tai tu” (southern amateur music ) to be nominated to UNESCO as a mankind
intangible cultural heritage.
March 2011 is the deadline for
Vietnam to forward its dossier, said the Head of Vietnam’s National
Academy of Music Associate Professor Le Toan, adding that there will be
an international seminar held on southern amateur music in Ho Chi Minh
City in January, 2011.
A film crew from the institute began a
fact-finding tour in mid-November to shoot a documentary on southern
amateur music in 14 southeastern and Mekong Delta provinces over two
months.
Professor Tran Van Khe said that there has been no study
affirming the date of southern amateur music but many researchers say
that this art was formed in when land in the south of the country was
reclaimed at the end of the 19th century and early 20th century.
This kind of folk art is performed by southerners after their working day is over, he added.
The
instruments, namely the Dan co (also known as a dan nhi), the
Vietnamese two stringed fiddle, dan tranh (also known as the dan thap
luc) or 16 string zither and the doc huyen cam (monochord), are used in
this art but nowadays the monochord has been replaced with a guitar.
Southern
amateur singers’ groups have now formed into semi professional clubs to
meet the demands of tourists for this genre of music. Officials say
that they hope to the compilation of a dossier to ask UNESCO for
recognition of the music as an intangible culture would contribute to
protecting the nation’s cultural heritage at an international level and
raise the community’s awareness of the art while promoting the country’s
image to attract more tourists.
Professor Tran Quang Hai said
that the north boasts ca tru or ceremonial singing and quan ho (love
duets) while the central has nha nhac (Hue royal court music) and the
Central Highlands is famous for its gongs but southern amateur music has
not yet been honoured. Although it has existed for more than 100 years,
southern amateur music has traditionally been accompanied by cai luong
theatre.
Southern amateur singers’ clubs can be found everywhere
from Ho Chi Minh City to Can Tho, My Tho, Bac Lieu and Ca Mau and this
model should be developed for researchers to explore and complete a
dossier, said Hai.
Tran Viet Dung, Acting Head of the Cultural
Section of the Ca Mau Provincial Culture, Sports and Tourism Department,
said that his province has more than 600 clubs that confirms the
strength of this form of art.
Meanwhile, authorities of the Can
Tho Provincial Culture, Sports and Tourism Department, said that the
music is very much in southern people’s blood and everyone can sing even
a little. This remains an art that cannot be replaced in the future,
they said.
The Deputy Director of Can Tho’s Provincial Culture,
Sports and Tourism Department Ho Van Hoang, said that southern amateur
music originated from Hue royal court music and was taken long ago to
the south of the country./.
