Phu Xuyen: Sweet fruit from the persistent journey of preserving intangible cultural heritage

Crystallized from perseverance

In Phu Nhieu village (Quang Ha commune), folk cultural heritages such as the communal house singing and the card dance, which were once lost due to war and social upheaval, have now been revived with great emotion. This is the result of nearly 30 years of dedicated work by artisans devoted to the soul of their homeland...

Hoi cua dinh (communal house singing) and bai bong (ball dance) club in Quang Ha commune. Photo: Truong The Cau

Over the years, classes at the village communal house have become the "cradle" for nurturing the next generations to love and preserve folk songs and dances. The village communal house folk song and dance club of Phu Nhieu village was established with more than 100 members, contributing to preserving heritage and spreading the love of traditional culture in the community.

Today, Phu Nhieu communal house yard is bustling with singing, drumming, and the silver hair and clear eyes of 5-6 year old children... Meritorious artist Phan Thi Ly, who has been involved in the communal house singing and the card dance in Phu Nhieu for more than 20 years, emotionally shared: This song is very difficult, it takes 30 minutes to sing and dance, it must be in the right tune and rhythm to create its soul. Today's achievement is thanks to the efforts of the elders: Luong Duc Nghi, Nguyen Thi Ga... Meritorious artist Vu Thi Xuyen, who has been involved in the communal house singing and the card dance for 25 years, shared: "We are very happy because the teaching of heritage to the young generation here has been widely responded to by the people. The communal house singing and the card dance are not only performing arts, but have become the pride of Phu Xuyen"...

Not only Phu Nhieu, the art of singing drums (a unique folk song form) in Phuc Tien commune is also strongly reviving. From being a small movement in Phuc Lam village, the Phuc Tien commune drum singing club has now grown into a district-level club, gathering more than 30 official members and hundreds of people participating...

The communal house singing and card dancing club in Quang Ha commune is expanding, affirming its value in modern life. Photo: Truong The Cau

Notably, thanks to the investment attention of the district and the city, Phuc Tien commune has had 11 artisans awarded the title of People's Artisan, Meritorious Artisan... The person who "ignited the fire" for the movement is Ms. Kieu Thi Mach, born in 1956, the club's director. As a former member and cadre of the commune's Women's Union, she has been attached to the military drum since her youth. Under the dedicated guidance of Ms. Mach and the artisans, the club maintains regular practice sessions, bringing the heritage to schools. Many schools in the commune invite the club to guide students in practicing, making the military drum a part of extracurricular activities and school art performances.

Moreover, Phuc Lam drum dance goes beyond the commune, participating in many cultural exchange programs at district and city levels, affirming the strong vitality of the heritage, opening up opportunities for developing cultural tourism ...

Valuable experience, good way of doing things

Looking back at the journey of preserving and promoting intangible cultural values in Phu Xuyen, it can be seen that the solidarity of the people, the dedication of the artisans; the attention and systematic investment from the authorities at all levels have created the "sweet fruit" of today's culture. Not stopping at preservation, Phu Xuyen is gradually turning that traditional value into a unique cultural tourism product, where visitors can "return to the heritage land" to listen to the voice of the homeland... Currently, in addition to the experience, most of Phu Xuyen's craft village tourism routes have unique cultural and folk art performances.

The communal house singing and card dancing club in Quang Ha commune is currently attracting a large number of young people to participate. Photo: Truong The Cau

To preserve and promote the value of intangible cultural heritage, Phu Xuyen has proactively issued specific plans. A typical example is Plan No. 344/KH-UBND for the period 2021-2025. From clubs to schools, from communal houses to city stages, a series of teaching, exchange and traditional art performance activities are organized enthusiastically. Types of intangible cultural heritage such as cheo, drums, communal house singing, to he making... are all supported by the district to open classes and develop programs to bring to 26 schools with more than 10,000 students accessing. The district and grassroots levels also develop many support programs to promote and preserve the value of intangible heritage in many different forms (30 million VND/intangible cultural club/year)...

According to Nguyen Xuan Quynh, Head of the Department of Culture, Information and Science of Phu Xuyen district, the formation of cultural tourism products from heritages such as drums, card dances, and figurines, etc. not only brings spiritual values, but also opens up opportunities for economic development, contributing to renewing the appearance of the countryside. Phu Xuyen is gradually building the brand of cultural countrysides as a typical direction of the district.

Quang Ha commune supports the preservation and development of intangible cultural values in many forms. Photo: Vu Huu

At the grassroots level, Chairman of Quang Ha Commune People's Committee Pham Xuan Thiem proudly shared that without the support from the district, city and the consensus of the people, there would be no Phu Nhieu today with its unique communal house singing and Bai Bong dance...

Regarding this field, Deputy Secretary of the District Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Phu Xuyen District Nguyen Manh Huy emphasized that preserving and promoting cultural heritage is not a short-term story, and it cannot be successful if we only follow the trend. For Phu Xuyen, it is a long journey, requiring the support of the government, the dedication of artisans and the spread in the community. Phu Xuyen clearly identifies: Culture must be closely linked to building people and building sustainable, rich-in-identity rural areas so that in the integration process, we cannot "dissolve"...

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/phu-xuyen-trai-ngot-tu-hanh-trinh-ben-bi-gin-giu-di-san-van-hoa-phi-vat-the-702242.html