Chhay-dam drum dance of Khmer people: Pride of Tay Ninh people

Chhay-dam drum dance performance of Khmer people in Tay Ninh at the 2023 Vietnam Folk Arts and Culture Festival held in Ho Chi Minh City.

Unique art of Chhay-dam drum dance

When mentioning Tay Ninh , those who love this land all remember Ba Den Mountain, the special national relic of the Central Office of Southern Vietnam, the Cao Dai Holy See of Tay Ninh, Trang Bang sun-dried rice paper, vegetarian dishes and are attracted by the strange appeal of the Chay-dam drum dance art of the Khmer people who have long lived in this land.

Stemming from pride, the Khmer people, along with other ethnic groups living in Tay Ninh province, strive to preserve and promote it. First, the Chhay-dam drum dance is considered a form of traditionaleducation for the Khmer people, helping to convey the cultural, religious, ethical and historical values of the nation to future generations.

Along with that, Chhay-dam drum dance also reflects the life of the Khmer people, with historical situations, legends and myths recreated in the stages of the dance. In particular, Chhay-dam drum dance is also an art form expressing honor and offering to the gods, ancestors, kings and heroes of the Khmer people.

With such diverse and profound meanings, Chhay-dam drum dance has become an indispensable part of the traditional culture of the Khmer people in Tay Ninh and neighboring provinces and is considered an important cultural heritage of Vietnam.

According to recorded documents, in the process of forming and developing the Chhay-dam drum dance in the province, it was initially from around 1953, when Cambodian Prince Sihanouk presented the Holy See with a set of Khmer musical instruments including a sampan, two pentatonic zithers, a rice drum, two war drums, a silver snake and three Chhay-dam drums. At first, the drums were only used to beat the rhythm for rituals at the temple, later gradually there was a combination between drum dance and dragon horse and unicorn dance. Later, the Chhay-dam drum was created with additional styles of playing with elbows, knees and heels. In addition, there were also rolling forward and rolling backward dances.

From those three original drums, now the Chhay-dam drum set of the Khmer people in Truong An hamlet, Truong Tay commune has 25 drums. The drum dance has also become more diverse and flexible. In particular, this dance does not need to use music like other dances, but dances with the rhythm of wooden drums beaten by hands and feet. This is a unique folk dance, only found in Tay Ninh, so it has been recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage, although this type is still being preserved and passed down in the Khmer ethnic community in some provinces in the Southwest region.

However, compared to other localities, the Chhay-dam drum dance in Tay Ninh shows its own identity. The difference from the Chhay-dam drum dance of the Khmer people in the Southwest lies in the rhythm, melody, sound, movements and costumes.

In terms of melody and rhythm, the Chhay-dam drum dance of the Khmer people in Tay Ninh province only has the performance of the Chhay-dam drum. The main rhythm is cắc túm tum, tum tum túp, cắc túm tum hitting the joint between the drum wall and the drum face, tum tum túp hitting directly on the drum face. The rhythm is sometimes fast, sometimes slow, sometimes gentle, sometimes showing strength. Meanwhile, the Chhay-dam drum dance of the Khmer people in the southwestern provinces has the participation of string, clapping, breathing and self-resonating instruments such as: Co, T-ro, Khum, Ta Khe, Ronietek, So cua drum... The rhythm is even, with little change, light tone, and few changes in beat and rhythm. This creates a diverse "orchestra" but cannot express the outstanding identity of the Chhay-dam drum.

Therefore, in terms of sound, the Chhay-dam drum dance of the Khmer people in Tay Ninh is the sound coming from the drum, bustling and exciting, expressing the strength of the martial art; while the Chhay-dam drum dance of the Khmer people in the southwestern provinces is a mixture of the sounds of musical instruments, bustling and expressing the literature.

The makeup in the Chhay-dam drum dance of the Khmer people in Tay Ninh is like everyday life, close and simple; while the Chhay-dam drum dance of the Khmer people in the southwestern provinces has masks, which is fictional.

The movements in the Chhay-dam drum dance of the Khmer people in Tay Ninh are strong, with choreography like martial arts, the feet move down or move decisively, the hands jump quickly, the body is graceful and acrobatic, looking very skillful and beautiful. Meanwhile, the Chhay-dam drum dance of the Khmer people in the southwestern provinces uses more hand movements than foot movements.

"Child artists" in Tay Ninh during a Chhay-dam drum dance practice session.

Training many generations of successors

Previously, the teaching of students was carried out by the excellent artist Tran Van Xen (Long Thanh Bac commune). For nearly ten years now, the preservation and transmission of this performing art has also been carried out by artist May-Sym. Up to now, they have taught 30 young Khmer and other ethnic groups who want to learn Chhay-dam drum dancing, divided into 2 teams (one adult team and one youth team) with more than 25 large and small drums, performing skillfully, serving well on ethnic and religious festivals and occasions.

Artist May-Sym (born in 1964, Khmer) said he learned drum dancing at the age of 14, from artist Cao Van Chia (deceased). Up to now, he has been in the profession for more than 30 years, and is currently the Deputy Director of the Khmer Ethnic Cultural House in Truong An Hamlet, Truong Tay Commune, Hoa Thanh Town (this place is also known by the folk name Bau Ech).

Artisan May-Sym shared that the Chhay-dam Drum Team in Bau Ech was formed a long time ago, the members have changed quite a lot, some artists are no longer around, but the members of the drum team always teach each other, preserve the traditional drum dance movements and during the operation have made appropriate modifications. "The drum team was initially formed mainly to dance during festivals and holidays ( Chol Chnam Thmay , Dolta, Ok Om Bok ), worship ceremonies, welcoming the gods... gradually the drum dances appeared in community activities: meetings, activities of people in the Khmer ethnic villages and hamlets", artist May-Sym shared.

At the Khmer Cultural House in Truong An Hamlet, there are currently two Chhay-dam drum teams operating quite regularly, each team has 10 or more members, the oldest actor is 60 years old, the youngest is 10 years old, there are children from 6 to 8 years old studying. These two drum teams are often invited to perform.

In addition to the above drum team, the province currently has many drum teams with hundreds of people who know how to dance. Some typical drum teams include: the Chhay-dam drum team of the Cao Dai Tay Ninh Holy See, the drum team of Truong Tay commune, the drum team of Truong Dong commune, the drum team of Long Thanh Bac commune, the drum team of Hoa Thanh town, etc.

Nowadays, not only the Khmer people know how to dance, but many Kinh ethnic actors and some other ethnic minorities such as Ta-Mun, Hoa... living in Tay Ninh province also participate, some actors are nearly 70 years old, some are children. Most of the participants like to practice drum dancing because the drum sounds are pleasant to the ears, the drum dancing movements are flexible, graceful, expressing strength, excitement and determination.

Nguyen Thu Ha

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