Tet holiday in Go Co tourist village to enjoy the Bai Choi festival

Folk song lyrics

While the card game festivals in many places have male and female players (those who call the fetus) of adult age, the male and female players in Go Co tourist village have both adults and children.

Go Co village card singing team

The little girl in the role of the male and female schoolmaster hummed cheerful songs: Uo... uo... nine huts, listen quietly here/My hand pulls out the bucket, that's the rumbling man/Often falling into a pit, that's the four-legged man/A white sheet, that's the white flower woman/Eating and sleeping close together, that's the nine-knee man/Three sinks and seven floats, that's the six-boat woman/Building friends and rafts, that's the sleeping man...Often digging and pecking, that's the three-chicken man/Having tusks and barbs, that's the four-tiger man...

Players listen attentively and then strike the wooden fish to signal when their card is called. Sometimes, the male and female signalers are female and the female signalers are male, performing a very lively exchange.

Male voice : If you were an unmarried girl/ Let me be close to your rosy cheeks.

Female voice: Hey man! I reply that/ I am a married woman with a child.

Male voice: A woman with one child is a sight for sore eyes/ If a cigarette is good, half a cigarette is even better.

Female voice: Because I have rosy cheeks / Don't tease me or my husband will be jealous.

Performance of call and response at the Bai Choi and Hat Ho Festival of Go Co village

The audience applauded enthusiastically. "I have seen Bài Chòi in many places, but Bài Chòi here has its own unique features, very attractive...", Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa (in Quang Ngai City) confided.

In the past, the Go Co community tourism village was called Xom Co, located next to the sea with windy weather all year round. Small houses appeared and disappeared among the trees, the scenery was wild and poetic.

For generations, people have worked hard to earn a living with the dream of a prosperous life and a peaceful family. Men row their boats out to sea to catch fish. Women work quickly to weave and mend their nets, hoping that their boats will return home with a full catch of fish and shrimp. On small fields at the foot of the mountain and on the hillsides, many people work hard to cultivate.

The people here hum simple lyrics to advise their children and introduce their homeland: Looking up at the rocky mountain that still remains/ Deep love and gratitude for you to remember/ My child, remember your grandfather's words/ When our fathers fell, we swam upstream/ Now the rocky mountain is steadfast/ The old village, the Grass hamlet, rises up with life...

And the lyrics are full of love, telling the children living far away from home to return to their homeland: Come back to your homeland, everyone/ Join hands to build a beautiful life/ Our homeland's rocky shores are still the same as before...

Tourists admire Cham pottery on display in Go Co village

Return the mat to the beach to sit and watch bai choi

Many elders in Go Co village remember the years after the liberation of their homeland. From the ninth lunar month to the end of the twelfth lunar month, many people gathered to practice Bai Choi to perform art performances to celebrate the new year. The village was bustling, the songs resonated, attracting people to come and watch on the cold night.

Peaceful countryside scene in Go Co

At New Year's, people offer incense to their ancestors' altars, visit their neighbors, and then set up a stage together to perform on the windy beach.

Spring night, the oil lamps hanging on the poles around the stage spread a golden light, dispelling the darkness. The willow trees rustled like a confession to the wind blowing from the open sea to the shore. The melody of the folk song blended with the murmuring waves lapping against the sand. Many people turned their eyes to the stage, absorbed in the lyrics and music. The humorous responses of the songs made the audience laugh and clap their hands in encouragement.

"Back then, we performed for three consecutive nights. Many villagers and people from other places came to watch. Many people waited for the evening to come so they could spread out their mats on the beach and watch. It was so much fun. The money the villagers donated paid the orchestra owner, and more or less took care of the village affairs, but we didn't take any work...", Ms. Huynh Thi Thuong (in Go Co village) recalled.

Mrs. Thuong is called "village propagandist" by everyone. She diligently composes folk songs to call on people to change their production methods and build a new lifestyle... in the countryside.

She wrote simple lyrics to encourage people to join the Go Co Village Community Tourism Cooperative: From now on, the tourist area will be at the top/ Visitors will come and go, and in the future we will be stable/ Old men and women will stand up/ Build a stable life for their children...

Tourists coming here are excited by the inviting song: Go to Go Co to play/ Listen to the birds chirping on the road/ Tourists walking in the homeland/ Feel the deep love and affection for the people...

Tourists visit Go Co village

"In 2024, there will be about 7,000 visitors coming here. Many people are extremely excited to enjoy the Bai Choi performance by the villagers. During the Lunar New Year this year, Go Co village will be an attractive destination for locals and tourists to have fun and relax in the first days of spring," said Ms. Tran Thi Thu Thuy, Director of Go Co village community tourism cooperative.

The Go Co Village Bai Choi and Hat Ho Association was established in 2020 with 23 members. Members are invited to perform on holidays, New Year, important events or to serve tourists.

"The association has three male members, the rest are women and children, even a 94-year-old woman still participates. My eleven-year-old grandson is also a member of the association and often participates in performances. We want to preserve and introduce the Bai Choi tune to tourists from near and far. The compensation is not much, but everyone is very happy...", Mrs. Bui Thi Sen, President of the Bai Choi and Singing Association of Go Co village, confided.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tet-ve-lang-du-lich-go-co-thuong-thuc-hoi-bai-choi-185250116141536328.htm