Efforts to preserve Ca Tru art in Quang Tri: Connecting heritage with the young generation

In recent years, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Quang Tri province has actively coordinated with the People's Committees of communes and wards to strengthen the direction of the grassroots in implementing the work of inventorying, preserving and promoting the value of the artistic heritage of Ca Tru singing.

In October 2009, the Vietnamese Ca Tru singing heritage (in Quang Tri and several other provinces and cities across the country) was listed by UNESCO on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in Need of Urgent Safeguarding. Therefore, the work of preserving and promoting the value of Ca Tru singing has always been a focus of Quang Tri province.

During the period from 2022 to 2025, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Quang Tri province organized classes to teach the art of Ca Tru singing, the art of using musical instruments in Ca Tru singing; supported clubs to purchase musical instruments, participate in festivals, competitions, and performances such as. Every year, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Quang Tri province regularly organizes training classes, exchanges, festivals, and holidays... including Ca Tru.

In localities in Quang Tri province, there are Ca Tru clubs such as: Linh Giang Ca Tru Club, Quang Phong Ca Tru Club (Ba Don ward), Kim Phu Folk Song and Ca Tru Club (Kim Phu commune), Quang Minh Ca Tru Club (Nam Gianh commune), Phong Chau Ca Tru Club (Tuyen Hoa commune) ..., Party committees and authorities at all levels have initially paid attention to creating favorable conditions in terms of facilities (lending cultural houses, village communal houses to organize performances on holidays, ...) so that the clubs can operate.

Up to now, in the province (north of Gianh River), there are over 150 people who know how to play, sing and dance Ca Tru; they are participating in 10 Ca Tru clubs. The members participating in the activities of Ca Tru clubs all come from a passion, love for arts, enthusiasm and have a high responsibility in preserving and promoting the value of Ca Tru cultural heritage. The singing and dancing styles have been collected and organized for practice and transmission by the artisans at the clubs. At the clubs, the elderly artisans with a lot of enthusiasm are the core to maintain and teach Ca Tru singing to the younger generations very effectively.

The Ca Tru clubs operating in recent times in Quang Tri have contributed to restoring and preserving traditional musical art, besides also contributing to increasing the locality and identity in Ca Tru and further enriching and diversifying Ca Tru art in Quang Tri as well as in the whole country. Each club, each Ca Tru activity group is different and each place has a style, a unique feature of Ca Tru in Quang Tri. The organization and construction of clubs is increasingly receiving attention from Party committees and authorities at all levels in localities and at the grassroots level. From the risk of being forgotten, Party committees and authorities at all levels gradually have a more correct and comprehensive awareness of the value of Ca Tru art in the process of preserving the cultural heritage of our ancestors.

• Ha Tinh: Ca Tru Singing Heritage promotes its value in contemporary life Read now

• Hanoi Ca Tru Festival 2025: New vitality from the next generationRead now

Unlike other art forms, Ca Tru is a popular performance form but is not widespread because the singing style is not easy and very unique, so teaching it is quite difficult... In Quang Tri province, most of the artists who know how to play, sing, and listen to Ca Tru are old, so the transmission of Ca Tru singing is an issue of concern to all levels and sectors.

In recent times, some clubs have focused on teaching the younger generation such as: Dong Duong Village Club (Quang Trach Commune), Phong Chau Ca Tru Club (Tuyen Hoa Commune) have organized training for children from 6 to 10 years old. Based on selecting primary and secondary school students with talent, passion and enthusiasm for Ca Tru singing, the artists have directly instructed and taught the children during summer vacations and free nights and up to now, many children know how to play instruments, sing and can perform for the public... this is the initial success in the process of preserving Ca Tru art in Quang Tri province.

Along with the honoring of Ca Tru, in recent years, the cultural heritage of Ca Tru and Ca Tru artists in Quang Tri have received attention from the whole society, highly appreciating their contributions in protecting and transmitting this unique art form. Some typical artists have been honored such as: Meritorious Artist Ho Xuan The (Dong Duong Ca Tru Club, Quang Trach Commune), Ms. Dang Thi Phong, Ms. Dang Thi Thuy (Phong Chau Ca Tru Club, Tuyen Hoa Commune), Ms. Doan Thi Diem (Quang Kim Ca Tru Club, Phu Trach Commune)... This is a worthy reward, recognizing the dedication, demonstrating the attention of the Party, the State in general and all levels and sectors in Quang Tri for the cultural heritage of Ca Tru.

Every year, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Quang Tri has advised the People's Committee of Quang Tri province to provide funding to organize activities to preserve and promote the value of Ca Tru art. In addition to the support of the Department of Culture, the People's Committees of communes with Ca Tru clubs have paid attention and created conditions for Ca Tru club actors and artists to participate in Ca Tru Festival programs in and outside the province. In addition to investing resources from the State budget, in Quang Tri, Ca Tru clubs have been facilitated by businesses in practicing, performing, collecting ancient songs, and composing new songs.

In the coming time, to continue to do a good job of preserving and promoting the value of Ca Tru singing heritage in Quang Tri province, we will continue to propagate to raise awareness of the meaning and value of Ca Tru, organize activities to promote the values ​​of Ca Tru and gradually exploit the value of Ca Tru to serve tourism; Invest resources (human and financial) to implement activities to preserve and promote the values ​​of Ca Tru; Pilot the introduction of Ca Tru into schools in localities with Ca Tru (such as Quang Trach commune, Phu Trach commune, Tuyen Hoa commune, Ba Don ward...) to have a new generation of "ca nuong" and "kep dan" in the future...

Source: https://bvhttdl.gov.vn/no-luc-bao-ton-nghe-thuat-ca-tru-tai-quang-tri-gan-ket-di-san-voi-the-he-tre-20251006085028947.htm