During the development process, the ritual singing of the Tay people in Quang Ninh and the performance of Chau Van Hau Dong have many similarities and interact with each other.
Both Then singing and Chau Van Hau Mau singing are types of singing that belong to worship, and worship has existed for any ethnic group very early, according to the animistic cosmology. According to history, the ancient Tay people (Au Viet) merged with the ancient Viet Muong group (Lac Viet) right from the beginning of the country's founding to make an important contribution to the formation of the Vietnamese nation. During the long process of living together, the Tay people have been influenced more or less by Vietnamese culture, creating a close bond and mutual interaction. That is clearly shown in the similarities between Then rituals and Chau Van Hau Dong performances of the Vietnamese.
There is another hypothesis that: Then originated from the Le - Mac period, created by Mr. Be Phung. The Mac king saw that Then dancing and singing made him happier and healthier, so he popularized it among the people. Another legend tells that, there was a time when the Mac dynasty retreated, and many of the soldiers were sick. An officer showed a group of educated soldiers how to do Then to relax, which brought unexpected results. From then on, the Mac king ordered his soldiers to popularize it among the people.
Speaking at the workshop "Preserving and promoting the heritage of Then performance in the context of developing community tourism in Binh Lieu district" organized by the Institute of Vietnamese Studies and Development Sciences , under the Vietnam National University, Hanoi, in coordination with Binh Lieu district, Dr. Dinh Duc Tien, lecturer at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, acknowledged: In the Northern cultural space, the Kinh people have the belief in Mother Goddess worship, the Tay people have Then rituals. The flows of folk spiritual culture have become characteristics of each ethnic group, but they do not exist independently, separately from each other, but over time, they interact and absorb each other to create diversity for the spiritual life of Vietnam until now.
Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Yen, Director of the Center for Cultural Research and Preservation of Vietnamese Beliefs, said that when Then entered the royal court, artists, poets and shamans supplemented it to suit the needs of enjoyment as well as the psychology of the royal class. Therefore, Then was reformed, the lyrics and words were refined, the writing was fluent, more rich in imagery, and many ancient stories were written in Sino-Vietnamese words mixed with Kinh language.
Then rituals and Chau Van Hau Dong performances are both types of folk music in the form of religious music to express respect to supernatural forces. Chau Van in Hau Dong performances has the content of praising the merits of the holy mothers for the people and the country, promoting goodness and praying for national peace and prosperity. Meanwhile, Then rituals also have a special role in helping to approach the supernatural world, to build a bridge of communication with the mortal world.
In terms of content and form, Then rituals have many similarities with the Vietnamese Chau Van Hau Dong performance, especially the rituals that create the "sacred" element. Associate Professor, Dr. Vo Quang Trong, Vice President of the Vietnam Dong Dang Association, said: Hau Dong of the Vietnamese and Then of the Tay are phenomena in which people "self-hypnotize" themselves into a special state of illusion.
The conditions for the sacred element to form are music and dance. Therefore, many researchers believe that, like Chau Van singing in Hau Dong performance, Then ritual of the Tay people is a comprehensive folk cultural phenomenon with a synthetic nature, both are forms of synthetic art performance rituals including singing, music, and dance. In other words, these are all rituals performed in the form of storytelling with music and dance, with the support of many folk stage elements.
Chau dance in Then is a dance that shows respect to the gods. According to Associate Professor Nguyen Thi Yen, Chau dance Then originated from folk beliefs, through the process of cultural exchange and assimilation, Chau dance was enhanced, developed and brought to the royal court to serve the king. After the Mac dynasty collapsed, Chau dance Then returned to folk life. Chau dance gradually moved from the space of stilt houses to the performance stage and penetrated into the reality of new life, the breath of the times to create new cultural values, adding to the spiritual life of the people.
Associate Professor Dr. Lam Ba Nam, President of the Vietnam Association of Ethnology and Anthropology, said: The similarity between Then rituals and Chau Van Hau Dong performances lies in the fact that these rituals both create a sense of sacredness. Music has different melodies and instruments, but they have in common the creation of a sacred space, the connection between the human soul and the gods. Therefore, music is not only a belief but also a folk activity that makes people feel more refreshed.
The similarities between Then rituals and Chau Van singing in Hau Dong performances show the close, diverse but unified relationship in ethnic cultures, contributing to affirming that Quang Ninh has a very rich and cohesive cultural heritage.
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