The keeper of the Ca Tru fire of Chanh Thon

16 years ago, after retiring, Ms. Ngoan was trusted by the local authorities to be the Head of the Chanh Thon Ca Tru Club (Nam Tien Commune, Phu Xuyen District, Hanoi City). From a person who knew nothing about Ca Tru, Ms. Ngoan has now been awarded the title of Meritorious Artist, a worthy achievement for nearly 20 years of dedication to organizing free Ca Tru classes for everyone.

With nearly 20 years of dedication and teaching Ca Tru Chanh Thon, Ms. Ngoan was awarded the title of Good Person, Good Deed in 2018 by the Hanoi People's Committee.

Mrs. Ngoan said that at that time, in the village, there were only 3 people who were proficient in Ca Tru, including the lute player Vu Van Khoi (born in 1926), the singer Nguyen Thi Vuon (born in 1926) and the singer Nguyen Thi Khuu (born in 1927). The locality invited experts in folk arts to evaluate Ca Tru Chanh Thon. Upon hearing the news, the 3 old artists used all their remaining strength to perform the quintessence of Ca Tru Chanh Thon for the experts to enjoy. The three old people spread out mats, brought out the zither and the remaining wooden clappers from decades ago to play and sing for everyone to enjoy. After that, the music experts praised and advised the locality to make every effort to preserve the Ca Tru Chanh Thon melodies.

Knowing that Ca Tru is a very valuable intangible heritage of the village, if we do not know how to preserve it, if the elderly artists pass away, there will be no one left to teach it. However, preserving Ca Tru is not a simple matter . Mrs. Ngoan did not hesitate to "go to every alley, knock on every door" to encourage the young people to join the club, even though the class could only be held when the children were free or on weekend evenings. In 2008, the Ca Tru Chanh Thon Club was officially established, but there were only a few old artists and Mrs. Ngoan, the atmosphere was quite bleak, and there was no funding. However, Mrs. Ngoan knew that the old people's time was running out, so she had to try her best.

And, to convince parents and children to join the Ca Tru class is not easy. Because Ca Tru is difficult to attract young people and parents are afraid that it will affect their children's studies at school. However, Ms. Ngoan is not discouraged, especially for children with potential voices. She visited many times to persuade them, made commitments, and then many families "softened their hearts" and believed in her. So in a short time, the number of club members increased to more than 30, including many young children.

People's Artist Vu Thi Khuu shared: "Having lived almost my entire life, I dare not believe that I can still perform Ca Tru, nor believe that there is a club in the village, and then open a class to teach Ca Tru to continue the legacy of my ancestors. I am at an old age, so I will try my best to teach the children even without any remuneration or allowance. I have volunteered to do this work for 16 years, but the greatest credit must belong to Mrs. Ngoan - the person who organized and mobilized, and so far more than 200 students have been taught through the club's classes. In the future, when I return to my ancestors, I will feel at ease...".

A performance on the 15th anniversary of the founding of the Chanh Thon Ca Tru Club (Mrs. Ngoan stands and beats the drum)

During the process of organizing the club's activities, Ms. Ngoan has many creative ways to keep the enthusiasm of the members, such as recording ca tru songs to broadcast on the village's loudspeaker and now she uploads them to YouTube for people to enjoy and spread. At the same time, Ms. Ngoan also coordinates with mass organizations in the village to perform ca tru on many celebrations such as National Day September 2, International Women's Day March 8, village festivals...

The worries of old age

This year she turned 74 years old, suffering from diabetes, high blood pressure, and difficulty walking, but when I asked her when she planned to retire, she affirmed: "When I can't walk, can't hear, can't see, then I will retire!"

After many efforts and hard work, Ca Tru Chanh Thon has gradually rebuilt its reputation in the country's folk arts community. Specifically, 2 elders were awarded the title of People's Artist and 5 female singers and instrumentalists were awarded the title of Meritorious Artist. In addition, Ca Tru Chanh Thon has become a red address recognized by the Vietnam Folk Arts Association. In addition, in participating in city-level or national folk song and dance festivals, Ca Tru Chanh Thon has always brought home medals, typically the gold medal at the Hanoi Folk Song and Dance Festival in 2010.

Mrs. Ngoan and her relatives often review the history of Ca Tru in their homeland.

However, Ms. Ngoan still has many worries and unfinished concerns. Because many people are busy with their work, they have withdrawn from the club, some talented children have grown up to go to university and then got married far away, unable to participate. The saddest thing is the passing of Mr. Khoai and Mr. Vuon due to the weight of time, now only Mr. Khuu is very weak, can no longer sing, the number of members is only more than twenty people. The locality can only encourage and support the practice location, so the operating budget is even more limited. "Although there are many difficulties, the club is determined to do its best to preserve and promote the heritage value of Ca Tru Chanh Thon", Ms. Ngoan affirmed.

Despite many difficulties, the club still ensures the two most important performances for the people of Chanh Thon village. One is the death anniversary of the village's tutelary god on August 11 (lunar calendar) and the night of the 30th of Tet - before the New Year's Eve (singing to the saint). These two events are called singing ca tru at the communal house gate and are very well supported and welcomed by the people. It is also a great source of encouragement for people like Mrs. Ngoan to make efforts to contribute.

Currently, the Ca Tru Chanh Thon Club has two young artists, Vu Thi Ngan and Nguyen Thi Ha - from Mrs. Ngoan's next class, and the third class also has dozens of children and some children with potential. Mrs. Ngoan and Mr. Khuu only hope that the children's parents will create conditions and spend some time for their children to learn Ca Tru. Any kind-hearted person who has a heart to support the club is even more valuable so that the club can buy more costumes, instruments and costs to perform in other places.

Although Mrs. Ngoan is now old and weak, she has never shied away from opportunities to promote Ca Tru Chanh Thon. Wherever there is a folk song festival, she actively registers the club to participate in performances. Mrs. Ngoan hopes that the locality will pay more attention to the clubs so that Ca Tru Chanh Thon can affirm its position in the country's folk arts. "I really hope to find a young person who can replace me as the club's director in the future. I'm also old, I don't know when I will pass away... Preserving culture means preserving national identity, which is the spiritual foundation, so I will try my best until my last breath," Mrs. Ngoan said sadly...

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nguoi-giu-lua-ca-tru-chanh-thon-185240825163818684.htm