The class was held at her house. A few other times I met her in Tong Ju village, Ea Kao commune. She came to advise, guide, and help the villagers develop community tourism , making a fortune from the products of their homeland.
Ms. Linh Nga (wearing glasses) in a conversation with people in Tong Ju village.
I am Ede
She is Tuyet Nga Nie Kdam, commonly known as Linh Nga. When she was in secondary school, her father often told her: "You must remember that you are an Ede person, your homeland has the majestic Dray H' Linh waterfall, and the Chu Yang Sin mountain peak that touches the sky. The beautiful Ede dress you wore when you were little was sent by people in Dak Lak as a message: Always study and strive for your homeland... Always remembering her father's words, from her childhood, she developed a love for her people, especially the culture of the Central Highlands.
In 1966, Linh Nga, as a singer, like a lark of the mountains and forests, brought her voice to all parts of the country. Since 1979, as a vocal teacher, she has trained and nurtured many excellent students such as: People's Artist Y Moan Enuol, Y Garia Enuol, Siu Black, Meritorious Artist Y Phon Ksor, H'Zina Bya... As a musician, many of her songs such as: Highland Rain, Highland Love Song composed from 1982 to the present are still sung by young people because they love them. The songs Dem Po Thi, Niem Tin Trong Toi won awards from the Vietnam Musicians Association, awards from the Ethnic Association, but she remains modest: "I don't compose much..., I am more passionate about folk art".
Ms. Linh Nga in a singing class for children
She confided: "I lived with my parents in the Viet Bac Safe Zone during my childhood, so I knew quite a bit about the culture of the ethnic groups in the North. I lived in Hanoi for a part of my life, so I was imbued with the Red River civilization. I married a Khmer man from the South, so I understood Khmer culture. I lived in the Central Highlands for most of my life, traveling everywhere to collect and learn about the cultural beauty of the ethnic groups in the Central Highlands." To date, she has published 33 books, including 13 books on Central Highlands folk culture. In addition to her own books, she also co-wrote with her husband, daughter, and ethnic intellectuals about Ba Na, Ede, and K'Ho cultures such as: Dance art of the Truong Son - Central Highlands ethnic groups, K'Ho culture, Ba Na culture ...
The years were as vibrant as the water flowing from the majestic waterfalls of the great forest. From a singer and musician, she became the Principal of the College of Culture and Arts, Deputy Head of the Radio Department of Dak Lak Radio and Television Station, Deputy Director of the Central Highlands Resident Agency of VTV, and President of the Dak Lak Provincial Literature and Arts Association until 2007. After retiring, she opened Dam San Intermediate School, specializing in training in mass culture, music pedagogy and still teaches singing today.
She also founded the Central Highlands Rural Development Center as director, specializing in consulting on culture, tourism, agriculture and forestry, such as helping the Ede people in M'Drak, establishing cooperatives, guiding tree planting, afforestation; providing technical support for the economic development program for ethnic minorities in Dak Nong; planning craft villages for Dak Lak province. In 2021, the center will carry out 2 scientific topics: Research on community participation in tourism associated with poverty reduction in Dak Lak province, Research on the value chain of community tourism products in Dak Nong province. To do this, she and her colleagues had to travel to 5 districts, 23 communes of Dak Nong, 15 districts, towns, and cities of Dak Lak to consult on natural resources, tourism resources, culture... and then hold hands and guide the people.
Help the village innovate
To bring community tourism to the village, she spent her own money to go to the northern mountainous provinces or Kon Tum, Lam Dong... to learn from experience.
Ms. Linh Nga (front row, second from left) with Ede people doing community tourism
She chose Tong Ju village because it has great potential for community tourism development, with a brocade cooperative, a dance team... and a female gong team from the neighboring Kbu village. She and her colleagues continuously go to the village to guide the people. At first, there were only a few people, then it expanded to 12, 13 participating households. The method is to guide the people to form groups, encourage them to choose available agricultural tourism products, such as using a tractor to take visitors to see coffee flowers, watering, weeding rice, picking cocoa. In terms of culture, she guides visitors to see and experience the process of weaving brocade, making rice wine, carving statues, participating in processing, enjoying Ede cuisine; recreating health-wishing ceremonies, brotherhood ceremonies... Up to now, Tong Ju village has welcomed and served many large and small groups from 5 to more than 50 people to experience and stay, and they are very satisfied. Since then, the income of villagers has improved and more and more people have registered to participate in community tourism.
Ms. Linh Nga shared: "That's the theory, but in reality, it is extremely difficult to change people's thinking and ways of doing things." At first, we had to guide people to clean their houses, make the village green, clean and beautiful. What to plant? What to raise? Rearrange barns, produce clean food. Organize many training courses to improve tourism skills, how to welcome guests, how to calculate revenue and expenditure. Invite the Department of Food Safety and Hygiene to come to the village to teach and guide food safety registration, open English communication classes. The center also supports people in making signs, advertising leaflets, setting up websites, Facebook...
Around the main roads of Tong Ju village, there are nearly 800 square meters of gray cement walls. Ms. Linh Nga thought of a way to create murals, adding images to beautify the village. With the approval of the government, she posted on Facebook calling for socialization, inviting ethnic artists to come and paint. The work has a good meaning for the community, for the village, and many people who love the Central Highlands from everywhere sent money to support. As a result, with just over 160 million VND, more than 500/800 square meters of fence walls were painted with Central Highlands landscapes, images of the daily life of the Ede and M'nong people. Tong Ju village became the first village mural spot in the Central Highlands, attracting tourists from everywhere.
Ms. Linh Nga with college students on graduation day
Ms. H' Yam Bkrong, Executive Committee Member of Dak Lak Province Women Entrepreneurs Association, Head of the Brocade Weaving Cooperative, Head of the Tong Ju Village Community Tourism Group, was very moved when talking about Ms. Linh Nga: "She is the benefactor of her family and the village. Many years ago, she returned to the village and discovered that her eldest child, Y Ser, had a talent for carving. Her second child, Y Zen, had a talent for dancing. She introduced both of them to school so that now Y Ser has become a sculptor and Y Zen has become a choreographer. When Ms. Nga returned to the village, the villagers considered her as a family member...".
The road to guide the people of the Central Highlands villages to do community tourism to develop the economy is probably still very long. Linh Nga Nie Kdam - an Ede woman who seems "ageless" is still tirelessly contributing to the work of preserving and conserving traditional culture and helping the village to innovate.
The name Linh Nga Nie Kdam is probably not unfamiliar to artists in Vietnam, especially to ethnic minorities in the Central Highlands. She is a member of the Association of Journalists, Association of Writers, Association of Musicians of Vietnam...; Member of the Executive Committee of the Association of Musicians, Association of Folk Arts... In 1994, she was awarded the Third Class Labor Medal by the President; in 2015, she was awarded the "Lifetime dedication to the cause of literature and arts" by the People's Committee of Dak Lak province...
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