Then the sound of the mountain

Members of the Then singing and Tinh lute club in Ban Nua hamlet, Nghinh Tuong commune (Vo Nhai) practice the song "Then words offered to the Party".

On Saturday evening, when the afternoon light fades behind the mountains, the Ban Nua hamlet cultural house is lit up by the sweet tones of Then singing and the Tinh lute resonating with the rhythmic tapping of the hands. There, more than 40 members of the Ban Nua hamlet Then singing and Tinh lute club gather to practice, preserving a heritage that is gradually fading away.

The club was founded in 2017, chaired by Ms. Ha Thi Huong Nhai, Deputy Secretary of the Youth Union of Nghinh Tuong commune (born in 2001). The youngest member of the club is only 14 years old, the oldest is nearly 70, generations share a passion to preserve the national soul through each Then melody, each soulful sound of the Tinh lute.

Ms. Ha Thi Huong Nhai shared: I see that many young people are no longer interested in the songs and dances of our ethnic group. If we do not find a way to preserve them, one day they will disappear. With that concern, I returned to my hometown, joined and maintained the Then singing club to continue the passion and love of art of my ancestors and spread it to my generation.

That passion was not newly formed, but was nurtured from her childhood years. Nhai grew up with the lullabies of her grandmother and mother. In the 5th grade, she asked her parents to buy her a small guitar to practice playing the melodies she knew by heart. Later, Huong Nhai majored in Cultural Management at Viet Bac College of Culture and Arts, continued to improve and then returned to her homeland and spread that flame to the community.

In each club meeting, in addition to traditional ancient Then melodies such as “Then Tang Nang”, “Tang Boc” with sacred and folk sounds, members also perform many new Then songs with content praising the Party, Uncle Ho, the homeland and country such as “The Moon illuminates Uncle Ho’s path”, “Uncle Ho returns to my hometown”, “Follow the Party firmly, we go”, “Then words for the Party”… From the old values, then singing today has a new vitality, is closer and spreads more widely.

Member of the Then singing and Tinh lute club of Ban Nua hamlet.

To have a complete performance, the club members must prepare carefully from Tay ethnic costumes, turbans, necklaces, indigo clothes, belts to props and performance skills. Practice sessions take place regularly after dinner on Saturday and Sunday. The whole village is bustling with calls to each other to go to the village cultural house and the commune cultural house to practice singing, tapping rhythms, and tuning the strings.

Ms. Nong Thi Hong Gam, a member of the club, shared: I have loved Then singing since I was a child, and I still do. We just hope to have more attention and support in terms of funding, costumes, props, etc. to continue to preserve and promote the cultural beauty of our people.

Not only performing internally, the club members also regularly participate in exchange programs, mass art festivals, and ethnic cultural festivals organized by Vo Nhai district. Many of the club's performances leave a deep impression on audiences and tourists, not only because of their simplicity and sincerity, but also because of their responsible spirit of preserving culture.

In the misty mist of the mountains and forests, the sound of Then is like a stream flowing back in time, bringing people back to the fields, the stilt houses with the fragrant smell of kitchen smoke, back to the roots of the nation. And there, there are people like Huong Nhai, like the women, the girls, the children in the Ban Nua Then singing club who are still diligently keeping the fire burning, so that the sound of Then never dies out in the vast Vo Nhai forest.

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/van-hoa/202506/then-vang-ben-nui-e780146/