Nam Tra My awakens cultural resources from the community

The water trough worshiping ritual of the Ca Dong people in Tak Nam village (village 3, Tra Don commune) has been preserved for many generations. Photo: PHAN VINH

Awakening folk art

At the launching ceremony of the Tra Don Commune Folk Art Troupe, village elder Tran Van Ut (Le Village, Village 2) could not hide his emotion when witnessing the young people passionately practicing each dance and gong sound. Mr. Ut shared that for a long time, young people were not interested in traditional culture, which made the village elders very worried.

“In the past, only a few people in the village knew how to dance with gongs, sing ting ting or practice rituals, only during worship ceremonies. Village elders like me felt very sad. Now that there is an art troupe, the young people can learn gongs, dance, and rituals... We also have the opportunity to teach, and we see the village culture come alive every day,” Mr. Ut confided.

The launching ceremony of the Folk Art Team of Village 2, Tra Don Commune. Photo: PHAN VINH

Along with Tra Don, Tak Po village (village 1, Tra Tap commune) is the second locality in the district to establish a folk art troupe, with nearly 30 members. The core force is artisans who know how to play gongs, dance traditionally, sing ting ting, practice water trough worship rituals, celebrate new rice... These are two pilot models deployed by the district in 2024, under Project 06 of Project 6 - National target program on socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas.

According to the Department of Culture - Science & Information of Nam Tra My district, the restoration and maintenance of village-level folk art troupes is not only a single cultural activity but also a sustainable solution to preserve intangible heritage, with clear inheritance. Each team is supported with traditional costumes, performance props (gong, drum...), training funds, thereby creating conditions for maintaining regular activities, connecting with festivals and community cultural events in the locality.

Mr. Ho Van Nip - Chairman of Tra Tap Commune People's Committee said that the folk art troupe model has a strong influence. Previously, every time a festival was organized, the commune had to rely on older artisans. Now that there is a formal art troupe, the participation of young people is increasing, and the work of organizing and preserving culture will be much more convenient.

[VIDEO] - Ms. Pham Thi My Hanh, Department of Culture - Science & Information of Nam Tra My district shared about the district's cultural preservation efforts:

Preserving culture from the root

Determining that culture must be preserved within the community, Nam Tra My district has recently standardized and announced the traditional costumes of the three ethnic groups Ca Dong, Xe Dang and Mo Nong. Not only is this a symbol of identity, it is also encouraged to be used in festivals, school activities, community events, etc.

Teaching traditional dance to the young generation in village 1, Tra Tap commune. Photo: HO QUAN

At some schools in Tra Don and Tra Cang, students are encouraged to wear traditional costumes every Monday morning. Along with that, drum and gong clubs and ting ting singing clubs have also been established in schools, helping students approach and form a sense of preserving culture from an early age.

In addition, many traditional rituals such as the water trough worshiping ceremony, the new rice celebration ceremony, the rice storage worshiping ceremony, etc. are integrated into community cultural activities at the commune level, with the active participation of the people and the leading role of village elders and artisans. The district also invested in restoring the traditional pole model in some key localities, each pole is designed according to the ritual, investing about 90 million VND from the project capital, directly guided by village elders.

Artist Tran Thi Kim Hoa (village 3, Tra Cang commune, Nam Tra My) participated in the performance and taught the villagers how to sing ting ting. Photo: HO QUAN

Ms. Pham Thi My Hanh, Department of Culture - Science & Information of Nam Tra My district, said that in the coming time, the locality will focus on digitizing a part of intangible cultural heritage. In particular, priority will be given to recording, compiling and disseminating clips instructing traditional cultural practices such as gong playing, folk dancing, typical rituals... to serve teaching at schools, cultural houses, and village art clubs.

“Preservation must be associated with promotion, and to promote, culture must be integrated into life. We are trying to create a space for traditional culture to be practiced regularly, with people transmitting - people learning - the community using, not just performing in competitions or festivals” – Ms. Hanh shared.

[VIDEO] - The traditional gong drum ritual is preserved and maintained by the Xe Dang people in Lang Loan hamlet (Tra Cang commune):

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/nam-tra-my-khoi-day-mach-nguon-van-hoa-tu-cong-dong-3153294.html