The Meritorious Artisan in Phuoc Thang is dedicated to teaching the code.

Meritorious Artist Mai Tham has a rustic yet attractive musical instrument performance style that attracts viewers. He is an Artist who is able to skillfully use traditional musical instruments of the Raglay ethnic group such as the ma la, chapi, and trumpet. Implementing Project 6 of the National Target Program 1719 on Preserving and promoting the fine traditional cultural values ​​of ethnic minorities associated with tourism development, the Artist has devoted himself to teaching the ma la performance to people in communes in Bac Ai district, Ninh Thuan province.

Meritorious Artist Mai Tham teaches Ma La performance to people of Phuoc Thang commune

Visiting Meritorious Artisan Mai Tham at his home in Ma Oai village, Phuoc Thang commune, we saw him adjusting the sound of his family's ma la set in preparation for opening a class to teach students during the 2025 summer vacation.

Talking with Meritorious Artist Mai Tham, we learned that from 2022 to now, implementing Project 6 of the National Target Program 1719, he has participated in teaching 6 Ma La performance classes to more than 150 Raglay students in Phuoc Hoa, Phuoc Tan, and Phuoc Chinh communes. In just three days for each course, with his dedication, he has guided students in basic knowledge of how to perform Ma La, with popular songs in wedding ceremonies, grave-leaving ceremonies, new rice-eating ceremonies, and filial piety ceremonies.

Sharing about the gong, Meritorious Artisan Mai Tham explained in detail that the gong is considered a sacred object of the village. The Raglay people call the gong sar, this is a type of gong without a knob, made of bronze, the same type as the gongs of the ethnic groups in the Central Highlands. How to play the gong, each person carries one on the left shoulder, hitting the outside of the gong with the right fist to create sound. The left hand is placed on the inside of the gong to maintain balance, while controlling the intensity and duration of the sound. By specific actions such as opening the hand to make the sound resonate; pressing the hand on the inside lightly or strongly for a low or mute sound...

Meritorious Artist Mai Tham plays the chapi and ma la instruments

In the life of the Raglay people, the ma la is considered a valuable asset. Any family that has a ma la shows its wealth and keeps it as a family heirloom. People cannot live without a ma la. Each village has 3-5 ma la that are passed down from generation to generation. From birth to death, the Raglay people are associated with the sound of the ma la.

In addition to performing in traditional festivals, the ma la also “appears” in cultural programs and entertainment activities of the villagers. The ma la is a “mass” musical instrument, from the elderly to women and children, all can play the ma la methodically, skillfully, and in the right rhythm. Raglay artists also harmonize the ma la with drums, gourd trumpets, and chapi to create a bustling, warm, and joyful sound…

Meritorious Artist Mai Tham also shared that in his youth, he was assigned to Unit B5 to fight the Americans on the Bac Ai Tay battlefield. He and his comrades fought bravely to protect the Bac Ai revolutionary base until the day his hometown Ninh Thuan was completely liberated and the country was unified.

After returning to his village, he actively participated in local activities and made efforts to ensure a prosperous family life. He was awarded the Second Class Resistance Medal by the President for his achievements in the resistance war against the US to save the country. When his family's economic life was stable, he spent time researching, teaching and preserving the traditional musical instruments of the Raglay people.

Meritorious Artist Mai Tham performs the gourd trumpet, a traditional musical instrument of the Raglay people.

Meritorious Artisan Mai Tham with a set of 8 horse-shaped horses considered a treasure of the Mai clan in Phuoc Thang

Currently, the Mai clan in Phuoc Thang commune has left their descendants four horse-drawn carriages that he inherited and kept as family treasures. However, the Horse-drawn Cart Team needs eight carriages to fully express the Raglay people's feelings connecting with the sacred souls of the mountains and forests of their grandparents and ancestors. Therefore, he led two buffaloes on foot for more than thirty kilometers along the trail to Cam Ranh ( Khanh Hoa ) to exchange for four carriages and bring them back to the village.

He enthusiastically introduced to us the position of each gong in the “unison” of Bac Ai mountains and forests. The most important of these is the mother gong that keeps the rhythm for the father and child gongs to play, creating a unique harmony of the mountains and forests during festivals, new rice harvests, weddings, and grave-sweeping ceremonies.

Thanks to this set of ma la, he devoted himself to teaching 40 students from Le Loi Secondary School and Pi Nang Tac Ethnic Minority High School to perform ma la skillfully. In recognition of Mr. Mai Tham's contributions, in November 2015, he was honored to be awarded the title of Meritorious Artisan by the President for his outstanding contributions in preserving and promoting the nation's cultural heritage, contributing to the cause of building socialism and defending the Fatherland.

Pi Nang Tac Ethnic Boarding School's Ma La Team, taught by Meritorious Artist Mai Tham

Mr. Ha Quoc Huy, Vice Chairman of Phuoc Thang Commune People's Committee, acknowledged that Meritorious Artisan Mai Tham set an example of encouraging his children and grandchildren to work hard to ensure a prosperous family life. He actively participated in preserving and promoting the cultural traditions of the Raglay people, mobilizing his relatives to unite and join hands in building new rural areas; protecting peaceful residential areas.

He is dedicated to teaching the Ma La performance, contributing to preserving the precious cultural heritage of the local Raglay people. With his dedication to teaching traditional national musical instruments, Meritorious Artisan Mai Tham is loved by the Ragay people in the villages.

Source: https://baodantoc.vn/nguoi-nghe-nhan-uu-tu-o-phuoc-thang-tan-tam-truyen-day-ma-la-1749700364207.htm