The core of cultural fire

Artisans of Son Thuy commune preserve agricultural tools of the San Diu ethnic group.

Preserving the soul of Tay culture

Amidst the modern pace of life, the melodious sounds of the Tinh lute and the ancient Then melodies of the Tay people still resound regularly in the mountainous town of Tuyen Quang. That is thanks to the tireless efforts and passion of people like Artisan Nguyen Van Chu, Ha Giang Ward 1.

Artisan Nguyen Van Chu shared that there was a period when this unique art form was at risk of disappearing.

Worried about that reality, in 2021, Mr. Chu and many knowledgeable and enthusiastic people opened classes to teach Tinh lute and Then singing . The class in Tha village, Chang village has become a familiar "meeting place", attracting talented and passionate Tay ethnic people. "The class has about 20 students, all of whom are children of Tay ethnic people in the area. Everyone shares the same enthusiasm and love for their ethnic culture, so the class always maintains regular activities, full of enthusiasm," said Artisan Nguyen Van Chu.

Not only stopping at teaching, as the Chairman of the local Folk Artists Association, Artisan Nguyen Van Chu also contributed greatly to the restoration of more than 20 ancient Then melodies of the Tay ethnic group, including songs with profound meanings such as "Kham pe, suoi thuong" (leading the way to the other world ). He emphasized: "To restore ancient folk melodies, first of all, the teacher must understand and sing the correct lyrics and intonation, then teach them to the next generation. That is the basic way to preserve and spread the good values of national culture in the community."

The song Soong Co echoes forever

In Son Thuy commune, three names: Meritorious Artisan Luc Van Bay, Meritorious Artisan Do Thi Man and Folk Artisan Luc Thi Tu are the pioneers in the "restoration" of San Diu ethnic culture. A commune with three artisans awarded titles by the President and the Vietnam Folk Arts Association has shown the enthusiasm and great responsibility of the people here towards the cultural heritage.

At the traditional house of Meritorious Artist Luc Van Bay, Ninh Phu village, the cultural space of the San Diu people is still preserved almost intact. Right on the solemn platform in the middle of the main room, in 2004, Mr. Bay established the Soong Co singing club (anthemum singing) of Ninh Lai commune (old) with 35 members. On weekends, people from other villages gather at his house to learn singing together. To date, the number of members has increased to 120, in which teaching the youth is the top priority.

An Thi Tra My, Hoi Ke village shared: joining the club, I have the opportunity to exchange, share, and learn to sing Soong Co melodies. In addition, my grandparents also taught me San Diu script and the morals of being a human that my ancestors left behind. I have learned and understood more about the beauty of the nation's culture. I am very proud and will try to study so that the cultural identity of my nation will not be lost.

In recent times, Tuyen Quang province has implemented many practical activities to improve cultural preservation capacity, typically the implementation of Project 6 on "Preserving and promoting fine traditional cultural values of ethnic minorities associated with tourism development" under the National Target Program on socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas for the period 2021 - 2030.

Thanks to that, the work of organizing and teaching, raising awareness of preserving traditional cultural values of ethnic minorities in the province has achieved many positive results.

Article and photos: Ly Thu

Source: https://baotuyenquang.com.vn/van-hoa/202509/nhung-hat-nhan-giu-lua-van-hoa-def695e/