Traditional folk music festival kicks off
Nearly 500 artisans, actors and folklorists from 14 provinces and cities nationwide gathered at a festival featuring the traditional folk music of northern mountainous ethnic minorities that opened in the northern mountainous province of Cao Bang on October 3.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Vice Chairman of the provincial People Committee Nong Thi Thanh Tam, head of the festival organsing board, said that the event, the second of its kind in the country, is a preparation for asking the UNESCO to recognise œThen singing and œdan tinh, a traditional musical instrument of the Tay, Nung and Thai ethnic minorities, as world intangible cultural heritages.
The festival not only is an exchange between artisans but also represents a respect for this unique kind of art and raise the sense of creating new œThen tunes, said Tran Chien Thang, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
The œThen singing is a general performance of music, singing and dancing which is usually performed at traditional festivals, funeral and wedding ceremonies, providing a vivid reflection of the spiritual life and customs of the ethnic minorities.
Dan tinh the main instrument in the œThen singing - is a stringed musical instrument of plucking branch and consists of a neck, a resonator, surface, a head and strings. It has two kinds, two strings or three strings.
During the development process, the ethnic minorities have created a rich and diversified œThen singing and œDan Tinh cultural space which is evaluated to have similar cultural values as the Space of the Central Highlands Gong Culture, Hue Court Music and Quan Ho singing.
On the sidelines of the three-day festival, an exhibition featuring œThen singing and a workshop on how to preserve and develop the traditional music will be held.
Source VietnamNet