Cultural researcher Vu Kim Bien from northern Phu Tho province hassubmitted an over 80-page manuscript to local authorities featuringancient “xoan” singing as well as solutions to revive the practice inresponse to its recognition as an Intangible Cultural Heritage in Needof Urgent Safeguarding.
In his research work, Bienintroduced studies based on various documents he has collected over theyears, proving this traditional art form dates back to the reign of theHung Kings (more than 2,000 years ago) and was then developed in the Lyand post-Le dynasties (10 th -18 th centuries).
Traditionally, singers from xoan guilds performed in sacred spaces, suchas temples, shrines and communal houses during spring festivals.
There are three kinds of xoan singing: songs of worship for Hung Kingsand village guardian spirits; ritual songs for abundant crops, healthand good luck; and festival songs, with villagers alternating male andfemale verses in a form of courtship.
The singing is accompanied by dance and musical instruments, such as clapping and drumming.
All pre-1945 xoan songs performed at the ancient guilds of An Thai,Kim Doi, Thet and Trung Hoi in Phu Tho province’s Viet Tri city were adirect descendant of those that originated in the 15 th century.
Bien also presented the number of verses and singers in 28 of the various xoan performances.
Each xoan guild is led by a “trum” who is able to read “Nom”(Vietnamised Chinese script) and includes six “Kep” (male singers)aged 19-20 and 12 “Dao” (female singers) aged 16-17.
Age and costumes are the two most distinctive features of xoan, varying from region to region.
Bien proposed provincial leaders promptly restore the xoan guilds inAn Thai, Kim Doi, Thet and Trung Hoi in Viet Tri city according topre-1945 criteria in terms of the number of male and female singers,age, costumes, and performance methods.
The provinceshould also set up an advisory team of experts such as musician CaoKhac Thuy, researcher Pham Hung Thoan and artisans with rich experiencein the field, he suggested.
He recommended trainingxoan guilds artisans to serve tourism markets and record a strongexample of guild performance to submit to UNESCO for recognition as auniversal outstanding intangible cultural heritage.-VNA
In his research work, Bienintroduced studies based on various documents he has collected over theyears, proving this traditional art form dates back to the reign of theHung Kings (more than 2,000 years ago) and was then developed in the Lyand post-Le dynasties (10 th -18 th centuries).
Traditionally, singers from xoan guilds performed in sacred spaces, suchas temples, shrines and communal houses during spring festivals.
There are three kinds of xoan singing: songs of worship for Hung Kingsand village guardian spirits; ritual songs for abundant crops, healthand good luck; and festival songs, with villagers alternating male andfemale verses in a form of courtship.
The singing is accompanied by dance and musical instruments, such as clapping and drumming.
All pre-1945 xoan songs performed at the ancient guilds of An Thai,Kim Doi, Thet and Trung Hoi in Phu Tho province’s Viet Tri city were adirect descendant of those that originated in the 15 th century.
Bien also presented the number of verses and singers in 28 of the various xoan performances.
Each xoan guild is led by a “trum” who is able to read “Nom”(Vietnamised Chinese script) and includes six “Kep” (male singers)aged 19-20 and 12 “Dao” (female singers) aged 16-17.
Age and costumes are the two most distinctive features of xoan, varying from region to region.
Bien proposed provincial leaders promptly restore the xoan guilds inAn Thai, Kim Doi, Thet and Trung Hoi in Viet Tri city according topre-1945 criteria in terms of the number of male and female singers,age, costumes, and performance methods.
The provinceshould also set up an advisory team of experts such as musician CaoKhac Thuy, researcher Pham Hung Thoan and artisans with rich experiencein the field, he suggested.
He recommended trainingxoan guilds artisans to serve tourism markets and record a strongexample of guild performance to submit to UNESCO for recognition as auniversal outstanding intangible cultural heritage.-VNA
