Folk song
While the Bai Choi festival in many places has male and female players (those who call the fetus) of adult age, the male and female players in Go Co tourist village have both adults and children.
Go Co village card singing team
The little girl in the role of the male and female conductor hummed cheerful songs: Uo... uo... nine huts, listen quietly here/My hand pulls out the bucket, that's the old man/Often falling into a pit, that's the old man with four legs/A white sheet of moonlight, that's the old woman with white flowers/Eating and sleeping close together, that's the old man with nine knees/Three sinks and seven floats, that's the old woman with six boats/Making friends and rafts, that's the old man with sleeping quarters...Often digging or pecking, that's the old man with three chickens/Having tusks and barbs, that's the old man with four images...
Players listen attentively and then strike the wooden fish to signal when they hear the card they are holding called. Sometimes, the male and female signalers are female and the female signalers are male, with a very lively performance of dialogue.
Male voice : If you were an unmarried girl/ Let me be close to your rosy cheeks.
Female voice: Hey man! I reply that/ I am a married woman with a child.
Male voice: A woman with one child is a sight for sore eyes/ If a cigarette is good, half a cigarette is even better.
Female voice: Because of my rosy cheeks/ Don't tease me or my husband will be jealous.
Performing call and response at the Bai Choi and Hat Ho Festival in Go Co village
The audience applauded enthusiastically. "I have watched Bai Choi in many places, but the Bai Choi here has its own unique features, very attractive...", Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa (in Quang Ngai City) confided.
In the past, the Go Co community tourism village was called Xom Co, located next to the sea with windy weather all year round. Small houses appeared and disappeared among the trees, the scenery was wild and poetic.
For generations, people have worked hard to earn a living with the dream of a prosperous life and a happy family. Men row their boats out to sea to catch fish. Women work quickly to weave and mend their nets, hoping that their boats will return to shore with a full hold of fish and shrimp. On small fields at the foot of the mountain, on the hillsides, many people work hard to cultivate.
The people here hum simple lyrics to advise their children and introduce their homeland: Looking up at the rocky mountain that still remains/ Deep love and gratitude for you to remember/ My child, remember your grandfather's words/ When our fathers fell, we swam upstream/ Now the rocky mountain is strong/ The old village, the Grass hamlet, rises up with life...
And the lyrics are full of love, telling those who are far away from home to return to their homeland: Come back to your homeland, everyone/ Join hands to build a beautiful life/ Our homeland's rocky shores are still the same as before...
Tourists admire Cham pottery displayed in Go Co village
Return the mat to the beach to sit and watch bai choi
Many elders in Go Co village remember the years after the liberation of their homeland. From the ninth lunar month to the end of the twelfth lunar month, many people gathered to practice Bai Choi to perform art performances to celebrate the New Year. The village was bustling, the songs resonated, attracting people to come and watch on the cold night.
Peaceful countryside scene in Go Co
On New Year's Day, people offer incense to their ancestors' altars, visit their neighbors, and then set up a stage together to perform on the windy beach.
Spring night, oil lamps hanging on poles around the stage spread yellow light to dispel the darkness. The willow trees rustled like a love song to the wind blowing from the open sea to the shore. The melody of the Bai Choi song blended with the murmuring waves lapping against the sand. Many people turned their eyes to the stage, absorbed in the lyrics mixed with the music. The songs with witty responses made the audience laugh and clap their hands in encouragement.
"Back then, we performed for three consecutive nights, and many villagers and people from other places came to watch. Many people waited until the evening to bring mats and spread them out on the beach to watch. It was so much fun. The money the villagers donated went to pay the orchestra owner, and they also took care of the village affairs, but we didn't take any money...", Ms. Huynh Thi Thuong (in Go Co village) recalled.
Mrs. Thuong is called "the village propagandist" by everyone. She diligently composes Bai Choi songs to call on people to change their production methods and build a new lifestyle... in the countryside.
She wrote simple lyrics to encourage people to join the Go Co Village Community Tourism Cooperative: From now on, the tourist area will be at the top/ Visitors will come and go, and in the future, we will be stable/ Old men and women will stand up/ Build a stable life for their children...
Tourists coming here are excited by the inviting song: Go to Go Co to play/ Listen to the birds chirping on the road/ Tourists walking in the homeland/ Feel the deep love and affection for the people...
Tourists visit Go Co village
"In 2024, there will be about 7,000 visitors coming here. Many people are extremely excited to enjoy the Bai Choi performance by the villagers. During the Lunar New Year of At Ty this year, Go Co village will be an attractive destination for locals and tourists to have fun and relax in the first days of spring," said Ms. Tran Thi Thu Thuy, Director of Go Co village community tourism cooperative.
The Go Co Village Bai Choi and Hat Ho Association was established in 2020 with 23 members. Members are invited to perform on holidays, New Year, important events or to serve tourists.
"The association has three male members, the rest are women and children, even a 94-year-old woman still participates. My eleven-year-old grandson is also a member of the association and often participates in performances. We want to preserve and introduce the Bai Choi tune to visitors from near and far. The compensation is not much, but everyone is very happy...", Ms. Bui Thi Sen, President of the Bai Choi and Singing Association of Go Co village, confided.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tet-ve-lang-du-lich-go-co-thuong-thuc-hoi-bai-choi-185250116141536328.htm
Comment (0)