The one who keeps the gong beat "fire"

Village elder K'Nhem always wishes for the sound of gongs to resound forever in the great forest.

Since the beginning of time, in the life of ethnic communities, gongs have been played to help convey people's wishes and prayers to the gods for permission, witness, and protection of people in their labor and production against the impacts of nature. In all festivals of the year, from the Ear Blowing Ceremony for newborns to the Water Trough Offering Ceremony, the New Rice Celebration Ceremony, the Warehouse Closing Ceremony, the Buffalo Stabbing Ceremony... or in a story-telling session, there must be the sound of gongs as something to connect people in the same community.

Village elder K'Nhem said that, according to the Central Highlands people's point of view, behind each gong and cymbal is a hidden god. Therefore, in addition to considering gongs as valuable assets, every time the gongs are played, the artisans are extremely serious and precious so that the round gong sounds are like messages to the gods. On festival days, in the stream of people dancing around the sacred fire, next to jars of rice wine, the sound of gongs echoing through the mountains and forests creates a romantic and magical space. Therefore, gongs contribute to creating epics and poems imbued with Central Highlands culture.

Born and raised in Tan Thuong commune, Di Linh district, since childhood, Mr. K'Nhem has heard stories about the gongs of his people. His teacher, who is also his father - the late artisan K'Chung, was a famous gong teacher in the village. Mr. K'Chung was also awarded the title of Meritorious Artisan in 2019. During his childhood, he often followed his father to perform at festivals, the enchanting reverberating sound of gongs and cymbals had seeped into his blood without him knowing. "Gongs are very soulful, to control them, you have to understand them and consider them as a friend, so that your soul and the soul of the gong blend together, pushing out the soulful, wonderful sounds. Each gong song played carries its own message, has a different rhythm, requiring the gong player to always concentrate while performing to get into the right rhythm with the high and low moments...", Mr. K'Nhem shared.

Mr. Nguyen Van Quang - Head of the Department of Culture - Science and Information of Dam Rong district said that the work of preserving and promoting the good traditional cultural values ​​of ethnic minorities has been directed and implemented by the Department of Culture and local authorities. In the past two years, the locality has also organized 6 gong teaching classes for 180 ethnic minority youth. With the experience and knowledge learned from Meritorious Artisan K'Chung, village elder K'Nhem has coordinated to teach a number of gong classes and regularly participates in gong festivals, cultural and sports festivals of ethnic groups...

According to Mr. K'Nhem, if we want the youth in the commune to learn to play the gong, we must first teach them about the meaning of gong culture so that they can listen, understand and gradually feel it during the learning process. Under his teachings, many youth in the commune have been able to play all the gong songs of their ethnic group. To date, the commune has established 3 gong and xoang dance teams with more than 50 members, who regularly participate in performing at cultural events organized by the commune.

Teaching many students, just by looking at the way they hold, cherish and their attitude while learning, he can tell whether they are truly passionate or not. Among his students, he has also recognized some who are talented and quick learners, so he can focus on further training. Among them, there is Mr. Ko Sa Ha Broi (Da K'nang village, Da K'nang commune), who was nearly 40 years old when he officially started learning gongs systematically. He said that he was extremely excited and did not hesitate to invite his son, who was in grade 11, to learn with him. According to Mr. Broi, learning to play gongs is not difficult because those are familiar sounds that have nurtured him throughout his growing up. In addition, teacher K'Nhem had an easy-to-understand way of communicating based on practical experience, so he himself learned very quickly.

Currently, Da K'nang village also maintains a gong team with about 20 members, regularly participating in exchange activities with other villages in the area. Mr. Ha Broi and the members always wish to have the conditions to buy a set of gongs so that the members can actively practice and improve their skills to work with their teachers to bring the gong sound further and longer in the community. That will be a great source of encouragement for the young generation to believe in and stick with gongs, thereby being more responsible in preserving and conserving traditional cultural identity.

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/van-hoa-nghe-thuat/202505/nguoi-giu-lua-cho-nhip-chieng-ngan-dde0f18/