In the modern living conditions as well as strong cultural exchange like today, the traditional cultural features of local ethnic minorities are gradually fading away. Mr. Ho Van Thuong (Am Hien), a Van Kieu ethnic in Ba Tang village, Ba Tang commune, Huong Hoa district, Quang Tri province, always feels troubled by that. Although his daily life is still difficult, he still devotes himself to finding ways to preserve and promote the cultural identity of his people in the most practical ways.
Mr. Thuong (second from right) instructs young people in the village how to use traditional musical instruments - Photo: ML
Since his youth, Mr. Thuong has had a special love for the traditional culture of the Van Kieu people, especially musical instruments, folk songs, and folk dances. On important occasions in the village such as celebrating the new rice harvest, worshiping the God of Wealth, worshiping the souls of the living, weddings, funerals, etc., he would come to watch and follow how adults performed rituals, used musical instruments, and sang folk songs.
The sounds of musical instruments and folk songs resounding during these ceremonies always fascinated him. Seeing that his son had a special love for the folk songs and dances of his people, his father taught Thuong the basics.
Taught by his father, he regularly practiced and learned from older artisans in the area. Growing up, through interactions with young people in the village after work, participating in festivals or going to the Sim market, Thuong had the opportunity to learn and practice more traditional music. Although busy with farming work, he never stopped researching, making and practicing the skills of using traditional musical instruments. Whenever he had free time, he often played traditional musical instruments, considering them his soul mates.
He has a thorough understanding of all the musical instruments used in the festivals of the Van Kieu people, each one goes with which folk song, in which specific circumstances. He is proficient in many musical instruments, including the most difficult ones such as: cymbals, panpipes, trumpets, ta lu, troa, and drums.
Along with practicing his skills, he learned how to make musical instruments with the desire to not let the unique musical instruments of his people fade away and disappear. Up to now, he has mastered the crafting of the troa and ta lu lutes, and continues to learn the crafting of the khene and other types of khenes and flutes.
In addition to playing musical instruments well, Ho Van Thuong is also very proficient in traditional folk songs, especially in singing Ta Ai and Xa Not - two melodies considered the most popular, unique and difficult to sing of the Van Kieu people.
Depending on different circumstances, the singer will be the one who composes and sings, thinking of the lyrics while singing, trying to have the right vibrato, high and low notes, blending with the accompanying musical instruments but still expressing his thoughts, feelings, and emotions in the deepest way.
Therefore, this tune requires the singer to have a rich vocabulary, a deep understanding of the life and customs of his people, and profound life experience. To meet this requirement, Mr. Thuong is always the main person in occasions of folk song exchanges, especially weddings, festivals, new rice celebrations...
Based on the traditional melodies of the Van Kieu ethnic group, Mr. Thuong composed lyrics for songs with a modern twist, which were praised by many people, such as songs about the theme of love for the country; belief in the Party and Uncle Ho; building solidarity in the community...
Locally, he is one of the few artists with creative abilities, so he is always invited to participate in composing for cultural and artistic programs, competitions, performances... He proactively connects groups of people with the same passion to exchange and learn from each other during the off-season or festival season, inspiring and actively guiding other members.
“I am very proud of my ethnic culture, but in reality, traditional cultural features are gradually disappearing, especially musical instruments and folk songs. The number of elderly people who hold onto them is decreasing, and few young people learn to continue. I have the ability to teach, but I rarely have the opportunity, partly due to financial difficulties in organizing classes and the youth's lack of passion. I hope that the locality will have a way to mobilize the younger generation to participate in learning, using traditional musical instruments and singing folk songs, and support the cost of inviting artisans to teach so that the unique culture of the Van Kieu people can be preserved,” Mr. Thuong expressed his wish.
Minh Long
Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/nghe-nhan-nguoi-van-kieu-bao-ton-van-hoa-dan-toc-187722.htm
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