Regional boundaries
The mountain ranges in the middle of the vast western frontier contain many cultural and folk art values.
The mountainous region of Quang Nam is the origin of the Truong Son and Tay Nguyen salt route. The harshness and favorable conditions of nature have created a life of survival at the foot of the sacred mountain ranges where they live such as A Taouat, Banao, Anong in Phuoc Son, passing through Nam Giang or from the mother mountain Ngok Linh - the roof of Truong Son, which has protected the sub-mountains Dak Pree, Dak Pring and Chaval in the South Giang.
The mountains in Quang Nam are also the place where the Mon-Khmer ethnic people migrated long ago. They live in the midlands of Que Son, Tien Phuoc and have been present in Phuoc Son and Tra My for a long time. The mountains are also the place that blocks and connects the residential areas of the ethnic groups in the northern Central Highlands with the southern Quang Nam, through the large mountains of Sekong, Salavan, and Attapeu.
Ethnic minorities almost completely dominate the northwest of Quang Nam and spread to the southwest of Thua Thien. Although it is only a relative demarcation, the mountains are also the boundary that forms cultural values in the West-East direction.
From the hilly and low mountain slopes to the coast, different ethnic groups have formed. The Co Tu people live in three highland, midland and lowland areas. The Co people are separated from other ethnic groups by mountain roads or waterways, the boundary is the legendary Rang Cua mountain, where they live in a cluster around Tra Nu, Tra Kot, Tra Giap and Tra Ka mountains.
In Quang Nam, the long-standing habit of living in a large mountainous area has created unique indigenous folklore nuances. However, the unique features due to the relative independence of the residential area and folk cultural values cannot be erased.
The essence
In ethnic minority areas, there is always the concept that mountains and rivers are the combination of couples, carrying the meaning of yin and yang, genitals, and are the standard rules for survival.
The ethnic people take the names of rivers or the highest mountains in the region as their village names, such as A cu rang, Zhhung, Ca di, Axăh, Cang Kgir, Cang Areh, Appê Apang, Apêê, Aghi. Therefore, the source of indigenous knowledge, the values of folk culture and art expressed in performances, sculptures, and dances are the core essence of the ethnic groups in the mountainous regions.
In the folklore of the Co Tu people and other ethnic groups living nearby, there are oral traditions of the names of the mountains that once sheltered and protected the people through terrible earthquakes and floods. From then on, in the minds of the people, there are aspirations for expanding their residential areas to live.
The legend of the Ca Dong people in Tra My says: "Once upon a time, there was a great flood and landslide that killed all the humans. Only a woman and a dog survived by climbing to the top of a high mountain."
The Co people say that the mountain peak that is not flooded is Rang Cua range between Tra My and Tra Bong; the Bh'noong people say that it is Ngok Rinh Ru mountain peak, also known as Ngok Linh mountain; and the Ca Dong people say that it is Hon Ba mountain in Tra Giap, and they are the "people living halfway up the mountain".
The mountains and forests in Quang Nam from the direction of the rising sun near the central region, on the hills bordering Dai Loc and Hoa Vang districts, are also the source of bamboo, rattan, and reed materials for the people to make very rustic musical instruments from percussion, wind instruments, and plucked instruments...
These are musical instruments that have entered the country's folk arts such as the Dinh tut flute of the Ta rieng people, the Vrook of the Ca dong people or the Cathu drum of the Co Tu people...
Or if talking about the harmony of nature in the mountains and forests, the water instrument system (Coan) of the Xe Dang people in Tra My, built in the valleys at the foot of the mountains, where streams flow, is the most friendly expression with nature.
To understand more about Quang Nam, one cannot help but visit the highlands. Here, the owners have innocent, simple, hospitable hearts, attached to the vast mountains and forests, to the Truong Son range since the beginning of time.
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The folk art of the Quang Nam mountain people always reminds people of the villages nestled in the heart of the valley. In the process of cultural exchange, although the mountain people have absorbed the folk art forms of the lowlands, they still preserve their traditional cultural values.
Because the space of the mountains and villages has been deeply ingrained in their blood and flesh for generations, through the shape of the mountains in folk arts such as the Xoang – Cheo dance (Xo Dang), the Da da dance (Co Tu), Kađháo (Co)… and especially in the everyday language of the ethnic people: “Tơ moi” means I am on the other side of the mountain range.
Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/tim-loi-dan-gian-tu-huong-nui-3141945.html
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