San Diu culture drunk

Remember the bucket...

Surely, the generation of 7X, 8X and earlier all know by heart the folk song: Yesterday, I was bailing water at the village gate/Forgot my shirt on the lotus branch. The song reflects the working and productive life of Northern farmers with banyan trees, ferry, village gate, and love that also blossoms in the context of that beautiful, peaceful countryside.

And many generations of farmers in general and San Diu people in Thien Ke commune in particular have grown up in that village soul filled with affection. That is why today, in San Diu families, familiar objects in the old working and production life are still preserved such as: water bailing buckets, water jars, rice mortars, pots, winnowing baskets, winnowing baskets, winnowing baskets... All are preserved by the elders and displayed and introduced in the Cultural Festival of Ethnic Groups in Thien Ke with pride in the ancient cultural treasures of the nation.

Gau song is closely associated with the farming process of the San Diu people.

Introducing the labor tools he collected and presented at the booth during the festival, Mr. On Van Long both simulated the action of bailing water into the field and shared the value and meaning of the bucket. He said that looking at this tool reminds me of the old days. Every time there was a drought, every household would stay up all night and all day to bail water into the field. The old water bailing bucket was often woven from bamboo, funnel-shaped, with a flared mouth, a large bamboo ring on the mouth for strength, and the two sides were attached to a frame, in the middle there was a bamboo bar across the mouth of the bucket. There was no pump, only human power, so the atmosphere of bailing water with the bucket was as crowded as that festival.

Mr. On Van Long's display of old labor and production tools also has many items associated with the old wood stove. That is a pot rack woven from bamboo to line the pot to prevent the kitchen floor from getting black. Next to it are a few blackened rice and soup pots. There are winnowing baskets, winnowing baskets, corn baskets, and rice drying baskets; rice sieves, and vegetable baskets woven from bamboo. There is a rice pounding mortar that not only provides warm and full meals but also brings together many couples of San Diu people.

Some household items are displayed and introduced at the Cultural Festival of ethnic groups in Thien Ke commune.

According to Mr. On Van Long, life today is much different from the past, but the primitive tools of labor and production remind the young generation of the difficult times of their ancestors. That is history, the origin that no San Diu person is allowed to forget.

Cultural drunk

The San Diu cultural space also makes a strong impression with its rich and diverse culinary culture. There, not only is there a unique porridge dish (white porridge) but it is also attractive with cakes with strong mountain flavors. These are humpbacked banh chung, ash cake, sticky rice cake...

Carefully cutting each piece of cake onto a plate, Ms. Diep Thi Vong said: Humpback Chung cake is also a sacred cake in the culinary culture of the San Diu ethnic group. True to its name, humpback Chung cake imitates the shape of a woman when she goes to the fields, working on the fields, all year round clinging to the ground, selling her back to the sky. The shape of the cake reminds the San Diu generation of their hard work and diligence in labor and production. Therefore, on Tet holiday, every family makes ash cake to offer to their ancestors.

Humpback Chung cake is an indispensable cake during holidays and Tet.

In San Diu culture, cuisine is considered an appetizer, and folk songs and dances are an intoxicant, especially Soong Co. Soong Co, in San Diu language, means antiphonal singing, with lyrics in the seven-word quatrain form, recorded in ancient Chinese characters and passed down through oral tradition. Legend of the San Diu people tells that in a certain village there was a girl named Ly Tam Moi who was very intelligent, beautiful, and had a talent for antiphonal singing that no one could beat. Three talented young men came to her but could not respond to her, so they had to leave, leaving her with sadness and regret for not inviting them into the village. So every day, the girl sang her heart-wrenching, melancholy songs, which gradually became the melody of Soong Co.

The themes of Soong Co songs revolve around working life, production; family affection; friendship, love between couples... Mr. On Van Long, a member of the San Diu Ethnic Culture and Fragrance Club, shared that the singing usually includes steps such as: Singing to get acquainted, greeting, inviting to drink water and chew betel, confiding in the feelings of men and women, singing at the rooster's crow and singing farewell...

Singing Soong Co is very difficult, especially to sing it well. Because the rhythm in Soong Co singing is stable in duration, the pitch is not too large, the pitches always follow each other evenly, there are few sudden highs and lows, and few sudden changes in vibrato. This is the inherent characteristic that distinguishes Soong Co from folk songs of other ethnic groups.

Members of the San Diu Ethnic Culture and Fragrance Club practice singing Soong Co.

He said, Soong Co is not flowery but comes from the true, simple feelings and emotions of each person. Since the age of 14, he and the village boys have been singing all night and all day. If there is a wedding, they sing all day, from about 8am to 11pm or midnight. The groom's family coming to pick up the bride must also sing to the bride's family, if they can match, they can pick up the bride; or when preparing for the wedding (too much or too little), they must also sing to the bride's family to hope for their understanding... But singing is very fun, thanks to that the village is more united and attached. Small conflicts are also eliminated thanks to the sincere, touching words of Soong Co.

Thien Ke commune currently has over 4,400 San Diu people living in the villages of Van Song, Tan Phu, Lang Sinh, Thien Phong, accounting for about 54% of the commune's population. According to comrade Truong Viet Hung, Secretary of the Party Committee of Thien Ke commune, the San Diu ethnic cultural space is extremely rich and diverse, preserving the culture of the San Diu community is the responsibility of everyone. The immediate solution is to maintain the effective operation of the San Diu Ethnic Cultural Fragrance Club. Club members will be the core in preserving the Soong Co cultural heritage, traditional dances, teaching embroidery, preserving rituals, languages, traditional costumes, and folk games of the San Diu ethnic group.

The immediate steps in preserving and conserving the San Diu culture of Thien Ke commune open up a bright future for the San Diu cultural roots to spread and permeate deeply into the community.

Source: https://baophutho.vn/men-say-van-hoa-san-diu-225728.htm