Proud to be a locality with many cultural relics, associated with many intangible cultural heritages, over the years, Phu Xuyen district has always considered the local cultural heritage as an extremely valuable resource: Precious because the spiritual values are kept and passed down through generations of Phu Xuyen people; another reason is that it is an existing resource, making a great contribution to the development of the local tourism economy.
Determining the great value of cultural heritages, over the years, closely following the guidelines and policies of the Party and State on culture, Phu Xuyen district has had specific policies to preserve and promote tangible and intangible cultural values in the area. Phu Xuyen District Party Committee has developed Program No. 07 Phu Xuyen District Party Committee has developed Program No.07 about “Developing social culture, improving the quality of education, building a national standard school, building elegant and civilized Phu Xuyen people” and the implementation plans of the Annual Program; in which the content of promoting cultural values is one of the important goals of the District Party Committee. Phu Xuyen District People’s Committee has issued Plan 123/KH-UBND on management, renovation, embellishment and promotion of historical and cultural values in the district until 2025… Along with that, the Department of Culture and Information of Phu Xuyen district has had many forms of propaganda and promotion of the value of heritages in the area; perform well the management, preservation and promotion of cultural heritage values in the locality, especially the organization of training courses on traditional performing arts in the area…
In Phu Xuyen district, many precious intangible cultural values are kept, such as: Cua Dinh chanty and Bai Bong dancing and singing in Phu Nhieu village (Quang Trung commune), Ca Tru singing in Chanh Thon village (Nam Tien commune), drum singing in Phuc Lam village (Phuc Tien commune), To he crafting in Xuan La village (Phuong Duc commune), Long language in Da Chat and many traditional folk festivals, typically Pig racing festival in Dien village, water procession festival in Cat Bi village, etc.
Drum singing is a form of love exchanging singing, which is said to have appeared since the Tran Dynasty in Phu Xuyen district. Drum singing in Phuc Lam village used to be played only on village festivals or Mid-Autumn Festival nights. But now, in holidays, New Year, festivals or meetings, it is sung as a gift to honor guests of the Phuc Lam people.
Cua Dinh chanty, Bai Bong singing and dancing in Phu Nhieu village were born in the Le – Trinh dynasties and now are invaluable assets of Phu Nhieu village and Phu Xuyen district. They are associated with the Phu Nhieu village festival, with the custom of swimming on the Kim Nguu river and worshiping the village god – the river god Trung Thanh King Earth commandant. Legend has it that he was a general who commanded sea battles under King Hung era. The most unique feature of the Cua Dinh chanty and Bai Bong singing and dancing is that they take place in the communal house at the same time during the festival, with the participation of a large number of young men and women, which is also a demonstration of male – women equality under feudalism in a low-lying countryside.
Xuan La To he Products
To he crafting in Xuan La village (Phuong Duc commune) is unique and one of a kind in our country. The spiritual value of the To he is not only attractive to children but also to adults because of the subtlety and human meaning of the product. Xuan La artisans have brought To He throughout the country and many countries around the world. They are loved everywhere and admired by everyone…
Slang in Da Chat village, Dai Xuyen commune still preserves hundreds of words. It is the ancient vocabulary of the Vietnamese people, the language of communication of the workers working together and between the people living in the locality, informing each other when there are strangers…. Slang in Da Chat village over the years is considered a typical heritage, currently being submitted by the authorities to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to be included in the list of National Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Since ancient times, Ca tru Chanh Thon had been famous everywhere. The village’s ca tru artists had traveled to many places across the country to perform for everyone. At that time, Chanh Thon had developed an art community with more than 30 female singers, nearly 20 instrument players. There was a famous female singer Nguyen Thi Uoc that was often invited by the court to Hue for a whole month to perform in the palace to serve the king and mandarins. Ca Tru Chanh Thon is different from other places because it keeps intact the ancient Ca Tru songs, both in terms of lyrics, melody and performance. Typically performances are: Gap xuan, Hoi phong da, Hong hong tuyet tuyet, etc.
The cultural heritages in Phu Xuyen district are the crystallization of community values, which have existed and developed for generations. They are not only invaluable spiritual assets of the community but also solid spiritual fulcrums for the community and the pride of the locality. Two of the intangible cultural heritages of Phu Xuyen district have been recognized by the Folk Arts Association as folklore hot addresses, including: Ca Tru Chanh Thon and Cua Dinh Chanty, Bai Bong dancing and singing. This is the pride of Phu Xuyen district and also an opportunity for Phu Xuyen district to develop tourism from these intangible cultural heritages.
A palanquin procession in the festival of honoring craft villages in Phu Xuyen
Visiting Phu Nhieu or Chanh Thon, Xuan La, Phuc Lam, Da Chat, Dien villages, Cat Bi… and witnessing the people’s appreciation for cultural heritages, we can see the people’s hearts for the intangible cultural heritages. Therefore, we can understand why Phu Xuyen still preserves so many valuable spiritual assets. Simply put, every citizen has a sense of preservation, and transmission for today and for the future.
In addition, Phu Xuyen district has mobilized the entire political system to join hands to protect the heritages, with the core being local socio-political organizations, especially the youth union and a large number of people. Hence, the heritages are always taken care of.
In particular, there are few places like Phu Xuyen district that have successfully organized festivals honoring traditional craft villages for many times, besides organizing traditional festivals in localities. Thereby, it shows the attention and focus of the authorities in the district with cultural heritages, creating motivation for the people of all classes to continue to preserve and pass it on to generations to come.
Thanh Quy