Vinh Long: Passing on the profession of hát bội, preserving a century-old heritage

Inheriting the quintessence of the profession from his ancestors, Meritorious Artisan Vu Linh Tam overcame the difficulties and hardships of life to preserve the profession and nurture the "seeds" to pass on the profession and preserve the "treasure."

Meritorious Artist Vu Linh Tam (real name Nguyen Van Tot, 66 years old) instructs students in practicing the art of Hat Boi. (Photo: Le Thuy Hang/VNA)

As the third generation in a family of five generations practicing hát bội, Meritorious Artist Vu Linh Tam (real name Nguyen Van Tot, 66 years old) has spent more than 50 years in the spotlight and the art of hát bội.

Inheriting the quintessence of the profession from his ancestors, Meritorious Artisan Vu Linh Tam has overcome the difficulties of the profession and the hardships of life to preserve the profession and nurture the "seeds" to continue to pass on the profession and preserve the "treasures" of his ancestors.

Preserving and passing on the profession

Hat Boi is a form of theatrical art that appeared early in the South. In Vinh Long, from the end of the 19th century to the 20th century, Hat Boi was at its peak, and people looked forward to performing it. Today, although it is no longer as popular as before, this art form is still preserved and conserved, and is gradually finding new directions to continue promoting its values ​​in the spiritual life of the people.

As the third generation in his family to join the famous Dong Thinh opera troupe in Vinh Long, having gone through many ups and downs in his singing career, Meritorious Artist Vu Linh Tam is one of the few people who still stick with the profession. The art of opera came to him through a family "fate". His childhood was closely associated with the opera troupe, he was attracted by the sound of drums, trumpets, and hand claps. At the age of 13, he officially stepped onto the opera stage.

He recounted that after more than 5 decades in the profession, his greatest assets were the roles in all genres from comedy, to leading roles... along with the plays he carefully recorded and considered as family heirlooms.

“From my passion, I came to the profession of hát bội. There were also ups and downs when I had to change directions. However, the concerns about the profession kept bothering me so in the end I still returned to the profession and have stuck with it until now,” Meritorious Artist Vu Linh Tam shared.

After more than half a century of dedication and witnessing the ups and downs of the profession, especially at present, when young audiences have diverse tastes and like to explore new art forms, Meritorious Artist Vu Linh Tam is still determined to pursue the profession of hát bội.

Now, at the age of 66, he is still not afraid of hardship, taking on each role. When the drums and music sound, his passion for the profession flares up again. The voice, style, and movements of this talented artist have left an impression on many tourists. For young artists, he is an "old tree" in the profession, a support for the younger generation to confidently step onto the stage.

Tuong artists put on makeup before performing. (Photo: Le Thuy Hang/VNA)

Possessing a natural talent from her family, actress Nguyen Pham Diem Hang (21 years old, member of the Literature and Arts Association of Vinh Long province, granddaughter of Meritorious Artist Vu Linh Tam) first stepped onto the Hat Boi stage when she was only 12 years old (on the occasion when her grandfather was honored to receive the title of Meritorious Artist).

Being a young generation, Diem Hang has had a love for the art of hát bội that was nurtured by her family since childhood. Diem Hang shared: “In my family, I am the youngest generation, the 5th generation to follow the profession. Every time I watch my grandparents, parents perform, I really like it so I ask my grandfather to let me learn hát bội. Up to now, I have been on the hát bội stage for nearly 10 years and have learned a lot. For me, every time I stand on stage to perform with my grandfather, I feel honored and proud of his love for the profession.

My grandfather is the one who taught me and passed on the passion for the profession to me. I follow this profession with the desire to continue his passion, and spread it to many people so that those who love it can learn, study and preserve hát bội from being lost.”

Bringing hát bội closer to the public

In 2024, “The Art of Hat Boi of Vinh Long Province” was recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage. Hat Boi of Vinh Long is now performed not only at communal houses and relics but also at major events and stages such as: Vinh Long Tourism Festival, Vietnam-India cultural exchange event in Vinh Long... This is a source of pride and also a motivation for generations of Hat Boi artisans of the province to continue to preserve and promote this art form.

Meritorious Artist Vu Linh Tam said that with the support of local authorities, in recent years, hát bội has become more widely known. Elaborately staged hát bội programs combined with torch-lit walks on country roads to village communal houses to watch hát bội, exchange and instruct on performance movements... have brought interesting insights and experiences to viewers.

In addition to the meticulousness in demeanor and performance style, he believes that hát bội needs more “innovative” scripts to reach today’s audiences. Meritorious Artist Vũ Linh Tâm shared: “Nowadays, when performing hát bội, we need to be more creative, with fewer words like ư, ư. Sing so that the audience can hear the words and understand the story.

Today’s Tuong Tuong plays must be close, linked to stories from Vietnamese history, praising national heroes. With these innovations, it is hoped that Tuong Tuong will become closer to the public, not only preserving the traditional art form but also bringing cultural and historical values ​​to the audience.”

Worried about the profession and responsibility of an artist when the art of hát bội still faces many difficulties and there is no successor generation capable of maintaining and promoting it, Meritorious Artist Vũ Linh Tâm is still diligently "panning for sand, finding gold," and selecting successors.

Currently, as the Head of the Vinh Long Provincial Theater Association, as well as the Head of the Tuong Opera Club of the Vinh Long Provincial Cultural and Artistic Center, and the Head of the Tuong Opera Group serving domestic and foreign tourists, he is making every effort to select and train new "seedlings" for Tuong Opera from young artists who love and wish to inherit this path.

Meritorious Artist Vu Linh Tam guides students in practicing the art of Hat Boi. (Photo: Le Thuy Hang/VNA)

Artisan Vu Linh Tam said that hát bội has been recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage and is becoming more accessible to the public. This is an honor and pride for the artists, but it also comes with the responsibility of finding a successor generation capable of passing on the craft.

Over the years, he has always been concerned about this issue and now feels more relieved when the art of hát bội in Vĩnh Long province has affirmed its value and vitality, and has received attention from the authorities, focusing on finding sources to nurture a team of successors. This will be an opportunity for hát bội Vĩnh Long to find valuable factors, with passion and talent capable of shouldering the responsibility of taking this art form further.

According to Phan Van Giau, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vinh Long province, the industry has created conditions for performing the art of hát bội in many different events and programs; especially considering this a unique tourism product to invest in and promote to tourists.

Through implementation, the industry has learned from experience and built attractive enough hát bội performances such as shortening the play’s duration to 20 minutes, selecting only typical scenes with many movements to elaborately stage and serve tourists; at the same time, increasing exchanges in hát bội today. The performing artist is the one who understands the story, the characters… will directly introduce, exchange, and guide the audience on the movements, gestures, and makeup to make the performance more lively.

With the efforts of the province, the professional sector and the team of artisans, recently, "The art of hát bội in Vĩnh Long province" has been included in the list of National Intangible Cultural Heritage. This is a well-deserved recognition for the contributions of many generations of hát bội artisans in the province; including the tireless efforts of Meritorious Artisan Vũ Linh Tâm.

As a performer, he is also the one who is passing on the art of hát bội to the younger generation, not only to the generations in his family but also to many other young people who are passionate about this art form.

Mr. Phan Van Giau emphasized that Vinh Long province identifies the art of hát bội as unique, with many conditions for preservation and promotion. This art form is not only performed at communal houses, historical sites, and tourist attractions, but also at cultural exchange events. The province has experienced older artists and a younger generation determined to pursue the profession.

In the coming time, the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism will continue to pay attention to supporting the art of hát bội to become more complete, have more conditions to perform and become a unique tourism product.

In addition, the industry is also developing a project to preserve and promote the value of hát bội art to affirm the position of this art form; and to have timely solutions to bring hát bội art to further development, closer to domestic and foreign audiences./.

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/vinh-long-truyen-nghe-hat-boi-gin-giu-di-san-tram-nam-post988830.vnp