Let the Xoan song resonate forever

Nurturing our ancestors' legacy

With its outstanding global values, on November 24, 2011, at the 6th Conference of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO held in Bali - Indonesia, the Xoan Singing Profile - Phu Tho of Vietnam was recognized as an Intangible Cultural Heritage in need of urgent protection of humanity. On December 8, 2017, at the 12th Conference, the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO officially removed Phu Tho Xoan Singing from the state of urgent protection and became a representative Intangible Cultural Heritage of humanity. This is the first and only case in the history of UNESCO. This event marked the initial success of Phu Tho province and the community that has made efforts and determined to fulfill its commitment to protect the Xoan Singing heritage in need of urgent protection, including the contributions of Xoan groups such as Xoan Thet group.

Artists of Xoan Thet guild perform Xoan singing

Xoan singing is currently present in 18 communes of the two provinces of Phu Tho and Vinh Phuc , of which 15 communes and wards belong to Viet Tri city, Phu Ninh, Lam Thao, Tam Nong and Doan Hung districts (Phu Tho province) and 3 communes belong to the three districts of Lap Thach, Song Lo and Vinh Tuong (Vinh Phuc province).

In Phu Tho province, there are currently 4 established Xoan wards operating in Viet Tri city, namely Xoan An Thai ward, Xoan Thet ward, Xoan Phu Duc ward and Xoan Kim Dai ward.

No one remembers when the Xoan Thet troupe was formed, but we only know that Xoan has been deeply rooted in the hearts of generations of Thet villagers for a long time... Through the ups and downs of history, there were times when it seemed like the Xoan singing no longer had any vitality, remaining only in the hearts of the actors and actresses who had a deep love for Xoan like Mr. Dien, Mr. Man, Mr. Kha - those who still quietly gathered actors and actresses, practicing Xoan singing every night under the light of oil lamps to perform on ceremonies, village festivals or organize singing trips when invited by sister villages. During those years, the Xoan Thet troupe faced many difficulties and the remaining Xoan singers were very few. Sometimes, the troupe had less than ten members. The expenses were usually contributed by the performers themselves. When performing far away, there was no means of transportation, and they had to walk for several days to get to the performance venue. However, the generation of actors and actresses such as Tieu, Sung, Phung, Hue, Phuc... were still passionate about singing and kept the Xoan flame burning. In the early days of peace , life was still difficult, but overcoming all of that, with their love for Xoan singing, the few remaining actors and actresses of the Xoan Thet troupe still had a burning desire to preserve and pass on the ancient Xoan folk songs to their descendants and the people of Thet village. During the free time, the elders taught them to their descendants in their homes and clans, and from there, the Xoan songs spread to families and generations of villagers. The first generation of the Xoan Thet troupe were the fathers, mothers, and uncles of the current members of the Xoan troupe - the current boss of the Xoan Thet troupe, Meritorious Artist Bui Thi Kieu Nga said.

Xoan is not picky about people, so the number of people interested in, learning about and learning Xoan singing is increasing day by day. The Xoan Thet troupe at that time had about 25-26 members, the members of the troupe mainly worked as farmers, hard-working and exhausted, but they still voluntarily participated in practice sessions held at the troupe leader's house in the evening, voluntarily contributed funds for the troupe's activities, so that Xoan singing performances could be more frequent and continuous.

During the period from 1998 when the Xoan singing club was established until 2006 when the Xoan Thet guild was re-established on the basis of three original Xoan guilds, the elders Nguyen Thi Sung, Nguyen Thi At, Dao Thi Phung, Nguyen Si Tieu, Nguyen Ngoc Bao... became the pillars of the club. With all their heart for Xoan without demanding any regime, they performed, and took on the responsibility of teaching and maintaining the activities of the Xoan club. Later, this generation of old artisans, due to their old age, were no longer strong enough to teach, but they still participated as advisors for the guild. Xoan performances during this time are not only limited to holidays and village festivals, but are also performed in neighboring villages: An Thai, Kim Dai, Phu Duc, Hung Lo... participating in competitions, folk music performances, mass art performances... Besides, the work of teaching Xoan is also very interested, the teaching subjects are wider from the elderly generation to the youth.

"In 2009-2010, when the State compiled a dossier on Xoan singing heritage, the elders in the ward, who were holders of knowledge and skills in ancient Xoan singing and had many years of experience performing Xoan singing, enthusiastically helped, provided knowledge about Xoan singing, Xoan versions, re-performed ancient Xoan melodies and encouraged members to actively participate in completing the dossier with Xoan singing performances at communal houses and temples, participated in making films in other localities and then participated in performing at seminars on Xoan singing... contributing significantly to the work of preserving and restoring Phu Tho Xoan singing melodies with the hope that Xoan singing will reach a large number of people" - Meritorious Artist Bui Thi Kieu Nga shared.

Dao Xoan Le Thi Hoa and the boss of the Xoan Thet guild Bui Thi Kieu Nga (from left to right)

Spreading heritage values

Continuing the love for the heritage passed down from their ancestors, today, the Xoan Thet troupe has about 80 members, of which 20 have been awarded the title of artisan by Phu Tho province. Every week, the artisans spend two evenings training their children. The Xoan Thet troupe currently has up to 30 descendants under 18 years old who are still learning to continue and pass on the xoan singing heritage of their ancestors. In addition to the spring festival, the troupe also performs cultural exchanges in Bac Ninh, Cao Bang, Hanoi...; performing for groups of visitors to the Hung Temple festival who stop by to enjoy folk culture.

Members of the Xoan troupe are mainly farmers, workers, taxi drivers, hairdressers, spa workers... Because of their passion and desire to preserve traditional art, they take advantage of their time to join the singing troupe.

Just a few minutes before the performance, Mr. Nguyen Van Tuan, 39 years old, drove a taxi and parked it in front of the communal house yard after a trip. Wearing a traditional Vietnamese dress and turban, Mr. Tuan immediately took on the role of a Xoan actor, playing the drums and leading the singers. Mr. Tuan shared that because of his love for Xoan singing, and the unique beauty of the heritage left by his ancestors, whenever the troupe had a performance schedule, he would arrange to participate. According to Mr. Tuan, his love for Xoan singing was ingrained in his blood since he was a child, when he followed his father and uncle to join the Xoan Thet troupe, listening to the songs, drum beats, watching the dances, he gradually learned more about the beauty, the goodness, the specialness of Xoan singing.

Xoan Actor Nguyen Van Tuan

Xoan singer Le Thi Hoa, 44 years old, shared: "I have been immersed in Xoan songs since childhood. In 2013, when the commune started opening community classes, I registered to study. In mid-2016, I went to work abroad but the songs still followed me. When working in Japan, I still miss Xoan singing, sometimes I open YouTube to learn or watch programs in my hometown." And at the end of 2022, just three days after returning home, Xoan singer Le Thi Hoa returned to activities with the Xoan troupe.

Not only Hoa, her daughter - Le Thi Thao - also follows her mother to sing. Thao was born in 2006, and her mother took her to practice sessions when she was three or four years old. According to Hoa, she has been listening and memorizing melodies since she was young. When she comes home, sometimes Hoa sings the wrong lyrics, her daughter reminds her mother to correct them.

Meritorious Artist Le Thi Nhan, 67 years old, said that in her family, her daughter, grandchildren and great-grandchildren all know how to sing. The children are not yet literate, but when they see their grandmothers and mothers perform, they can recite the lyrics and dance along. Meritorious Artist Nguyen Thi Nga has been singing xoan since she was nine years old, her mother is also a Meritorious Artist in Phu Duc ward. When she married and moved to Thet village, she continued to pursue the profession and passed it on to her children and grandchildren.

The pain of the Xoan guild leader Bui Thi Kieu Nga is the desire to have more income for the members in the guild so that they can continue their passion for preserving the artistic heritage of their ancestors. The Xoan Thet guild leader said: "For the Xoan Thet guild, every time there is an exchange performance, almost all members spend their own effort and time to participate. When performing for tourists, they are compensated a few hundred, but divided among the members, they only get a little bit called encouragement. I am worried and wish to have funding for the Xoan guilds to operate. For the People's Artisans and Meritorious Artisans who have been awarded the title, I hope that the locality has a monthly support policy to encourage and motivate the artisans to keep the fire burning, passing on the fire of the profession to the younger generation"./.

Source: https://toquoc.vn/de-cau-xoan-con-vang-mai-20240413235027779.htm