Now, when the two provinces of Gia Lai and Binh Dinh have merged into Gia Lai province, the memory of that historical festival not only recalls a glorious time, but also raises the aspiration to restore a regional festival with strong identity, awakening the spirit of cultural connection between the great forest and the coast.
A rare meeting between the upper and lower realms
Mr. Phan Duy Tien, former Head of the Department of Culture and Information of An Khe town (old), who directly participated in two festivals, recalled: In early 1984, An Khe had the idea of organizing the 195th anniversary of the Ngoc Hoi-Dong Da Victory. The Department of Culture and Information of Nghia Binh province (at that time including the two provinces of Binh Dinh and Quang Ngai ) sent highly qualified staff to support the development of the festival script.
To recreate the Tay Son army speeding north to destroy 290,000 Qing troops, the Steering Committee had to travel to Dak Lak to hire tamed elephants. In addition, people from Phu An commune and neighboring areas were also mobilized to bring horses to the old Party school area to practice marching and horse racing.
The head of the Department of Culture and Information at that time, Mr. Ha Quang Sang, who was a Tuong actor, mobilized An Khe Tuong artists to practice the play "Quang Trung defeats the Qing army day and night". He also invited Binh Dinh Tuong troupe with veteran artists to perform for the people during the 3 days of the festival, coinciding with the Tet Giap Ty. People got to watch elephants, horse races, sing Tuong and compete in martial arts in a jubilant atmosphere that lasted for 3 days and nights.
On the morning of the fourth day of Tet, elephants, horses and the Bahnar gong teams beat drums and flags, reenacting the scene of the Tay Son army marching to battle. From An Khe, hundreds of people dressed as farmers, soldiers and generals accompanied the three Tay Son brothers down to Phu Phong (Tay Son district). The entire group of Tuong artists, gong artists and people from both regions excitedly joined in the festival atmosphere.
“People from all over flocked to Phu Phong Stadium to see elephants, horses and have fun, up to ten thousand people, so crowded that Highway 19 was jammed. In the Central Highlands at that time, there were few festivals bigger than that,” Mr. Tien recalled.
Since the milestone of 1984, An Khe has maintained the organization of the annual anniversary. In odd years, only the ceremony part is held with the ritual of offering incense and flowers to commemorate the Tay Son army and the ancestors and descendants. The festival part includes lion dance, martial arts performances, chess and human chess at An Khe School and the old market; in the evening, there is a martial arts stage to serve the people to celebrate Tet. The large-scale festival is only held in even years according to the 5 or 10 year cycle.
The second time the two provinces’ cultural sectors jointly organized the festival was in 1989. At that time, An Khe district proactively added the name “Tay Son Thuong Dao Festival” below “Ngoc Hoi-Dong Da Victory Celebration”. This naming not only created a unique feature to distinguish it from festivals with the same theme taking place in many other localities across the country, but also highlighted the historical role of An Khe - where the uprising began in 1771.
In 1989, the organizers were unable to hire real elephants like the previous year, so they asked artisans to make fake elephants out of bamboo, covered them with canvas, and painted ash-colored to resemble elephant skin. Dozens of horse riders dressed as the ancient Tay Son army paraded with the war horses. The An Khe art troupe actors transformed into King Quang Trung, the two brothers Nguyen Nhac and Nguyen Lu, and female general Bui Thi Xuan. In addition, four Bahnar gong teams from An Khe, Kbang, and Kong Chro participated.
On the morning of the 4th day of the Lunar New Year (1989), the Tay Son army held an incense offering ceremony at An Luy communal house, then met the Binh Dinh Tuong troupe from the lower region at An Khe pass. The two sides coordinated to reenact the snake-cutting ceremony according to historical records and then marched back to the lower region together.
"Reviving" the Tay Son spirit after 40 years
After two memorable festivals, the Ngoc Hoi-Dong Da Victory celebration is still maintained annually at the An Khe gateway, but the coordination between Gia Lai and Binh Dinh, which used to be a cultural connection, has gradually faded over time. Now that Gia Lai and Binh Dinh have merged, should the Tay Son Thuong Dao festival be revived and returned as a bridge connecting the past and present for the new land?
Dr. Luu Hong Son, an officer at the Pleiku Museum, affirmed: The Tay Son Thuong Dao festival space in An Khe has a great advantage when it carries the "cross-region" element, connecting the ethnic groups between Tay Son Thuong and Tay Son Ha.
If properly restored, the festival can become a regional cultural product, connecting the relic system through performances of gongs, bai choi, tuong, traditional martial arts, fairs, etc. The restoration is not only to satisfy memories or revive a glorious historical period of the locality, but also to reshape the common cultural identity of the new province - in which the Tay Son Thuong Dao festival is the link between "two heritage regions".
In the near future, upgrading Tay Son Thuong Dao to a regional festival, moving towards recognition as a national intangible cultural heritage, is entirely feasible if properly invested. Valuable experiences from the two previous festivals (1984 and 1989) are a solid foundation for restoration, turning this festival into a series of cultural-tourism products combining traditional experience and education elements.
From the perspective of a tourism business, Ms. Hoang Thi Thu Sen, Director of Vietravel Binh Dinh, said: Tay Son Thuong Dao relic site is the earliest place to deploy a forest-sea tour linking the two regions. Open space, beautiful landscape, high symbolic value... are the factors that make Tay Son Thuong Dao associated with the festival become a highlight of tourism experience and education for the young generation.
...The sound of gongs, drums, elephants, horses, and the cheers of thousands of people on An Khe Pass more than 40 years ago still seems to echo somewhere, like the sound of a festival that has never ended. Now, when the administrative boundary is reconnected after nearly half a century, the cultural connection through festivals will be the spiritual support for the sustainable development journey of the new land.
Source: https://baogialai.com.vn/song-lai-hao-khi-tay-son-tren-vung-dat-hop-nhat-post562159.html
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