A massive effort by villagers in the northern province of Phu Tho hasnot only rescued the ancient form of dinh (community hall) singing, butalso guided the way for similar efforts to save other parts ofVietnamese culture.
Efforts will now be made to remove xoansinging from the UNESCO list of heritage in need of urgent protection,according to Ha Ke San, Vice-Chairman of the People's Committee of thenorthern province of Phu Tho.
At present, the art form is on theshorter List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of UrgentSafeguarding – in other words, in danger of dying out.
It ishoped to move it to the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage, a listconsisting of world culture that is endangered, but not on the brink ofextinction.
San said it was preferable to place the ancient formof singing into the second list because it was now being promoted andbroadcast widely throughout Phu Tho.
The province hasfinancially supported training classes and activities, in addition tohelping xoan singers directly helping to revive the ancient song form.
Theprovince is backing the study, collection of xoan singing and intendsto publish a book titled Hat Xoan Phu Tho (Phu Tho Xoan Singing).
Xoan is also being introduced to the school curriculum, along with projects to preserve and restore relics related to the art.
Theprovince will soon submit a document to UNESCO proposing xoan singingbe removed from the list of heritages in need of urgent protection.
Accordingto Nguyen Ngoc An, head of the local department of Culture, Sports andTourism, the preservation and training of xoan singing is beingpopularised widely within the province.
At present, 13 districtshave developed a total of 115 xoan clubs with nearly 1,300 members. Thebulk of the members are from Kim Duc and Phuong Lau Communes where thereare 23 clubs with nearly 1,148 members.
The department ofCulture, Sports and Tourism has organised hundreds of performances topromote xoan singing. Using the mass media, these shows have beenbroadcast to domestic and international audiences.
The departmenthas also collaborated with experts, musicians and researchers tocollect, edit and publish thousands of CDs and more than 5,000 booksabout xoan singing. These are used as aids for teachers and students.
PhuTho Department of Education has introduced xoan singing into all localschools to help following generations of children from the regionunderstand their heritage and their obligation to preserve it.
Additionally, the province is working on giving the title of Distinguished Artisans title to 17 xoan singers.
Xoansinging is said to have appeared about 4,000 years ago, during the timeof the Hung Kings. It usually took place at spring festivals in frontof communal houses. For this reason, it is also called hat cua dinh(singing in front of the communal house).
Xoan singing wasorganised not only to entertain villagers and honour the founding HungKings of Vietnam, but also to pray for good weather and harvests, praiselandscapes and depict daily life in rural areas.
Despite annualperformances at the festival at the Hung Kings' Temple, xoan singing wasonce at risk of dying out because members of the younger generationshad never heard it.
The UNESCO listed xoan singing as part of the world's Intangible Cultural Heritage in need of urgent protection in 2011.
This was good news for the people of Phu Tho province, the birthplace of a unique type of singing.
In2013, Phu Tho People's Committee built a 165 billion VND (7.85 millionUSD) project, entitled Maintaining and Developing Intangible CulturalHeritage of Humanity – Xoan Singing in Phu Tho in 2013-2020 funded bythe Government.-VNA
Efforts will now be made to remove xoansinging from the UNESCO list of heritage in need of urgent protection,according to Ha Ke San, Vice-Chairman of the People's Committee of thenorthern province of Phu Tho.
At present, the art form is on theshorter List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of UrgentSafeguarding – in other words, in danger of dying out.
It ishoped to move it to the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage, a listconsisting of world culture that is endangered, but not on the brink ofextinction.
San said it was preferable to place the ancient formof singing into the second list because it was now being promoted andbroadcast widely throughout Phu Tho.
The province hasfinancially supported training classes and activities, in addition tohelping xoan singers directly helping to revive the ancient song form.
Theprovince is backing the study, collection of xoan singing and intendsto publish a book titled Hat Xoan Phu Tho (Phu Tho Xoan Singing).
Xoan is also being introduced to the school curriculum, along with projects to preserve and restore relics related to the art.
Theprovince will soon submit a document to UNESCO proposing xoan singingbe removed from the list of heritages in need of urgent protection.
Accordingto Nguyen Ngoc An, head of the local department of Culture, Sports andTourism, the preservation and training of xoan singing is beingpopularised widely within the province.
At present, 13 districtshave developed a total of 115 xoan clubs with nearly 1,300 members. Thebulk of the members are from Kim Duc and Phuong Lau Communes where thereare 23 clubs with nearly 1,148 members.
The department ofCulture, Sports and Tourism has organised hundreds of performances topromote xoan singing. Using the mass media, these shows have beenbroadcast to domestic and international audiences.
The departmenthas also collaborated with experts, musicians and researchers tocollect, edit and publish thousands of CDs and more than 5,000 booksabout xoan singing. These are used as aids for teachers and students.
PhuTho Department of Education has introduced xoan singing into all localschools to help following generations of children from the regionunderstand their heritage and their obligation to preserve it.
Additionally, the province is working on giving the title of Distinguished Artisans title to 17 xoan singers.
Xoansinging is said to have appeared about 4,000 years ago, during the timeof the Hung Kings. It usually took place at spring festivals in frontof communal houses. For this reason, it is also called hat cua dinh(singing in front of the communal house).
Xoan singing wasorganised not only to entertain villagers and honour the founding HungKings of Vietnam, but also to pray for good weather and harvests, praiselandscapes and depict daily life in rural areas.
Despite annualperformances at the festival at the Hung Kings' Temple, xoan singing wasonce at risk of dying out because members of the younger generationshad never heard it.
The UNESCO listed xoan singing as part of the world's Intangible Cultural Heritage in need of urgent protection in 2011.
This was good news for the people of Phu Tho province, the birthplace of a unique type of singing.
In2013, Phu Tho People's Committee built a 165 billion VND (7.85 millionUSD) project, entitled Maintaining and Developing Intangible CulturalHeritage of Humanity – Xoan Singing in Phu Tho in 2013-2020 funded bythe Government.-VNA
