Keeping the heritage spirit, the stories of the…

1. One day in Nam Giang, Mr. Tran Ngoc Hung - Head of the district's Culture and Information Department looked annoyed: "Do you think the Co Tu people here are the ones people attribute to Dak Lak?". I got lost in analyzing the characteristics of the population, customs, geography, in short, I could not locate the cultural identity.

And he opened his phone to show me the photos he took. Some of the newly-made mirrors in La De, Dac Pring, Dac Toi had symbols from brocade patterns attached to their roofs. Mr. Hung said, these were the products of “some guys from the project”.

I wonder what the people in the area where that mirror is located think.

Making mirrors is to satisfy the spiritual and cultural needs of the people, to make them feel secure in the place of mind that was established since the time they were in their mother's womb - to protect their heritage from the terrible erosion of modern times. Those mirrors, seemingly not, are alive but actually dead; the body is correct but the face is crooked, not to mention the other side.

What a terrible irresponsible and culturally disrespectful way of working.

About three months later, I called Mr. Hung again. The manager said that he had sent them the pictures, and now they had taken them all down.

2. Another thing that has been simmering for a long time is the offensive roofing of mirrors, most of them are made of concrete, and are no longer called mirrors but community houses.

The Gươl is the birth certificate, the identity of the Co Tu people, without it, it is not possible. But when cutting wood is banned, people make fake wood. The roof thatched with palm leaves - a key to recognizing the forest like a mother's sleeve protecting her children, is also ignored.

At first glance, it looks exactly like a house in a flooded area, except for the steeply sloping roof. The debate between preserving the past, respecting memories, and obeying the law, effectively dealing with climate change, is both simmering and heated.

Which side won, we know. But those who know and love the culture of the mountains, have strong memories of them, and have the knowledge to identify and reflect, are sad.
Not calling for deforestation, ignoring the law, but cultural and spiritual life is a great, sustainable value, of which the mirror is a symbol. To do otherwise is to force, which researchers sarcastically call “renewing heritage”.

Even though the Japanese Covered Bridge has caused a public storm, it shows that this issue is extremely sensitive. Don't think that because it is located in the world cultural heritage area, it is the identity card of Hoi An, so it is worth worrying about and paying attention to. Heritage is not big or small. It has equal value, because a group, an ethnic group or a nation are all equal in the values that have made up their soul, character, life and beliefs.

I wish someone would boldly declare: let's make mirrors out of wood and palm leaves, the government is willing to spend money to buy them, because that is true culture!

Obviously, in some aspects, from the story of the mirror, we have made the heritage die, replaced it with a new plan to live, let it flow with the so-called globalization factor: All the same and kill creativity, forget memories, and call it forced compromise. But we contradict ourselves when we always say that what we need to protect is historical and cultural value, because it will increase the value of the heritage.

I reject the idea of building a fake ancient structure that is as valuable as an ancient structure. How can a thousand-year-old tree be as valuable as a one-year-old tree? If that were the case, why would people build museums with prehistoric pottery fragments?

3. The trend of following nature, circular economy, and green living has been and is inevitable in the world. Protecting heritage, after all, is also living green. Because to respect and protect heritage is not to use civilized power to "stick a knife" into the heart or forget the past, forcing people to return to the remaining good values, but to behave more humanely.

One day, while drinking wine in the village, the elders talked about their village (Thi Thai village, Duy Thanh, Duy Xuyen) which used to have an Ong mausoleum, near Leo bridge. When I was still in the village, I often passed by it. It was very sunny and dark because of the dense trees. The elders told me not to look inside when passing by. Now it has disappeared.

The changes of life have buried all the remaining values, even though vague from the folk consciousness. But they are engraved in the memory of a class of people that archaeological excavation, if necessary, will not find. However, the question is, from 1975 until now, what valuable things have we created for the 21st century heritage, in terms of architecture for example?

Photo by Khang My Son — My Son Temple Complex. Photo: Le Trong Khang

That question suddenly echoed in my mind when I went to Duy Trinh to ask about the land and people, then walked to the martyrs' cemetery in Chiem Son village. Opposite the cemetery gate is a riverbank with a high cliff, close to the water's edge is a rocky cliff. That is where there are countless Cham characters, which people will see when the water recedes.

One opinion from local cultural workers is that Indian experts previously came here to survey, and they concluded that those characters were ancient Sanskrit, which is different from today's Cham script.

Before that, there was also a research group from the French School of the Far East who measured, photographed, and redrawn the text, with the translated content being “To Lord Shiva, all must submit”, “Praise the almighty, please bow your head”… They confirmed that this was an order from King Bhadrarman I in the 4th century, ordering the construction of Champa temples in the area south of the Thu Bon River and the My Son sanctuary. Years passed, and everything was submerged in water, gradually eroded.

So why doesn't the cultural sector put up a sign here, that there is such a relic here, so that passersby know, when it is on the route to My Son and not in some far away cave?

4. History is always measured by memory and reconstruction to satisfy emotions. That is why there are stories of truth and falsehood and cultural conflicts when there is any reconstruction. The idea of reconstruction comes from reviving values, preserving and promoting values.

Mountain music is clearly expressed in highland festivals. Photo: XUAN HIEN — Highland cultural identity. Photo: XUAN HIEN

Look at cultural festivals, which are intangible cultural values redrawn in a narrow space, appearing under modern eyes with the support of creativity and technology. There is a question that, those traditional festivals that are recreated, the performers, the elderly, those who have knowledge about it, must know its value, but how many people will watch it just like watching, slipping by, drifting away?

The community is the best guardian of heritage. To protect it, we must show them that value along with their material and spiritual interests. Recently, I went to Tri Ton (An Giang province) - a land rich in Khmer culture with 37 pagodas bearing the mark of Buddhism. This is a sacred land located in the That Son range with many mysterious stories, carrying many relics, craft villages, and world-famous cuisine. He took me for 2 days to visit and learn, when we said goodbye, the guide was a district official, honestly said that going there opened my eyes to many things, because I had not noticed them for a long time, there were so many interesting things!

He said, reminding me of the story of the Japanese Covered Bridge being renovated last time, which caused a stir. I asked Mr. Phung Tan Dong in Hoi An, he said, it was strange, besides some things, it was also aesthetic. In the past, when building pagodas, people did it entirely by hand, rustic, rough, so the patterns and motifs were blurred, the wood was not smooth, simple like the soul of the countryside. But now, technology is so advanced that everything is so sharp that it cuts your hand, the wood is shiny like reflecting on a face, like a shimmering rainbow, so people find it strange.

So, to see, to look, one must have knowledge and distance to see how the value appears, from there to establish a point of view?

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/giu-hon-di-san-nhung-chuyen-roi-3144689.html