Elderly people participate in preserving traditional culture

With their enthusiasm and responsibility, the elderly in Thanh Hoa province have constantly made efforts to preserve, conserve and promote the unique traditional cultural values ​​of their locality. From there, not only enriching their spiritual life, but also contributing to preserving the priceless "assets" that our ancestors have painstakingly built and passed on to future generations.

The Chairman of the People's Committee of Thieu Hoa district awarded a Certificate of Merit to Meritorious Artist Dam Van Su, who has outstanding achievements in preserving the intangible cultural heritage of folk performing arts of lantern dancing and ancient Cheo singing in the Ngu Vong Phuong festival, Thieu Quang commune (Thieu Hoa).

Roc Ram village, Xuan Phuc commune (Nhu Thanh) is not only a land that still preserves many traditional cultural values ​​of the Thai ethnic group, but this place is also famous for the Kin Chieng Booc May festival - a typical festival of the Thai ethnic group that has been recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage. In the journey to bring the festival to that national intangible cultural heritage, the important role and contribution of elderly artisans is indispensable.

According to artisan Luc Van Huong, his hometown has long established the Kin Chieng Booc May Festival. However, over time, the festival has been forgotten. As someone who was born in the village since childhood, I have witnessed the villagers organizing the festival with unique cultural values ​​bearing the mark of my ethnic group. Therefore, when I saw that the festival was no longer widespread in life, I and some other villagers sought to restore it. Around the 1980s, we began to collect and research to find the origin as well as the way and form of organizing the festival.

Up to now, the festival has been organized more and more completely, methodically from content to form, and is held on the occasion of January and February of the lunar calendar every year. In the festival, in addition to the ritual part which is organized respectfully and solemnly, the most special feature that attracts many visitors to attend is the singing and dancing under the cotton tree, and the organization of traditional folk games and performances such as bamboo jumping, throwing con...

At his "rare" age, Mr. Dam Van Su in Nhan Cao village, Thieu Quang commune (Thieu Hoa) still clearly remembers every note and dance of the folk performing art "Lantern dance, ancient Cheo singing" in the Ngu Vong Phuong festival. Mr. Su said that the Ngu Vong Phuong festival is a folk art activity imbued with the religious colors of the river region of the Nhan Cao village community, taking place on January 12 every year. The unique feature of the art of lantern dance is the combination of ancient Cheo singing as well as dance movements to create a lantern dance suite, in which ancient Cheo singing includes 4 songs: singing spear-chay, singing fan dance, singing rowing boat, singing spear-chan sao. Each lantern dance team will consist of 12 girls, when the music starts, the girls in the lantern dance team will put a lantern disc on their heads, sing and dance, and finally arrange the letters first, second, third, fourth and fifth. After performing the letters in the arranged shape, the whole team will lie down, flip and roll to form a 5-petal flower, then move in a horizontal line, lift the lamp disc above their heads with both hands, bow down in thanks and leave the stage.

"I am very happy and proud that the performing art of "Lantern Dance, Ancient Cheo Singing" in the Ngu Vong Phuong Festival has been recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage. Therefore, to prevent the dances and songs from being lost over time, as long as I am healthy, I will continue to teach them to the younger generation so that this heritage can increasingly be promoted in daily life," Mr. Su shared.

To fuel the traditional cultural values ​​to develop and last forever, more than anyone else, people like Mr. Huong and Mr. Su are still diligently playing the role of a connecting thread to multiply the pride, spirit and responsibility of the young generation in preserving the unique cultural values ​​of the nation. Vice Chairman of the Provincial Elderly Association Do Xuan Phong said: Preserving and promoting the traditional cultural values ​​of ethnic groups in the province has always been of interest to the elderly and they play a core role. The elderly have actively mobilized the young generation to establish cultural and artistic clubs in villages and residential groups; restored and maintained singing, language and costumes to teach their children and grandchildren; many elderly people also take on important roles in ceremonial committees at festivals, cultural and religious activities, preserving the good customs of the nation. In recent years, the Provincial Elderly Association and all levels of Elderly Association at the grassroots level have done a good job of propagating and mobilizing members to promote their role, enthusiasm and responsibility in preserving and promoting the traditional cultural values ​​of their localities. In addition, they have actively coordinated to organize exchange activities, performances and art competitions for the elderly, thereby contributing to preserving and enriching the spiritual and cultural life of ethnic groups in the province.

Article and photos: Nguyen Dat

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/nguoi-cao-tuoi-tham-gia-giu-gin-van-hoa-truyen-thong-220715.htm