From 12th to 14th of May, the 6th Art Festival of Then Singing and Gourd Lute for the Tay – Nung – Thai ethnic groups is held in Ha Giang. This activity aims at honoring, preserving and promoting this outstanding folk artistic value in the context where the Then singing national profile of Then-Tay-Nung is submitted to UNESCO to register as the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Artists in 14 provinces gather
In the press conference in the afternoon of May 4, according to Ms. Nguyen Thi Hai Nhung, Director of the Ethnic Culture Department, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, there are 14 provinces participating in the 6th Art Festival of Then Singing and Gourd Lute for the Tay – Nung – Thai ethnic groups , including Ha Giang, Tuyen Quang, Cao Bang, Bac Kan, Lang Son, Thai Nguyen, Bac Giang, Quang Ninh, Yen Bai, Lao Cai, Son La, Dien Bien, Lai Chau and Dak Lak. There are many Then songs of the regions and forms of Then singing and dance introduced such as ancient Then, modified Then, songs based on Then (focusing on the ancient Then songs. The Festival gives prominences to role of cultural subject, promotes the value of traditional culture associated with the advancement of the current era; integrates the sports and cultural activities with the promotion of tourism attraction potential of localities. According to Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Trinh Thi Thuy, Head of the Festival Steering Committee “The Ministry has requested in writing that the localities must follow the theme of the Festival, not use the deviated contents which make the value of cultural heritage disguised””.
Then singing and gourd lute have been associated with the life of the Tay – Nung – Thai for a long time
Photo: An Van Dang
The festival is a cultural activity at national scale in order to honor, preserve and promote the special folk art forms that have been attached to the life of the Tay – Nung – Thai ethnic groups for a long time across the country; a bridge to connect, meet and exchange the experience of artists and actors of the Tay – Nung – Thai ethnic groups. In addition, according to Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Trang – Head of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Division, Department of Cultural Heritage, the activities to preserve and promote the Then intangible cultural heritages has been implemented, such as: inventory and identification, documentation of heritage; collection and recording of the materials made by the old Then master; translation and printing of Then publications; collection of the artifacts related to Then to display and promote its value in local museums. In addition, many classes of Then and gourd lute and Then rituals was conducted at the cultural and artistic training centers in the provinces with this heritage; even in provinces to which Then spreads.
Identification of the vitality of the heritage
In order to preserve and promote the value of the Then intangible cultural heritage, from 1961 to now, 11 scientific conferences, 5 national scientific seminars, 1 international scientific workshop were held in Hanoi and provinces owning the heritage. Heritage inventory in recent years has been also focused. According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Trang, “Inventory includes not only counting artisans or heritages, but also identitying based on identifying the vitality of the heritage and proposing the protective measures. Inventory of Then has been conducted more than 8 years, every year, the localities make the reports to the Department of Cultural Heritage, expressing how many artists and successors, the number of ancient Then versions and new ones which are written based on the ancient materials … The plan to protect and promote the Then heritage is made and implemented every 5 years and it is clearly shown in the Action plan as committed with UNESCO at its submission to UNESCO on March 31, 2013”.
The attention has been paid to the policy of Then artists. Since 2002, the Vietnamese Folk Arts Association has conferred the title of folk artist on the Then masters. The title of Elite Artist has been also awarded by the State President for the Then artists since 2015. In addition, the provinces and cities also consider to award artisans according to their own criteria, based on the results of the inventory of Intangible cultural heritage of Then singing or practice of Tay – Nung – Thai’s rituals…
“Recently, the Provincial People’s Committee has recognized the title of artist for stage 1, honored 12 folk artisans, including the ones who preserve the acient Then. In addition, the heritage has been taught to students; Folk artist association has been also established in the villages, thereby teaching and educating the younger generations to preserve the cultural values of ethnic groups in general, as well as best promoting the Then legacy of Tay- Nung – Thai. In addition to the conservation of the ancient Then, it is required to to develop Then, with orientation to not deviate and fade the ancient Then’s contents”, added Director of Ha Giang Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Hong Hai”.
According to People’s Delegate Newspaper