Binh Duong (VNA) – Activities andinformation related to “Don Ca Tai Tu”, the musical art that UNESCO recognisedas an intangible cultural heritage in 2013, will be available at //doncataitu.vn launched in the southernprovince of Binh Duong on December 22.

According to Lai Xuan Thanh, Director of theprovincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the website will updateofficial information about the second national festival of “Don Ca Tai Tu” –Binh Duong 2017 provided by the organisation board.

Other relevant information and services will alsobe offered on the website, including artists, sponsors, volunteers, documents andmaps.

The festival will take place in new Binh Duong cityfrom April 8-12 with the participation of representatives from 21 provinces andcities in the south.

The event will feature traditional artperformances, and workshops on the art genre and local tourism development.


The first national “Don Ca Tai Tu” festival wasorganised in the southern province of Bac Lieu in 2014.

Known as a musical art that has both scholarlyand folk roots, Don Ca Tai Tu was developed in southern Vietnam in the late19th century. The impromptu art honours the creativeness and artistry of theperformers. 

The art is performed at numerous events, such asfestivals, ‘death anniversary' rituals, and celebratory social events. Theaudience can join in, by practicing, making comments or creating new words forsongs. 

It has been transmitted from generation togeneration through official and unofficial forms of education in all 21provinces, where the art form is popular. Don Ca Tai Tu has continually beenpopularised through cultural exchanges among peoples, presenting their mutualharmony and respect. 

The art form is played on a variety of differentinstruments, including the kim (moon-shaped lute), co (two-stringed fiddle),tranh (16-string zither), ty ba (pear-shaped lute), song lang (percussion), bau(monochord) and sao (bamboo flute), and the violin and guitar, which wereadapted. 

The musicians who contribute to Don Ca Tai Tuinclude master instrumentalists, master lyricists, master singers,instrumentalists, and singers. 

Influenced by other forms of cultural heritagefrom the central and southern regions of Vietnam, such as nhac le (ceremonialmusic) and hat boi (classical theatre and folk song), the music genre was addedto the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2012.-VNA