Cultural characteristics of Han Khuong

Coming to Nghia Lo, a land rich in cultural and historical traditions, visitors will be immersed in the endless xoe dance and unique cuisine of the Thai people. Especially in their unique folk performing art form, Han Khuong.

Han Khuong is a unique folk performing art form of the Thai people in Nghia Lo ward, formed and developed closely with the lives and activities of the people. At Han Khuong festival, Thai boys and girls are immersed in songs, expressing their love in the festival of the village.

Meritorious Artisan Dieu Thi Xieng in Nghia Lo Ward shared: Han Khuong is a place for community cultural activities of the Thai ethnic people; a place to discuss and exchange work of each family member; a place where young men and women come to get to know each other, express their love. At the same time, Han Khuong also educates the generations in the community about tradition and responsibility to maintain and promote the cultural identity of the Thai ethnic people in Nghia Lo.

In Thai, “Han” means bamboo and “Khuong” means yard or land in the village. “Han Khuong” means a floor made of bamboo and rattan built in the outdoor yard.

The floor is made of large bamboo trees, about 6 meters long, 4 meters wide and more than 1 meter high, surrounded by bars woven in the shape of a lattice, with an entrance door, up and down stairs and from 3 to 5 steps. In the middle of the floor there is a fire, next to the fire people set up a cosmic tree, called "Lac say" in Thai. This tree is like the Tet pole.

Participants in Han Khuong must make a solid floor because on the floor there are all kinds of things for the village boys and girls to show off their skills such as spinning wheels, spinning, knitting, embroidery...

The number of boys and girls participating in Han Khuong is unlimited, usually there are about 8 - 10 couples. The Thai girls are graceful in traditional dresses, beautiful hair, and wearing pieu scarves. The boys hold musical instruments to accompany the love songs during the lovemaking. When the light of the fire is lit, it is also the beginning of the Han Khuong night.

During the meeting, the group of girls went up to the floor and pulled out the ladder to put on the floor. Then, Miss "Ton Khuong" who was considered the group leader started the fire and placed the spinning wheel, leaning her back against the "Lac say" tree, a large, long bamboo tree with a top, decorated with colorful animals in the middle of the floor, to spin the yarn. The other girls divided up to sit next to it to spin yarn or embroider, sew... The fire of Han Khuong burned brightly in a corner of the village, making the "Lac say" tree even more sparkling and brilliant.

Han Khuong not only has historical value but is also a place containing profound cultural, social, artistic and educational values, clearly reflecting the spiritual life and rich culture with strong identity of the Thai people.

Meritorious Artist Dieu Thi Xieng added: In Han Khuong, the main singing style is the love duet, also known as “Khap Bao Xao”. Thai boys have to sing back and forth with the girls until they agree to let them go up to the Han Khuong stage. The boy affirms that he is not married and gains the girl’s trust, then the girl lets the boy go up to the Han Khuong stage.

When they were allowed to go to the Han Khuong stage, the boys began to look for the girls they liked and wanted to marry. They sang back and forth to each other to express their feelings. However, if a boy wanted to sit, he had to sing to ask for a chair, if he wanted to drink water, he had to sing to ask for water, if he wanted to spin together, he had to sing to ask for it… Then they learned about each other’s talents through making scarves, embroidering, weaving, playing the flute, playing the flute, weaving nets…

Nowadays, very few people know how to sing and perform the Han Khuong antiphonal singing correctly. If not preserved and maintained, the Han Khuong festival will be lost and forgotten over time. Understanding the values and risks of this cultural activity, Nghia Lo commune has paid attention to restoring and preserving Han Khuong, encouraging village elders, artisans, and people knowledgeable about Han Khuong to participate in researching and developing scripts for this type of cultural activity.

The residential groups in the ward always pay attention to organizing the Han Khuong festival in early spring, helping many young people learn the meaning of Han Khuong and take responsibility for preserving and maintaining the traditional culture of the Thai ethnic group.
Mr. Dinh Anh Tuan - Vice Chairman of Nghia Lo Ward People's Committee

By organizing and restoring the Han Khuong festival in Nghia Lo ward, we have promoted the propaganda and promotion work to introduce to the people of all ethnic groups in the area, to neighboring provinces and tourists from near and far the unique cultural features of the land and people here. Thereby, creating motivation for Nghia Lo ward to continue to preserve and restore the culture of the Thai ethnic group, contributing to improving the level of spiritual cultural enjoyment for the people.

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/dac-sac-net-van-hoa-han-khuong-post883954.html