Vietnam has been working on a dossier of Xoan singing, a folk strainof northern Phu Tho province, to be submitted to UNESCO for recognitionas an “Intangible Cultural Heritage in need of Urgent Protection”.
Xoan singing, a vocal art of villages in the ancestral land of PhuTho, is usually performed in front of the communal house during thevillage festivals in the spring. Based on legends and historical,archeological and social records, researchers say that Xoan singingfirst appeared a long time ago, from the time when the Hung Kingsestablished the nation.
Associate Professor and artistTu Ngoc said, “Xoan singing itself features a wider variety oftraditional cultural rituals than other forms of ceremonial performancesand cultural customs in the northern midland and delta region such asrituals for worshipping ancestors, the tutelary god of the village, thegod of the soil or national heroes who made great contributions tonational culture and struggles against foreign invaders”.
The mixture of different layers of rituals in Xoan singingperformances indicates that the genre has had a long history ofdevelopment, the artist added.
According to statisticsreleased by folk art researchers in Phu Tho province, Xoan singing isnow performed in 17 village festivals in the province. Xoan singingartists are organised into troupes, called the Xoan troupes. Each troupeconsists of 12-18 young artists aged from 18-20 led by a middle-agedman who understand the rules, songs and ancient Nom script as well ashow to properly organise the troupe and train the artists.
The performers only practise their skills in spare time and do not consider it a means of earning a living.
Phu Tho province now has four Xoan singing art troupes, namely Phu Duc, Kim Doi, Thet and An Thai.
There are two parts of Xoan singing, including ceremonial singing andfestive singing, which have different contents and are performed indifferent ways.
The ceremonial singing has simple butsolemn rhythm and melody representing wishes for peace, prosperity andfavourable weather conditions. Meanwhile, the festive singing is moreexciting and romantic in lyrics, music and dance, depicting four seasonsof the year: spring, summer, autumn and winter, love, and aspirationsand dreams of people.
Compared to other forms of folkart, Xoan singing has more creative, diversified and plentiful rhythmand the performance is enhanced by drums and castanets.
Although it is annually performed at the Hung Kings’ TempleFestival , Xoan singing is at risk of falling into oblivion due toerratic transmission through generations. At present, Phu Tho provincehas 69 Xoan singing artists but only eight of them can teach the art forfollowing generations. Only 49 out of 81 people joining Xoan singingart troupes knew how to sing Xoan songs.
According toProf. Dr. To Ngoc Thanh, President of the Vietnam Folk Art Association,to surmount this situation, authorised agencies should restore theoriginal space for Xoan singing performances and have policies toencourage high schools to put the art into their teaching programmes.
Sharing views with Thanh, researcher Dang Hoanh Loan proposed a modelof preservation of the Xoan singing heritage in communities, thusraising public awareness of protecting the heritage./.
Xoan singing, a vocal art of villages in the ancestral land of PhuTho, is usually performed in front of the communal house during thevillage festivals in the spring. Based on legends and historical,archeological and social records, researchers say that Xoan singingfirst appeared a long time ago, from the time when the Hung Kingsestablished the nation.
Associate Professor and artistTu Ngoc said, “Xoan singing itself features a wider variety oftraditional cultural rituals than other forms of ceremonial performancesand cultural customs in the northern midland and delta region such asrituals for worshipping ancestors, the tutelary god of the village, thegod of the soil or national heroes who made great contributions tonational culture and struggles against foreign invaders”.
The mixture of different layers of rituals in Xoan singingperformances indicates that the genre has had a long history ofdevelopment, the artist added.
According to statisticsreleased by folk art researchers in Phu Tho province, Xoan singing isnow performed in 17 village festivals in the province. Xoan singingartists are organised into troupes, called the Xoan troupes. Each troupeconsists of 12-18 young artists aged from 18-20 led by a middle-agedman who understand the rules, songs and ancient Nom script as well ashow to properly organise the troupe and train the artists.
The performers only practise their skills in spare time and do not consider it a means of earning a living.
Phu Tho province now has four Xoan singing art troupes, namely Phu Duc, Kim Doi, Thet and An Thai.
There are two parts of Xoan singing, including ceremonial singing andfestive singing, which have different contents and are performed indifferent ways.
The ceremonial singing has simple butsolemn rhythm and melody representing wishes for peace, prosperity andfavourable weather conditions. Meanwhile, the festive singing is moreexciting and romantic in lyrics, music and dance, depicting four seasonsof the year: spring, summer, autumn and winter, love, and aspirationsand dreams of people.
Compared to other forms of folkart, Xoan singing has more creative, diversified and plentiful rhythmand the performance is enhanced by drums and castanets.
Although it is annually performed at the Hung Kings’ TempleFestival , Xoan singing is at risk of falling into oblivion due toerratic transmission through generations. At present, Phu Tho provincehas 69 Xoan singing artists but only eight of them can teach the art forfollowing generations. Only 49 out of 81 people joining Xoan singingart troupes knew how to sing Xoan songs.
According toProf. Dr. To Ngoc Thanh, President of the Vietnam Folk Art Association,to surmount this situation, authorised agencies should restore theoriginal space for Xoan singing performances and have policies toencourage high schools to put the art into their teaching programmes.
Sharing views with Thanh, researcher Dang Hoanh Loan proposed a modelof preservation of the Xoan singing heritage in communities, thusraising public awareness of protecting the heritage./.
