Ro Bam: Unique Khmer Dance

For the Khmer people, dance is a unique cultural feature associated with all rituals. Dance has become a cultural beauty, an indispensable spiritual food in the daily life of the people, especially on holidays and Tet. From royal dances to folk dances, from temple roofs to home yards, when the music plays, the Khmer people's footsteps are rhythmic, graceful, and absorbed in each beat of the music.

The character Chan with a fierce face, plays the villain in the plays Robam.

The Khmer people in Hoa Hiep commune, Tan Bien district are a rare community in the province that still preserves and promotes the Ro Bam dance, combined with the Chhay-dam drum. This is a genre that uses dance as the main language, performed on the ancient royal stage and also has other folk names such as: Chan dance, Ram dance, Ong Dat dance... Besides dancing, the Ro Bam performer must also use dialogue and singing to express the moods and personalities of the characters.

The Chhay-dam dance and drumming troupe in Hoa Dong A hamlet, Hoa Hiep commune has been dedicatedly built by the Khmer people for over 8 years. To have money to buy costumes and dance props, the Management Board of Chung Rut Pagoda, together with village elders and prestigious people, went to each house to campaign, then took the trouble to hire a teacher from the West to teach the dance properly. Each colorful costume and precious mask is the savings of the people here, to join hands to preserve traditional values.

The character Chan with a fierce face.

Mr. Huynh Bich - a prestigious person of the Khmer people in Hoa Dong A hamlet, Hoa Hiep commune said: "The members of the old dance team are all old, and they still have to take care of their families, so about a year ago, we established a new dance team with the children playing. The children are still new so they are not yet good at dancing, but they are also diligent and willing to practice. Whenever the pagoda has any ceremony, there is a dance team to perform for the people to see."

Every afternoon, the members of the dance team gather at Chung Rut Pagoda to practice playing Chhay-dam drums and Ro Bam dance, waiting for the opportunity to perform for the people. For a long time, the bustling atmosphere of the Chhay-dam drums, the mystery of the masks, each song and dance have become symbols connecting today's generation with the culture of their roots and national culture.

Thanh Thuan - the guy who is destined to play the role of Chan has a strong physique but when performing on stage, he is extremely graceful and flexible. "I have learned and mastered about 70% of the movements for this role. This role is also quite tiring because I have to wear a heavy mask on my head, it is stuffy, but every time I perform for everyone to see, I am very happy because I can preserve the traditional culture of my people" - Thuan said.

The roles that have been preserved from their fathers and uncles are now passed down to the young people in the village. Aware that this is a cultural feature, the soul of the nation, the young people practice diligently, both as a way to approach culture and to preserve the traditional values of their ancestors every day.

Robam Dance expresses the wish to dispel evil and welcome peace and luck in life.

Van Ty, a young man playing Chhay-dam drums, said he has loved this art form since he was a child, especially when he watched his older brothers and uncles perform, which fueled his passion even more. “When I was young, I practiced but I didn’t know how to distinguish between playing fast and playing slow.

After practicing here for about half a month, I got used to it. Every day we spend time practicing. When I perform drum songs, seeing everyone clapping and praising me makes me very happy and proud of Khmer culture" - Van Ty expressed.

Not only are the dances beautiful and entertaining, Robam dance also contains many values, in which the desire for good to triumph over evil, the wish to dispel bad things, and bring good luck and prosperity to the village are clearly and truthfully expressed through the plot and characters.

Originating from the royal court stage associated with ancient stories, Robam dance is loved and attracted by many people because of the unique features hidden through dances and masks, along with myths, legends and historical stories of the Khmer people.

The content of the play often reenacts ancient stories about fairies, Buddhas, kings, lords, princes, princesses; ogres, monkeys, eagles... There are two forces of good and evil opposing each other and in the end, good always wins.

Chhay-dam drum sound is indispensable in the musical dances of the Khmer people.

Venerable An Van Pat - Management Board of Chung Rut Pagoda shared that the Ro Bam dance has the meaning of driving away bad luck and bringing good luck. The dance troupe will go to each house to perform and wish good things for the people.

Mr. Ngo Van Cam - Chairman of the People's Committee of Hoa Hiep Commune, Tan Bien District said that depending on the local budget, each time the team practices or performs, the commune allocates support funds, mobilizes from many sources to pay for the children, but there are still no specific regulations. Limited funding is one of the reasons why preserving this cultural feature is difficult.

The mysterious masks make up the personality of each character.

Although there are still many difficulties, with national pride, the Khmer boys and girls in Hoa Hiep are making efforts every day, together with the community, to preserve each cultural feature, so that each art form will be a product of intelligence, a unique, brilliant and unique cultural aspect of the Khmer people.

Ngoc Dieu - Hoa Khang

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