..., he is passionate about teaching the young generation each movement and each drum beat, with the desire to instill in them pride and love for their roots.
Not only teaching, Dao also organized training sessions with his father for Cao Lan artisans throughout the region so that everyone could appreciate and be proud of their ancestors' original culture. Now, in Phu Luong commune, there are more diligent children such as Sam Manh Hao, Sam Van Hy, Ly Van Can... who are artisans who are fueling the movement to preserve national culture.
They taught each other every drum beat, every hand movement, every footstep, so that every turn, every tilt on stage was no longer just an artistic performance, but became the breath and soul of the Cao Lan people. Those sounds and movements were awakened, resonated and lived forever in today's life.
Canh Truc
Source: https://baotuyenquang.com.vn/van-hoa/202511/lua-am-van-hoa-cao-lan-71a4c59/
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