Nha Nhac
On
November 7, 2003, UNESCO bestowed world heritage status on 28 relics of nations
as masterpieces of oral and intangible heritage of humanity. Among the 11
masterpieces of Asia, nha nhac (royal music) represents the first intangible
legacy of Vietnam to have been put on this list.
The
UNESCO Council appraised Vietnamese royal music in the following terms:
“Vietnamese royal music represents an elegant and refined music. It deals with
the music performed in the imperial courts and on different anniversaries,
religious festivals, and on such particular occasions. Of the different
categories developed in Vietnam, only the royal music was national.”
Nha
nhac (Vietnamese royal music) and its principles came to Vietnam under the Ho
Dynasty (1400-1407). The Ho Dynasty, however, only existed for a short time, so
nha nhac rapidly fell into oblivion. In 1427, Le Loi defeated the Chinese Ming
invaders and liberated the country. However, nha nhac only began to develop in
the reign of King Le Thanh Tong (1460-1497) and reached its peak under the
Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945).
Nha
nhac is genre of scholarly music. It attracted the participation of many
talented songwriters and musicians, with numerous traditional musical
instruments.
From
now on, nha nhac will have opportunities to preserve, develop and popularize to
the public, inside and outside the country.
Quan ho Folk songs
The
birth place of quan ho folk songs is Bac Ninh Province. During village festivals,
which are held every year, particularly in spring, young men and women gather
in the yard of a communal house or pagoda, on a hill or in a rowing boat, and
sing quan ho. This is a style of singing where songs alternate from group to
group.
Quan
ho singing is a folk art of a highly collective nature. Those who sing are not
entertainers, but all are part of the performance, and anyone is welcome to
join.
Quan
ho Bac Ninh folk songs is inscribed on the list of Representative List of the
Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity on 30th September 2009.
Ca tru singing (Intangible Cultural
Heritage)
Fortunately,
ca tru is now being restored and is more liked by the younger generation.
Research scholars have traced the origins of ca tru to areas of high culture,
such as the ancient imperial capital of Thang Long (present-day Hanoi), Ha Tay,
etc. Artists of great talent have practiced the art, including Quach Thi Ho,
Thuong Huyen, Kim Dzung, etc. Some of them are now in their seventies, but a
successor generation has blossomed and holds great promise.
Ca
tru is where poetry and music meet. People familiar with such ancient verse as
luc bat (the six eight-syllable distich) and hat doi (singing tossed back and
forth between groups of young men and women), and who are capable of
sympathizing with the sentiments expressed in the sound of a small drum or a
two-string viol, are more likely to fully enjoy a recital of ca tru.
Ca
tru music is most enjoyable when there is complete harmony between the words
being sung, the rhythm marked by a pair of small bamboo sticks held by the
singer who strikes a small block of wood or bamboo called phach, and, last but
not least, the appreciation shown by a man among the audience beating a small
drum at the appropriate moments.
Ca
tru singing is inscribed on the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in need of
Urgent Safeguarding on 1st October 2009
The Cultural Space of Gong in the
Central Highlands
The
space of gong culture in Central Highlands of Viet Nam covers 5 provinces of
Kon Tum, Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Dak Nong and Lam Dong. The masters of gong culture
are the ethnic groups of Ba Na, Xo Dang, M’Nong, Co Ho, Ro Mam, E De, Gia Rai…
The gong performances are always closely tied to community cultural rituals and
ceremonies of the ethnic groups in Central Highlands. Many researchers have
classified gongs as ceremonial musical instrument and the gong sounds as a
means to communicate with deities and gods.
The
gongs are made of brass alloy or a mixture of brass and gold, silver, bronze. Their
diameter is from 20cm to 60cm or from 90cm to 120cm. A set of gongs consists of
2 to 12 or 13 units and even to 18 or 20 units in some places.
In
most of ethnic groups, namely Gia Rai, Ede Kpah, Ba Na, Xo Dang, Brau, Co Ho,
etc., only males are allowed to play gongs. However, in others such as Ma and
M’Nong groups, both males and females can play gongs. Few ethnic groups (for
example, E De Bih), gongs are performed by women only.
As
for the majority of ethnic groups in Central Highlands, gongs are musical
instruments of sacred power. It is believed that every gong is the settlement
of a god who gets more powerful as the gong is older. "God of gong"
is always considered as the tutelary deity for the community’s life. Therefore,
gongs are associated to all rites in one’s life, such as the inauguration of
new houses, funerals, buffalo sacrifice, crop praying rite, new harvest,
ceremony to pray for people’s and cattle’s health, ceremony to see-off soldiers
to the front, and the victory celebration.
The
spaces of gong culture in Central Highlands are heritage with temporal and
spatial imprints. Through its categories, sound-amplifying method, sound scale
and gamut, tunes and performance art, we will have an insight in a complicated
art developing from simple to complexity, from single to multi-channel. It
contains different historical layers of the development of music since the
primitive period. All artistic values have the relationships of similarities
and dissimilarities, bringing about their regional identities. With its
diversity and originality, it’s possible to confirm that gongs hold a special
status in Viet Nam’s traditional music.
On
November 25, 2005 in Paris, France, the space of gong culture in Central
Highlands was recognized by UNESCO as an oral-transmitted masterpiece and
intangible cultural heritage of the humanity.
Xoan Singing or Hat Xoan
Xoan
singing is a folk cultural product of Phú Thọ province. The last point of time
that Xoan accompany still sang in communal houses of the villages in spring was
in 1945. Fortunately, we still had an opportunity to meet singers and
instrumentalist who used to sing in the Xoan accompany in the old days when we
conducted to investigate, study on Xoan singing in the late August.
It
can be said that Xoan singing is still engraved in the memory of folk artists
who up to now can perform it in the communal house whenever having the
festival. Previously, the Xoan singing belonged to four villages, An Thái,
Thét, Phù Đức and Kim Đái of Hạc Trì district, Phú Thọ province. After the
innovation, An Thái village belongs to Phượng Lâu, Việt Trì city, and Thét, Phú
Đức and Kim Đái villages belong to Kim Đức, Phù Ninh district, Phú Thọ
province. According to folk artists, of those four villages, the singing style
of Xoan accompany of An Thái village is similar to that of Thét village and Phù
Đức village similar to Kim Đái. However, it is the difference of order of
repertoire, words and the number of dancer, etc, that also creates the own
style of each village.
In
1998, together with the establishment of the club of Xoan singing in Kim Đức
communes and An Thái village, Phượng Lâu commune brought about new vitality for
Xoan singing. The generation of elderly folk artists in the old days always
tried their best to hand down offspring compositions in the old style of
singing in the activity of Club. On the last August 18th, People’s Committee of
Kim Đức commune opened a festival of Xoan singing competition to rise up the
passion and pride of villagers to the special art of the locality. When we
coming, villagers of each Xoan village were actively practicing and perfecting
compositions to be able to found Xoan accompany of each village according to
the policy of the Department of Culture and Information of Phú Phọ province. The
concern of authority and enthusiastic contribution of the villagers are good
news of art of Xoan singing in today’s life.
Vietnamese water puppet
Water
puppetry is a traditional performing art of Vietnam dating back to a very old
age. The Sung Thien Linh stele at Doi pagoda (in Duy Tien district, Nam Ha
province) dating back to 1121 (under the Ly dynasty) bears the inscription that
the first water puppet was then staged in honor of the King longevity.
Due
to the natural condition and their agriculture activities it was the Vietnamese
peasants who were the creators of this performing art. Water puppet shows
usually took place in the past when the farm work had been generally completed,
in spring time, or in festivals. The French formerly called this performing art
with gentle puppet figures "the soul of the Vietnamese rice fields with
creativeness and a sense of discovery". Water of puppetry should rank
among the most important forms of Puppet Theater.
The
way of using water to activate the puppet and to hide the manipulating
apparatus and the manipulation of the show constitute the most splendid
creativity. Water give breathe to puppet figures, and make them looks fresh.
Water also involved in the show, as the saying has it that: "Water also
becomes a character of the puppet show".
The
water surface gently undulating with a flock of swimming ducks becomes romantic
in the illusory veil of smoke when a group of fairies landing for singing and
dancing. But it also becomes seething and furious during naval battles or when
powerful dragons are emerging.
A
French newspaper wrote: “The puppet figures are manipulated with an
unimaginable cleverness. It's like they are commanded by a magical power."
This remark also manifests the attractiveness and creativeness of water puppet
show.
This
article written by Lanh Nguyen from Vietnam Heritage Travel
For
original article, please visit:
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