Research on folk culture and arts lacks "successors"

Ms. Le Thi Du talks with the public at Hai Duong Provincial Museum

Hai Duong has a long tradition of folk culture. Folk culture research helps today’s generation see the roots and sources that nurture the values of modern cultural life. However, few young people are interested in the field of folk culture and art research.

Aging

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Van is in his 80s but still tries to travel and write. He is worried that the traces of folk culture on the land of Dong will be lost and few people will know about it. Therefore, taking advantage of his health, he spends time doing fieldwork. To complete the book "Land and people of Thuong Coc village in Dong" he spent nearly ten years researching and compiling. This work also won the A prize, the 8th Con Son - Hai Duong Literature and Arts Award in 2022.

“The number of people researching Hai Duong’s folk culture and arts is decreasing and most of them are old. While researching folk culture, one must spend many days in the field, need good health and real passion. The older people are, the more difficult it will be to research,” said Mr. Nguyen Quoc Van.

Due to the small number of members, the Folklore and Arts Committee had to merge with the Criticism and Theory Research Committee to form the Criticism and Folklore Research Committee. Despite the merger, the number of people doing folklore research is still only 9 people. The youngest member is nearly 40. Recently, the Criticism and Folklore Research Committee has sought many solutions to encourage young people to participate in research activities. The seniors are willing to pass on their "fire" of the profession and work experience, but not many young people are willing.

Mr. Pham Chuc, who has many years of research on Hai Duong's culture and folk arts, is over 60 years old this year, said that if when he was young, he could climb mountains or walk all day to research and explore new lands, cultural sediments, folk arts in the lives of all localities in and outside the province, now it is really difficult. "Old age is one of the factors that significantly affects the process of fieldwork, discovery and research on culture and folk arts," Mr. Chuc said.

Young people are not interested

Research on folk culture and arts is closely linked to the history, culture and arts of each locality. In recent years, researchers in this field in Hai Duong have had many valuable works.

Many elaborate studies have been published in books such as: "Chu Dau Pottery" by researcher Tang Ba Hoanh, "The art of singing drums in Thuc Khang (Binh Giang)" by author Le Thi Du, "Folk culture of Hoang Xa village" by author Nguyen Long Nhiem, "Thanh Hoang and the village communal house in Binh Giang" by journalist Nguyen Huu Phach, "Records of the discovery of the sacred Chi Linh" by journalist Pham Chuc...

Through these works, the unique cultural features of Hai Duong localities are preserved in the form of text and images. This is a valuable source of materials for research, preservation and development of Hai Duong culture in both the present and the future. However, these valuable studies are mostly by older authors. Recent research works still lack young people.

Folk culture and arts researcher Nguyen Quoc Van (left) always hopes to have young people who love and follow in this research field.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Van is from Tu Ky town, studied at the Faculty of Literature, University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Hanoi National University). She also defended her graduation project on folk culture. However, after graduating, Ms. Van did not choose to return to Hai Duong to work in the field of folk art research, and did not even choose the right field to work in even when she decided to stay in Hanoi. "I am very passionate about researching folk culture and art, but when I went to do an internship, I witnessed the hardships of the aunts and uncles, and the low income, so I decided to apply for a job in communications for a business in Hanoi," Ms. Van said.

Ms. Van's sharing pointed out part of the reason why the folk art research force in Hai Duong in particular and the whole country in general is increasingly lacking and unable to attract young people.

Ms. Le Thi Du, Department of Research on Criticism and Folk Literature and Arts, said: “It took me many years to research, go to the local areas, even work without days off to be able to complete two books of more than 100 pages, "Folk Culture of Hoach Trach Village" or "Customs, practices and typical festivals of Ninh Giang District". When publishing the books, I received support from the Folk Literature Research Association and the Provincial Literature and Arts Association, but that support only partially compensated."

The team of researchers in Hai Duong’s folk culture and arts is getting older. They are always worried about the lack of people to continue their passion and enthusiasm so that Hai Duong’s folk culture and arts can always be preserved.

BAO ANH

Source