Preserving and transmitting Thai ethnic culture and writing

With their enthusiasm, many artisans and elders of the Thai ethnic group in Thanh Hoa are making efforts to pass on and help the younger generation to appreciate and preserve the language, writing and culture of their people.

Mr. Cao Bang Nghia next to a Thai language teaching lesson plan.

With the desire to preserve the "soul" of the nation, despite his old age and weak health, Mr. Cao Bang Nghia (75 years old, a prestigious person in Kham quarter, Hoi Xuan town, Quan Hoa) is still passionate about preserving the cultural values ​​of the nation. He is currently the Chairman of the Muong Ca Da Panpipe Club, a member of the Vietnam Association of Literature and Arts of Ethnic Minorities, a member of the Folklore Association, a member of the Vietnam Association of Anthropology and Ethnology... With a passion for the traditional culture of the Thai ethnic group in general and writing in particular, he has consulted the Department of Education and Training of Quan Hoa district to coordinate with the People's Committee of Nam Xuan commune to open 2 classes to teach Thai writing for cadres and people inside and outside the commune.

To make it more interesting for students, he used Thai folk songs, epic poems, and proverbs in his lectures so that students could easily absorb them. The classes founded by Mr. Nghia laid the “foundation” to promote the strong development of the Thai language learning movement in Quan Hoa district, and many people came to his house to ask him to teach them. To date, he has taught ancient Thai to 220 people; taught panpipes, funeral panpipes to dozens of people, Mong panpipes to 7 people, and bamboo flutes to 20 children in the neighborhood. Along with that, he has advised local authorities and authorities to open classes to foster knowledge of preserving Thai ethnic folk culture for grassroots cultural cadres.

For decades, Mr. Ha Nam Ninh (a Thai ethnic in Canh Nang town, Ba Thuoc) has been traveling back and forth to collect, research and teach Thai script. After retiring, he focused on researching Thai script to pass it on to young Thai people. In 2006, he successfully compiled a Thai script teaching plan and decided to open a free Thai script teaching class in the locality. The classes he organized attracted a large number of cadres and people in the district to participate. Notably, in 2007, he was invited by the Department of Education and Training to teach 13 teachers of Hong Duc University to implement the Thai language teaching project in Thanh Hoa province. After 13 teachers he taught became Thai script teachers, the Department of Education and Training of Thanh Hoa province opened Thai language classes for cadres and teachers. Along with that, over the years, he has been invited by a number of localities inside and outside the province to teach the spoken and written language of the Thai people. At the same time, collect hundreds of types of books and valuable documents in ancient Thai script.

Along with Mr. Cao Bang Nghia, Ha Nam Ninh, in the mountainous area of ​​Thanh Hoa, there are many artisans and prestigious people among ethnic minorities who are tirelessly passing on the traditional cultural values ​​of their people to the younger generation. They are active factors contributing to the preservation and promotion of traditional cultural values, building an advanced Vietnamese culture with strong national identity.

Article and photos: Khanh Linh

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/luu-giu-trao-truyen-van-hoa-chu-viet-dan-toc-thai-222967.htm