That is Mi Lat in Chung village, Ea Bar commune, Song Hinh district, Phu Yen province. Although she has gone through nearly 70 farming seasons, her flute still sounds melodious every time she plays it, especially during festivals or when she goes to the fields.
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Mi Lat (second from right) performs at a district art program. |
Faced with the risk of the nation's traditional culture being lost due to the indifference of the young generation, Mi Lat always tries to preserve and hopes that traditional cultural values in general, and the musical instruments of this ethnic minority group in particular, will be preserved and developed for the future, contributing to enriching the cultural and spiritual life of the indigenous people.
Voice of the heart in the great forest
The Ding Tut is a type of flute made from bamboo or reed pipes that produces sound when blown. Every time the Ding Tut flute is blown, it blends with the sound of drums and gongs, the sound spreads and soars over the hillsides, creating a magical space.
Every time a guest comes to visit and asks about the ding tut, Mi Lat is very happy. At the cultural exchange program of gongs, folk songs, traditional musical instruments and the introduction of the traditional art troupe of Le Diem village (Song Hinh district), she enthusiastically answers all the questions and needs of the guests about this musical instrument.
“In the middle of the forest, when the sound of the gong resounds, it will dispel all sadness. The sound of the gong is sometimes gentle and calm, sometimes clear and melodious, as if urging people to temporarily put aside all worries of everyday life to pray for peace, happiness, favorable weather, bountiful harvests and abundance, and for people to love and care for each other,” Mi Lat confided.
Mi Lat has gone through 67 farming seasons, but every time she blows the ding tut, the sound from this traditional instrument is still very clear, the sweet melody is loved by many people, especially when this sound is mixed with the sound of gongs. According to Mi Lat, the longer she blows, the higher the sound of the ding tut becomes, echoing, penetrating into every layer of trees and crevices of rocks, making the working atmosphere more enthusiastic.
“I am worried that one day I will be like a golden leaf in the wind, especially when my ears are no longer sharp, my voice is no longer clear, and the young people do not want to inherit or learn to preserve the sounds of the great forest. Now that we can preserve it, we will preserve it and encourage the young generation to learn as much as they can,” Mi Lat confided.
Mr. Ksor Y Leng, Deputy Head of the Department of Culture and Information of Song Hinh district, said: Among the Ede ethnic group in Song Hinh, people who can blow the ding tut like Mi Lat are very rare, only counted on the fingers. Therefore, the locality highly values and always encourages her to make efforts to preserve and teach the younger generation.
Faced with the risk of fading away, the district's Department of Culture has promoted and mobilized village elders, prestigious people, artisans, people who directly hold and practice intangible cultural heritage of folk songs, folk dances, traditional musical instruments and young people to participate in traditional art clubs and teams of each commune.
The Department of Culture and Information has also organized many training courses to raise people's awareness of the work of restoring, preserving, maintaining and promoting intangible cultural heritage; teaching new and improved traditional musical instruments and teaching skills in staging and organizing traditional art programs.
According to Mr. Nay Y Blung, Secretary of Song Hinh District Party Committee, preserving and promoting traditional cultural values, absorbing the quintessence of human culture; improving the quality and efficiency of creating new cultural values and promoting the role of creative subjects and cultural beneficiaries, which are the People, are the key tasks that the District Party Committee and People's Committee are implementing.
In particular, people who are passionate about traditional musical instruments like Mi Lat help to build and establish traditional art troupes and cultural and folk clubs in cultural houses and sports areas in villages and hamlets in the district, which are increasingly being expanded and increase opportunities to preserve the precious assets left by our ancestors.
The village's prestigious person
Not only actively preserving and transmitting the passion for traditional musical instruments to the young generation, Mi Lat also actively propagates and mobilizes people in the village to develop production, strive to eliminate hunger and reduce poverty, practice a civilized lifestyle, change thinking and working methods, eliminate bad customs, and build healthy residential areas. With his prestige, Mi Lat has mobilized and convinced many people in the village such as Mi Nhet, Mi Hung... to follow good and right things to have a better life.
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Mi Lat (third from right) teaches young women of Ea Bar commune, Song Hinh district how to blow the flute. |
Mi Nhet emotionally recounted: My family was poor but my husband did not agree and did not allow me to use contraceptive measures, so before I was 40 years old, I had given birth to 11 children. When he knew that my husband and I intended to have a 12th child, Mi Lat came to our house to advise and persuade us. Mi said we should not have any more children, if we continued to have children without the conditions to raise them, poverty would follow us forever. My husband and I listened and were guided by him on how to borrow money, borrow capital to do business, and develop the family economy.
Mi Hung's story is even more tragic, when her son listened to the bad guys' instigation, gambled, caused hundreds of millions of dong in debt, and even set fire to the house because Mi Hung refused to give him money to spend. In that situation, Mi Lat was the one who took care of Mi Hung. "When I was in trouble, Mi Lat was always there to support and take care of me. Thanks to that, I overcame my fear, continued to build my life, and developed the family economy," Mi Hung expressed.
Ms. Ho Hoan, a cultural and social officer of Ea Bar commune, said: Village elders and prestigious people like Mi Lat play an important role in many areas of local work, especially poverty reduction and building a cultural life at the grassroots level. They always make efforts to propagate and mobilize their relatives to comply with the provisions of the law.
With a simple and close lifestyle, rich in life experience and the desire to contribute to society, Mi Lat works in the fields during the day and mobilizes people in the village to develop the economy, strive to eliminate hunger and reduce poverty, and practice a civilized lifestyle. At night or on idle farming days, after the farming season, she mobilizes everyone to practice performing arts and teach the young people to blow the zither.
“The clubs, art troupes and artisans not only help preserve, maintain, popularize, transmit and promote the unique values of folk songs, folk dances and traditional musical instruments of ethnic minorities in Song Hinh district but also create a unique tourism product to serve tourists who come to visit, experience and meet the needs of enjoying culture, improving the spiritual life of local people. People like Mi Lat are the bridge in cultural activities and economic development of Song Hinh”, added Ksor Y Leng, Deputy Head of the Department of Culture and Information of Song Hinh district.
TK (According to baophuyen.vn)
Source: https://baophutho.vn/nguoi-phu-nu-thoi-dinh-tut-noi-dai-ngan-222182.htm
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