Fate with Xoan singing

We visited the martyr's wife, People's Artist Nguyen Thi Lich, in a simple house, quietly located in the middle of a garden in full bloom in An Thai village. After a cup of hot tea, Mrs. Lich shared her "fate" with us: "There are two stories worth telling in my life, the story of my fate with Xoan singing is very long and will be told later, and my personal life... In 1971, I started a family with Mr. Nguyen Duy Le, a man from the same village. We lived together for 17 days before Mr. Le joined the army to fight in the South and heroically sacrificed himself on June 28, 1973. Nine months later, I gave birth to a son...".

Wiping away her tears, Ms. Lich changed the subject: “I was born into a family with five generations of Xoan singing, so I inherited the Xoan singing gene from my family. Phu Tho Xoan singing is a type of folk song with rituals and customs, originating from the Hung King era, often performed at the communal house gate in the spring, also known as “Khuc mon dinh”, including singing, dancing, accompanied by drums and clappers to serve the religious needs of the community."

People's Artist Nguyen Thi Lich passes on Xoan singing to the young generation.

According to People's Artist Nguyen Thi Lich, a Xoan performance consists of three stages: ritual singing, fruit singing and love singing (festival singing). The content of the songs is to wish, pray, praise the beauty of the homeland, love of labor, love between men and women associated with the national cultural tradition. Xoan singing has a rustic, simple melody, easy to perform, when performing, the hand and foot movements must be combined rhythmically with the lyrics (mouth singing, hands bending, feet on tiptoe), hands bending to form flower buds, when opening they become fresh petals, captivating many people's hearts.

“From ancient times until now, Xoan leaders have all been men, but for me it is a “special” case, because according to my grandfather’s wishes before he passed away, he gave me all the documents about Xoan singing to keep and passed on the title of Xoan leader. Up to now, I have been attached to Xoan singing for nearly 70 years,” Ms. Lich confided.

From farmer to...artisan

Coming from a farming family, living in the land of “Palm forests, tea hills, fragrant green fields” with a tradition of Xoan singing, at the age of 13, young girl Nguyen Thi Lich knew by heart 14 ancient Xoan melodies, was the youngest Xoan singer in the village to perform at festivals at An Thai communal house, Lai Len temple, Hung Temple Festival. At that time, very few people knew how to sing Xoan, so in addition to the main role of Xoan singer, Lich had to take on the role of drum player and lead the way when performing Xoan singing at festivals. Because of her passion for Xoan singing, in 1979, Lich founded a Xoan singing group of 15 people to perform at the beginning of spring at An Thai communal house, Hung Lo communal house, with the aim of resuming the tradition of activities and cultural and artistic exchange between localities in the region.

In 1998, the An Thai Xoan Singing Club in Phuong Lau Commune was established, and Ms. Nguyen Thi Lich was elected as the Club's Chairwoman. Her work became even more difficult because she had to simultaneously teach the skills of leading singing, drumming for the actors and singing and dancing for the actresses (in Xoan singing, women are called "daos" and men are called "kaps"). She also worked with the local authorities to renovate and embellish the An Thai communal house, creating a space for Xoan singing performances to serve tourists from all over the world. She completed all of these tasks excellently. In 2006, Ms. Nguyen Thi Lich was elected as the leader of the An Thai Xoan Guild - the only female Xoan leader in Phu Tho Province. The Xoan Guild previously had only 20 members, but now has 117 members aged 6 to 90. The members are all farmers - farmers and artisans "two in one".

Every year, Ms. Nguyen Thi Lich and An Thai Xoan troupe participate in hundreds of performances, serving thousands of viewers, including international events. In addition, they also participate in the program "Hat Xoan Lang Co" on the occasion of the Hung Kings' Commemoration Day - Hung Temple Festival every year; perform Xoan singing in provincial and national cultural and artistic festivals and performances; perform Xoan singing in other localities such as Vinh Phuc, Yen Bai, Thai Nguyen, Ha Tinh, Nghe An, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City...

People's Artist Nguyen Thi Lich has 70 years of experience in Xoan singing.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Tuan, Secretary of the Party Committee of Phuong Lau Commune, said: “With a traditional performing art form like Xoan singing, having someone as knowledgeable, comprehensive and dedicated as artist Nguyen Thi Lich is truly precious. Ms. Lich is considered a “living dictionary” of Phu Tho Xoan singing.”

Passing on Xoan singing to future generations

Over a long period of existence in the community, Xoan singing has been a blend of ritual singing and primitive folk singing; up to now, it has become a precious intangible cultural heritage of the ancestral land and in the treasure trove of Vietnamese national cultural heritage.

On November 24, 2011, Phu Tho Xoan singing was included in the UNESCO list of representative heritages of humanity in need of urgent protection. Recalling that day, People's Artist Nguyen Thi Lich shared: "I feel my responsibility is getting bigger and bigger, because being awarded the title of artisan, that title is not just for that, while Xoan singing is in need of urgent protection". As someone who deeply understands the values ​​that Xoan singing brings to the community, from 2012 to now, People's Artist Nguyen Thi Lich has voluntarily opened hundreds of free Xoan singing classes for more than 5,000 people who are passionate about and love Xoan singing in Phu Tho and neighboring provinces. People's Artist Nguyen Thi Lich's way of teaching Xoan singing is oral, meaning that the teacher will sing and dance each Xoan rhythm as a model first, the students will observe and then practice. Because in Xoan singing, dancing and singing always go hand in hand, the dance is used to illustrate the lyrics.

Ms. Phung Thi Binh, 21 years old, in Thanh Thuy town, Thanh Thuy district, Phu Tho province expressed: "Each song, pronunciation, dancing skills, clapping, drumming are meticulously taught by Ms. Lich, each small movement is carefully trained, so it is very easy for students to absorb."

Sharing with us, People's Artist Nguyen Thi Lich confided: "Having been passed down the Xoan singing tune by my ancestors, I feel that I have a responsibility to pass on this precious cultural heritage to the next generation, so that the art of Xoan singing in Phu Tho can be preserved and its value promoted in a sustainable way. Therefore, every Saturday and Sunday evening, the whole Xoan An Thai ward gathers at the village communal house to practice and teach Xoan singing to the young generation. I am very happy that many young people in Phu Tho know how to sing Xoan, they are the generation that keeps the soul and gives wings to Xoan singing in the future."

Article and photos: LE XUAN MINH