Meritorious Artist Ngo Thi Thu: Continuing the rowing rhythm through 3 decades

The traditional festival of the Tong Goi boat singing festival (Tan Hoi commune, Dan Phuong district, Hanoi) has just been recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on May 14. This is the happiness of many artisans here, including Meritorious Artisan Ngo Thi Thu - who has devoted all her heart to passing on each song and rhythm of her homeland's cheo.

During 27 years of being attached to rowing, Meritorious Artist Ngo Thi Thu (born in 1959, Head of Tan Hoi Rowing Club) has always been associated with the image of being absorbed in each song, enthusiastically instructing dance movements for young students. In Tan Hoi, people still tell each other that every time Ms. Thu steps on stage, her demeanor is no different from that of a professional actress. When praised, she just smiles gently. Few people know that behind the bustling festival songs are the many feelings of an ancient melody.

Unique ancient capital of Tan Hoi land

According to Meritorious Artist Ngo Thi Thu, the Cheo Tau singing festival (tau tuong singing) is a unique folk performance form of the ancient Tong Goi region (now Tan Hoi commune, Dan Phuong district, Hanoi ). In the early years of the 15th century, when the Ming Dynasty invaded our country, this land had a general named Van Di Thanh who raised an army to defend his homeland. Not only was he a talented general, he was also a teacher and a doctor who saved people when epidemics broke out.

Meritorious Artist Ngo Thi Thu has been involved in rowing boats for 27 years. Photo: Hai Ly  

In 1416, when he died in battle, the people of the old Tong Goi area honored him as the village's tutelary god and built Lang Van Son (ranked as a national historical and cultural relic in 1997) to worship him. Along with that, the people of 4 villages: Thuong Hoi, Thuy Hoi, Vinh Ky and Phan Long created the rowing tune to praise his merits.

Meritorious Artist Ngo Thi Thu said that according to old customs, the boat rowing festival is only held once every 25 years, and only takes place in years of favorable weather and wind, and is not held during crop failures or famines. The reason for such an interval is because the festival requires hundreds of participants, requires a lot of human and material resources, and lasts for 7 consecutive days, from the full moon to the 21st of January. Moreover, if one of the four villages does not agree, it cannot be held.

“The boat rowing festival was first held in 1683. However, after that, due to the impact of war, documents were lost, and the number of people who knew how to sing became fewer and fewer. 1922 was the last time this festival was held. Boat rowing was facing the risk of being completely lost,” Meritorious Artist Ngo Thi Thu recalled.

The difficulty of restoring old melodies

Although the boat rowing festival has disappeared, the old songs still smolder like an underground stream, used by mothers and grandmothers to lull their children to sleep. Growing up with those melodies, little Thu soon fell in love with boat rowing. When she grew up, Thu still cherished the memories of the old singing festival through the stories of the elders. Those stories inspired Thu to revive the traditional melodies of her hometown.

Like Do singing in Liep Nghia commune (Quoc Oai district, Hanoi), rowing in Tan Hoi does not have the conditions to penetrate deeply into people's lives from childhood. Due to the Saint's rule that the festival is held once every 25 years, this type of performance is mainly remembered through the memories of those who participated, and is rarely taught in the community. Therefore, at first, Ms. Thu encountered many difficulties in her journey to find the traditional tunes of her hometown.

“To restore the rowing, I went everywhere to meet the elders who knew the old singing festival. But most of the people who played the main roles such as: Quan Tuong, Chua Tau or Cai Tau have passed away, only a few people who played supporting roles or 'overheard' and still remember a few lines. Each person only retains a few melodies, sometimes only a few scattered lines. Meanwhile, rowing has 3 types: Hat Trinh (singing to worship the Saint), Hat Trao (while rowing) and Hat Giao Duyen. Each type has a different way of singing and performing. Restoration therefore takes a lot of effort, at times it seems like it can't be put together completely,” Ms. Thu shared.

 

Luckily on that journey, Ms. Thu was always accompanied by people with the same passion such as: Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuyet; Mr. Nguyen Huu Yen; Mr. Dong Sinh Nhat; Mr. Nguyen Van Viet,... Together they collected each precious piece of rowing documents, patiently piecing them together to revive a heritage that was at risk of being lost.

In 1998, the Tan Hoi Rowing Club was established. Ms. Thu and the members practiced day and night, encouraging people to join. However, because the singing festival was interrupted for too long, many people were hesitant and uninterested at first, and the club consisted only of middle-aged people. Undaunted, Ms. Thu persistently went to each house, persuaded parents, and talked to children to ignite their love for the traditional singing of their homeland.

To row the boat far and wide

Looking back on her journey of nearly 3 decades of being attached to the art of rowing boats, Mrs. Thu is proud to have contributed to reviving the precious heritage of her ancestors. 2015 was a memorable milestone that marked the persistent efforts of Mrs. Thu and the Club members: Tan Hoi Rowing Festival was officially restored and organized on a large scale in the locality. From now on, instead of waiting 25 years as before, the festival is held periodically every 5 years, so that the unique cultural values ​​of this land can be spread more widely to the community, especially the young generation.

 

Currently, Tan Hoi Rowing Club has more than 50 members, including 20 children, from 13 to 18 years old, participating in regular activities. Together with the members of the Club, Ms. Thu has brought rowing to many other provinces across the country such as: Ninh Binh, Phu Tho, Nghe An ,...

 

“Young people today have too many modern entertainment options, while rowing is a difficult form of entertainment to learn and remember. Therefore, to make the children love and stick with it, I always create a light, pressure-free learning atmosphere, and at the same time tell them about the meaning of each song and role. Only when they understand will they find it interesting and stick with it for a long time,” Ms. Thu emphasized. Folk artist Nguyen Van Viet, a member of the Board of Directors of the Tan Hoi Rowing Club, said: “Rowing is not only a unique form of folk performance, but also a link connecting the memories and souls of Tan Hoi people through many generations. In the journey of preserving and restoring this heritage, Ms. Thu has devoted all her heart and perseverance to inspire the community. The members of the Club and I are always determined to promote the value of rowing, continuing the tradition so that the singing will always resonate.”

 

According to information from the People's Committee of Dan Phuong district, in 2025, the district will organize a rowing class according to the plan to preserve and promote the value of the city's intangible cultural heritage. The class takes place from March to December, taught by Meritorious Artist Ngo Thi Thu and other artisans, with a scale of 40 students per session.

Video : Tan Hoi Rowing Club performs the song "Chuc Ba Chua" at Thong Nhat Park (Hanoi). Source: Van Viet

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Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/phong-su-dieu-tra/cuoc-thi-nhung-tam-guong-binh-di-ma-cao-quy-lan-thu-16/nghe-nhan-uu-tu-ngo-thi-thu-noi-nhip-cheo-tau-qua-3-thap-ky-829293