The Ve people preserve their cultural identity.

(QNO) - On the majestic Truong Son mountain range on the Vietnam - Laos border, the Ve community (belonging to the Gie Trieng ethnic group, Dac Pring commune, Nam Giang) always preserves their ethnic identity, contributing to the development of the border area.

Village elder Phong Nhat weaves baskets to give to his daughters-in-law. Photo: HOANG DAO

Warm under the roof

In the traditional stilt house in the middle of village 49B (Dac Pring commune), village elder Phong Nhat is busy weaving baskets. His hands are nimble and skillful as if he is very familiar with each rattan thread and each weaving knot. Village elder Nhéo said that the Ve people have kept the custom of weaving baskets for their daughters-in-law to make farming more convenient since ancient times.

Before the daughter-in-law goes to her husband's house, the man in the house will go to the forest to pick rattan to weave baskets. If the house does not have any, they will buy them because this is a meaningful gift for the daughter-in-law with the hope that the girl will feel the warm family affection of her husband's family. And through the baskets, it will remind the daughter to work hard, grow crops with her husband to have food for the whole family.

“I do a lot so that my new daughter-in-law can see my love and my children can use it gradually. As for my old daughter-in-law, I weave two more baskets for her to help her have less trouble. Thanks to that, the family is always warm, everyone loves each other and builds a family,” said village elder Nhat.

[ VIDEO ] - Village elder Phong Nhat talks about how to weave a basket to give to his daughter-in-law:

According to the Ve people’s customs, a family will consist of many generations living together, so the solidarity is very high. Ve men have a high responsibility in working and producing to support family members. Women will be responsible for going to the fields to help their husbands with farming and “keeping the fire” with the work of taking care of the children, doing housework, etc.

And now, with the government's propaganda about marriage laws, the happiness in the Ve family is even more solid when there is no longer early marriage, having many children or men "sinking" in alcohol...

The Ve people of Dac Pring commune perform the Pelel dance and blow the Dinh Tut. Photo: HOANG DAO

Transmitting good culture

Along with preserving family traditions, the Ve people pay great attention to preserving their unique cultural identity of brocade weaving, passing on the art of playing the Dinh Tut flute and the Pê Pêl dance. To preserve these beauties, people in the villages have voluntarily established cultural preservation groups with the core being village elders, artisans and elderly people in the village.

When farming work is temporarily quiet, the members of the group gather their sons and daughters to practice and teach the younger generation how to blow the ding tut and dance the Pê Pêl. It is also from these simple activities that the traditional culture of the Ve people is "passed on" naturally and sustainably.

The Gie Trieng Dinh Tut consists of 6 tubes of different lengths and sizes, with a fairly simple structure, one end is hollow for blowing and the other end has a closed joint. The blowing end is beveled on both sides to form a semicircle so that when performing, the lower lip of the blower fits tightly around one side of the tube's mouth.

When blowing, the artist must dance and imitate the movements of someone planting rice, weeding, or harvesting rice. At the same time, when the "ding tut" sound is played, the girls will move to the rhythm and dance the "Pê Pê" dance.

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“The combination of Dinh tut and Pê Pêl will create an epic about the life of the Ve people in the mountains and forests, so they are only performed on happy days such as celebrating the new rice crop, worshiping the land to establish a village, celebrating a new house, weddings, etc., but not on sad days, when someone in the village dies. The Pê Pêl dance tells the story of a mother who goes to work in the fields and leaves her child at home, and when hungry, the child will cry and call her mother to come back to him. Through that, it brings a message about the diligence and affection of the Ve people, and the dance will create joy and excitement for labor and production.”

Mr. Kring Nhu - Head of Village 49B (Dac Pring Commune)

[VIDEO] - People of village 49B blow the zither and dance Pê Pêl:

The People's Committee of Dac Pring commune said that the locality has fully implemented national target programs such as new rural construction, socio -economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas, and sustainable poverty reduction. Thanks to that, people have the opportunity to develop their lives and preserve traditional culture.

“The People's Committee of Dac Pring commune pays great attention to the movement "All people unite to build a cultural life" when regularly propagating about population and health work and regularly organizing activities in residential areas through mass organizations. Therefore, in the commune, there are 303/320 households achieving cultural families, accounting for nearly 94.7%, 8 cultural clans and 4/4 cultural villages" - Mr. Brao Nguu, Chairman of the People's Committee of Dac Pring commune said.

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/nguoi-ve-gin-giu-ban-sac-van-hoa-3156272.html