Ket nuoc means the form of agreement between the Xoan clan and the brotherhood village. The essence of the form of Ket nuoc means the exchange of Xoan singing of the original Xoan guilds with related villages in the worship of Hung Kings during each occasion of Tet, Spring, village festivals or especially the Hung Kings' death anniversary - Hung Temple Festival with the content of praying, agreeing, and wishing the residents of the villages to do farming for a prosperous family, many children, successful exams, prosperity, national peace and security...
The custom of singing Xoan to unite the country and people at the communal house gates.
Xoan singing reflects the unique characteristics of Xoan singing with the content of worshiping gods. This is a phenomenon of folk culture in general and folk music in particular of the Vietnamese people in the plains and midlands of the North, which has existed for more than 2,000 years, since the time of the Hung Kings who founded the country. According to the beliefs of the ancients, each village has a communal house to worship the village gods and saints. At communal house parties and main festivals, the villages perform rituals related to the worship of Hung Kings, including the custom of worshiping. However, not all places have Xoan singing, so the elders representing the villagers go to the heads of Xoan guilds to invite them to sing at the village communal house. This custom is maintained every year, creating a bond between the Xoan guilds and the communal houses.
Currently, Viet Tri City has four original Xoan guilds: Phu Duc, Thet, Kim Dai (Kim Duc commune) and An Thai Xoan guild - Phuong Lau commune. Each Xoan guild performs water-related rituals with one or more different communal houses. In particular, Phu Duc Xoan guild performs water-related rituals with Tay Coc communal house, Nghe communal house, Doan Hung district, Tu Da communal house in Binh Phu commune, Phu Ninh district and Dau pagoda, Bac Ninh province.
Xoan singing performance at Tu Du communal house, Binh Phu commune, Phu Ninh district.
Meritorious artist Nguyen Xuan Hoi - Head of Phu Duc Xoan troupe said: Ket nuoc nghia or also known as ket cha, forming brotherly friendship with each other. According to custom, before the festival day, the officials and elders in the village come out to welcome the Xoan family from the beginning of the road. In Xoan singing, the Xoan families are also Xoan troupes that are sworn brothers with the village where the Xoan guards the communal house gate. The village plays the role of the elder brother, the Xoan family plays the role of the younger brother, forever attached. Normally, a Xoan troupe has from 10 to 12 people. There is a leader and the dancers, drummers, and singers. When arriving at the village, the Xoan troupe is welcomed home to rest and wait until evening to start the Xoan singing. The welcoming ceremony is like welcoming relatives from far away.
During the main ceremony, the Xoan troupe and village representatives prepare offerings and go to the communal house to ask for permission to sing Xoan to pray for the tutelary gods to bless the harvest and for every family to be well-fed. The opening of the Xoan night is the song "Nhap tac" (Nhap tac) inviting the gods to enjoy the ceremony and listen to the worship singing. In the custom of singing in the country of righteousness, only the Xoan troupe guarding the communal house gate is allowed to sing this song. After that, the singing officially begins, right after the song "Nhap tac" (Nhap tac) is "Giao trong giao Phao" (Teaching drums, teaching firecrackers) performed by children on mats with the meaning of beating drums and lighting firecrackers to open the Xoan festival. This is the only performance with the gates and clappers, the rhythm is intense and bustling in the form of singing and chasing men and women.
The peach blossoms.
Following the “Trieu trong giao Phao” is the “Tho huong” performance sung by the dancers in front of the altar with the meaning of offering incense to the King and the village guardian spirit, hoping to bestow good things on the village. After the “Tho huong” is the “Dong dang” performance, which is also the last performance of the ritual part, meaning entering the procession, sung in a mixed style of men and women, the main male singer, the female singer chasing and singing accompaniment. Here, in addition to the ritual blessings, the last part of the “Dong dang” song has interwoven lyrical lyrics, pure male-female love.
The end of the “Dong Dam” performance also ends the opening singing stage, moving on to the “Hat Tho” section to perform the “qua cach” (fruits). Each qua cach is a comprehensive performance with themes of congratulation, storytelling, scene description, and emotion description. In which, “Kieu Gia Cach” is the first qua cach performed in the worship singing section, the content of “Kieu Gia Cach” is in the style of storytelling and congratulation, inviting the king to attend the party and listen to the singing.
After the performance of 13 fruits is the Hat Hoi part. This is the attractive part of Hat Xoan, mainly with lyrical and liberal content with many rich and attractive performances.
Phu Duc Xoan Ward, Kim Duc Commune, Viet Tri City practices Xoan Singing performance.
The end of the Hat Hoi and the entire Hat Xoan is the performance "Cải hue mo cá" which is also a farewell song. At this time, the boys and girls of the local village and the Xoan troupe actors and actresses interact and sing the festival. The content is meant to offer flowers and fish to the village's tutelary deity, but it is still a lyrical song, exchanging love. The lyrics are playful, the rhythm is fast and strong, the dance movements are lively. "Cải hue mo cá" is considered a sacred performance in the fertility belief, performed in the early morning. After the Xoan, the festival ends, the elders go to the communal house to perform a thank-you ceremony. The next day, the villagers see the Xoan troupe off and give them agricultural products with sincere and warm brotherly affection.
“People with them, they with people, the Stone Stele Council lives together. The Council has dissolved, but the love between the two sides is even stronger…”.
Ket nuoc nghia is a unique custom in the Xoan singing heritage. The whole province has 16 villages (hamlets) with 18 relics with the custom of Ket nuoc nghia with Xoan guilds. However, over time and the influence of daily life, this custom has now faded away, and not many villages still maintain it. In order to restore the cultural elements that have faded in performance, preserve and promote the value of Xoan singing cultural heritage in a long-term and sustainable manner, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has issued a plan to implement key tasks on preserving and promoting the value of the representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity, Xoan singing, including the content of restoring the custom of Ket nuoc nghia Xoan singing. First of all, it is to restore the Ket nuoc nghia custom between An Thai Xoan guild and Ngoai village, Trung Vuong commune, Viet Tri city. Hopefully, with the attention of all levels, sectors, localities and Xoan guilds, Xoan melodies will always exist and live forever with time...
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