Community refuses to sing final xoan song
When spring comes, men and women at An Thai Village (in Viet Tri
City’s Phuong Lau Commune) eagerly prepare their costumes and gather every night
at the village’s communal house to practise singing and dancing.
Spring festivals and Tet (Lunar New Year) are occasions
for them to raise their voice to the rhythm of xoan (folk singing) which
is the integral part of every festival in the province.
The northern province of Phu Tho is the cradle of xoan
singing but now only a handful of villages have a place for it. The Ministry of
Culture, Sports and Tourism has submitted a file to UNESCO to gain recognition
for traditional xoan singing as world cultural heritage that needs urgent
protection.
Old tune
Nguyen Thi Lich was born in a family with a tradition of singing
xoan. Her grandfather and father have been leaders of xoan
troupes.
When she was young, she was attracted by xoan singing and
picked up some singing from her family. From the age of 10, she began to be
trained by them, instilling a love for xoan singing that hasn’t declined
yet.
According to legend the sacred art appeared long ago, during the
reign of the Hung Kings, some 4,000 years ago. According myth, at that time
xoan singing was usually organised in front of communal houses (dinh)
during the spring, hence it is also called hat cua dinh (singing in front
of the communal house). Xoan singing is organised not only to entertain
the villagers and honour the Hung Kings but also to pray for clement weather and
good harvests, praise the natural landscapes and depict the work, agriculture
and daily activities in rural areas.
Located in the most remote commune of Viet Tri City, An Thai
Village has the typical appearance of an old village of the northern midlands,
with thatch-roofed houses and earthen walls lying under the shades of palm
trees. Here senior artist Lich and her troupe of 42 never tire of singing and
recounting stories about xoan.
As the legend has it, the sixth Hung King’s queen became
pregnant. On the day of the delivery, she struggled for hours to give birth, but
couldn’t. A servant suggested that Que Hoa who was talented in singing and
dancing should be called from An Thai Village to entertain the queen and help
her reduce the pains of child-birth. Hoa came and sang beside the queen’s bed.
Her voice was sweet and her dance so delicate that it helped the queen forget
the birth pangs and successfully deliver three handsome and healthy sons. In
indescribable joy, the king invited Hoa to stay in the palace and teach the
princes to sing. Hoa agreed. It was the beginning of spring so that the singing
became known as xuan (spring) singing. Over time the name was slowly
transformed into xoan. Time has changed the meaning of much of xoan
tradition. The name of An Thai, meaning safe womb has now become just An Thai.
The stories and names of legend that have been passed down orally in just three
living copies have resulted in similar deviations.
Xoan has certain local cultural and spiritual customs. It is
performed in the spring as an activity to welcome a new year.
The singing is performed at certain places at the communal
house’s doors. Each team of xoan performance holds a certain number of
communal house’s doors.
It requires the establishment of teams of xoan or
families of xoan. Each team usually has 4-5 men and 12-15 women led by a
principal singer. The costume of a male singer includes a four-flapped gown, a
turban and white trousers and the costumes of a female singer includes a
five-flapped gown, a white loose-fitting blouse, a belt, brassiere bands of
different colours and silk trousers.
Xoan is performed according to a certain order consisting of
three parts: rites, performance and festive singing. Firstly, the performers
pray in front of the communal house’s gate. They commune with the genies and
sing the praise of Saints and Gods. The performance begins when the performers
describe old rural life or sing the praise of natural beauty or retell old
stories and legends. Festive singing features love songs with dances and games.
This is the most joyful part of xoan.
Xoan is very difficult to learn. It requires the combination
of good voice, appearance and gestures. To convey the emotion of the song, the
performer must sing from the heart. Xoan singing traditionally has a
total 14 tempos. The singer must be proficient in the rhythm before starting to
learn the song lyrics. The songs are attached with one another by movements,
dances and performance in different scenes. The musical instruments for xoan
singing are similar to many other kinds of folk songs, including drums, wooden
bells and castanets. Drums and castanets are played by men, while singing and
dancing are done by women. There are dances performed by two 10-year-old boys.
A xoan performance begins at 5am with a drum beat to
gather the people and lengthens until the next morning. Singers and
instrumentalists only have a rest at the midnight but no one complains about the
tiredness, according to Lich.
"Respect for the Gods, a love for singing and the encouragement
of the audience help us lose ourselves in singing," she says.
Xoan is an invaluable cultural heritage of the local people
in Phu Tho Province. To preserve and develop this art form, the singing groups
have constantly taught the younger generations traditional folk songs imbued
with love for their native land, contributing to preservation of Vietnamese
folklore.
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Soul sounds:
Xoan singing is
accompanied by drums and castanets, and is more simple than other
traditional songs like ca tru (ceremonial singing) or quan
ho (love duet). |
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New blood
Among senior xoan singers of An Thai xoan singing
troupe, only Lich has transferred the ancient art to the current generation. She
has opened a xoan class to preserve the art. She has taught more than 100
young singers.
"My paternal grandfather and father are famous xoan
singers here. I have followed them to become a xoan singer but I’m not
sure the next generation will be able to preserve it," says Lich.
The class takes place in the yard of the communal house. No fee
is required. Both teacher and students have a passion for singing and submerging
themselves into the emotional and velvety xoan songs. Each class has 20
students; most of them are 14 to 15 years old. Training takes several months,
enough for the students to basically grasp the old xoan songs.
"I teach the students the songs orally and correct each tune and
dance movement. Now the xoan singing classes are attracting an increasing
number of young people, even children of nine to 11 years old."
"My class has been in existence for nearly a decade but all of
the trainees have moved and it is very difficult to get them together," she
says.
The younger ones have to work to earn a living. Some of them
have left the village to find job in cities. If this situation continues xoan
singing could be lost when Lich’s generation passes.
"It is not so difficult to train good singers but it is
extremely hard to keep them singing xoan," she adds.
Nguyen Thi Hong Nhung, 16, is one among Lich’s best students.
She began learning xoan at the age of 10 and has performed together with
veteran artists in festivals and performances. As a high school’s student, Nhung
is often busy studying. She has classes every morning and several afternoons but
hasn’t missed any of Lich’s class. "I love singing xoan," she says, "I
want to study at a university in Ha Noi, but I will sing xoan as long as
I stay at the village."
Bui Duc Thanh left the village for military service. He has come
back and started singing xoan at the age of 30 together with Lich’s other
students. Learning a song can take up to four months, but after two months, he
already has the rhythm of several songs, although he still needs to stand his
teacher to follow her voice.
"For any An Thai villager, xoan is as familiar as a lullaby,"
Thanh says, "I learned the lyrics by heart, and can sing thanks to the drum and
castanets."
Lich may face difficulties in training the next generation but
she’s really proud of her students. "All of them have a love and responsibility
for our heritage," she says, "they learn with all hearts".
"After school, they gather at the communal house to practise.
Sometimes, when I can’t come or come late, they don’t wait, but come to my house
to ask for help in their training."
As a way of preserving this heritage, xoan groups like
Lich’s troupe have spent money buying musical instruments and outfits and
practicing singing xoan songs as a catalyst for young people to follow
the tradition.
She hopes the troupe and her classes will receive recognition
and concrete state support.
Chairman of Phuong Lau Communal People’s Committee, Nguyen Van
Bay says that it is lucky so many young people have as strong an attachment to
xoan as Nhung.
"We, truly want to do something to help the artists but due to a
lack of money, all we can do is provide them with a venue to perform, practise
and train," he says.
Musician Dang Hoanh Loan agrees with Lich’s idea of bringing
xoan into schools. Children don’t have to learn how to sing but they should
know xoan lyrics as poems and try to play musical instruments, he said.
Vietnamese academics all agree on the urgent need to protect the
art as part of the world’s intangible cultural heritage.
They say attention should be given to collecting and organising
xoan related documents for careful research and analysis as well as the
restoration of the traditional rituals of xoan singing.
Researcher Nguyen Khac Xuong thinks xoan should be
professionalised, with directors, nicer costumes instead of just having old
people performing the traditional music.
"Apart from the ritual section, xoan singing includes
performances which are romantic and cheerful; it should be performed by young
people."
Musician Loan affirms the important position of xoan
singing in folk culture.
"Artists in their 70s and 80s who still remember and can sing
are still popular," he says, "we don’t have to worry about materials and lyrics
on xoan singing because they are collected and stored at the institute."
Loan praises xoan singing as a valuable part of the
nation’s heritage. Xoan singers like Lich are day by day trying their own
best to preserve this heritage and spread their passion to the younger
generation. Every time they don their festive costumes to sing in the communal
house, their hearts share the same beat of respect and love for the traditional
xoan folk songs. — VNS