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| Mrs. My teaches lullabies to the children in the village. |
Preserving lullabies in the village
Mrs. My is not the only person who knows how to sing lullabies in the village, but she is probably the one who retains the most of the old lullabies of the Tay people. For her, lullabies are not just a habit, but a part of cultural identity, continuing the traditional values left by her grandparents and parents. Every time she holds her grandchild, or in her free time, lullabies resound in her small stilt house, as a way to connect one generation to another.
“In the past, my mother used to carry me on her back to lull me to sleep while she worked. My siblings did the same thing, my mother still carried me on her back to sing me a soulful lullaby. Later, my grandchildren were also immersed in that lullaby. I listened to it so much that I knew it, remembered it, and sang it myself,” Ms. My shared.
In the quiet afternoon, the lullaby sounds sometimes softly, sometimes hurriedly like the footsteps working hard on the fields, carrying with it simple, rustic yet profound stories of life. The lullaby not only helps children sleep well but also contains knowledge, lessons about work, family love and gratitude towards nature.
Mrs. My said that in the ancient Tay community, each lullaby was not only a lullaby to put the child to sleep but also contained the simple dreams of the mother and grandmother. Among them, there were dreams of a full life, of rice fields, buffaloes and afternoons of harvesting and pounding rice. Lullabies such as:
“…The spoonful of silk filled two flaps of the shirt/The sparrows had seven chicks/One went to wash diapers/One went to cook, waiting for mother to come home…”
Lullabies, therefore, are not simply used to lull children to sleep, but also a method of education . Children from the cradle have been taught how to live, how to love, and cherish the values in life. Those songs may be simple, but they are valuable lessons to convey to children.
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| Ms. My performed at the Ceremony to receive the Intangible Cultural Heritage "Folk performing art of lullabies of the Tay people in Giao Hieu commune" (now Bang Thanh commune). |
The "three no's" inheritor and the journey of preserving heritage
In recent years, lullabies have become less common. Many children are no longer lulled to sleep by their grandmothers or mothers. Instead, there are telephones and televisions. Mrs. My was worried: “No one remembers, no one sings. Losing lullabies, losing our roots.” So she took up teaching. No paper or pen, no classroom. As long as anyone wanted to learn, she would teach, sometimes in the house, sometimes in the yard, even while singing while working in the fields. People called her “the one who passed on the three no’s”: no training, no pick-up or drop-off, no hiding of the craft.
The lullaby is not only sung during religious teachings. It is also present on special occasions – such as the full month ceremony of babies.
On the day of his full month birthday, Hoang Dinh An, son of Hoang Van Su in Na Hin village, was invited by his family to sing a lullaby to celebrate. In the stilt house filled with relatives from both sides, Mrs. My sat holding the baby and sang softly as if breathing:
“Lullaby… baby… baby to sleep/Sleep well, sleep soundly/On a good day, I will carry you on my back to sell tears/So that from now on you will be safe/… Wishing you, grandparents, to grow up quickly/Every day you will grow up like a banyan tree…”.
Now, despite her old age, Mrs. My still maintains the habit of singing lullabies. Sometimes she sings for her grandchildren, sometimes she sings to remember the old lyrics. She enthusiastically teaches anyone who wants to learn. She says: “As long as I can remember, I will continue to sing. As long as there are people listening, I will continue to teach.” That alone is enough to preserve a cultural trait in the village…
With those precious values, on June 1, 2023, lullabies of the Tay people in Giao Hieu commune (now Bang Thanh commune) were included in the List of National Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/van-hoa/202507/de-loi-ru-con-mai-0a0199e/
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