Artists contribute to "naming" heritage

(Baothanhhoa.vn) - In November 2023, the Set Booc May festival of the Thai people in Mo 1 village, Can Khe commune, former Nhu Thanh district (now Xuan Du commune) was included in the List of National Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. To achieve this, the folk artisans of Mo 1 village have contributed to collecting and teaching the younger generation the cultural values ​​of their people.

Although she is over 70 years old, Mrs. Vi Thi Giao is still working hard at the loom.

In Mo 1 village, Ms. Vi Thi Giao is a person who has been attached to and has made many contributions to the work of preserving, conserving and promoting the Set Booc May festival. With the desire to teach the younger generation to understand and appreciate the traditional folk songs of her people, she always teaches and shares experiences about khap songs, scarf dances, bamboo dances... of the Thai people and is accepted by the younger generation, thereby creating the unique beauty of the Set Booc May festival.

Ms. Vi Thi Giao said: “Since I was a child, I witnessed and participated in the Set Booc May festival of the village. Since then, I have memorized many songs and dances in the festival. From the desire to pass on the beauty and identity of my people, in 2002 I began to teach the young generation in the village, with the hope that the young generation would inherit the quintessence of the khap dance, the scarf dance, how to make colorful skirts and blankets... to perform in the festival. Seeing the meaning and value of the traditional festival, the number of children studying with me has increased day by day. In the village now, most young people can perform in the art performances in the New Year festival."

As for Ms. Le Thi Quyen, she is the one who has the merit of going to the villages where Thai people live to collect, compile, and stage artistic performances, folk songs, and cultural values ​​about the customs and beliefs of the Thai people. Along with that, she collects tools serving the daily life of the Thai people such as bows, crossbows, plows, harrows... to add to the festival program. Ms. Le Thi Quyen said: “Although I am not a native Thai, I was born and raised in the Thai community, and married into a traditional Thai family. My father-in-law told me about the performances and games that recreate the daily life of the Thai people. After participating in the festival many times, I found that many performances have been lost, not as rich and diverse as what I knew, the words in the prayers have been changed, distorting their original meaning... I and other people in the village went to localities where Thai people live such as Ba Thuoc, Lang Chanh and other provinces to learn, collect and add to the festival performances”.

Mr. Nguyen Van Luyen, Party cell secretary of Mo 1 village, said: “Currently, the village has established a Set Booc May festival intangible heritage club, with 40 members. The members maintain the activities of teaching the rituals, games, and folk songs of their ethnic group to the younger generation; at the same time, they participate in common activities such as performing at the festival, touring to promote the good values ​​of their ethnic group throughout the country. These are the people who contribute most actively to preserving and promoting the traditional cultural values ​​of the festival.”

To preserve and promote the cultural values ​​of the Set Booc May festival, Xuan Du commune has seriously, closely and effectively implemented the policies of the Party and State on the task of preserving ethnic minority culture, investing in infrastructure for community tourism sites, restoring customs, practices, and cultural beauty of the Thai ethnic life, promoting the role of the Set Booc May festival intangible heritage club... Mr. Le Viet Huong, Vice Chairman of Xuan Du Commune People's Committee, said: "The Set Booc May festival is truly a precious cultural heritage, containing many scientific documents, helping research and understanding the process of developing the spiritual culture of the Thai people. Having gone through many stages of development and also encountered many difficulties, the local government, especially the people of Mo 1 village, folk artisans, village elders, village chiefs, and prestigious people have always paid attention and focused on the work of preserving and developing promote the traditional cultural values ​​of the Set Booc May festival. Through its annual organization, the festival has become a unique traditional cultural activity of the locality.

Article and photos: Minh Khanh

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/nhung-nbsp-nghe-nbsp-nhan-nbsp-gop-nbsp-phan-goi-nbsp-ten-di-san-260684.htm