Lesson 1: Gradually disappearing Thai, xuoi, and nhuon skirts

The renovation period is creating certain changes in the culture and lifestyle of the youth in the highlands. Nowadays, television, internet... are no longer strange to the villages. Along with that, the innovations in economic and social life have been creating new trends among the youth in this place.

Nghe An Newspaper would like to introduce the topic "Highland youth in today's life" as a reference, thereby helping readers have a basic view of them...

(Baonghean) - In just a short time, a part of the youth in the highlands has become almost unfamiliar with the costumes and weaving. Besides, folk songs and folk games have also gradually disappeared from their spiritual life?

Wearing Thai dress, feel shy

For many years, Bon village, Yen Na commune (Tuong Duong) has been recognized as a Cultural Village. This is also the village that is considered to have the most vibrant cultural and artistic movement in the inner commune of this mountainous district, with a strong art troupe that often performs in the commune and outside the district. Crossroads and alleys in the village have all been concreted and are clean and beautiful. Coming here, one can easily imagine that one is lost in a "village town" with all the ancient stilt houses. The greetings "How are you?" or "How are you, uncle?" echoing from the windows make people from far away feel strangely relaxed!

It is said that the elders in the village still remember the fairy tales. Occasionally, when the village has a wedding or a housewarming party, the singing of suon, xuoi, nhuon still echoes from under the stilt houses.

My friend who works at the commune radio station chose an old stilt house for me to visit, saying that it was the home of distant relatives. Only the aunts and uncles were at home. When guests entered the house, everyone stood up and raised their arms to greet them in the way we often see Thai and Lao people. The youngest daughter in the family was called out to pour water for the guests. My first impression was that she was a pretty girl and not much different from the modern girls from the lowlands. She wore a short skirt and a very “fashionable” floral shirt. The thread on her wrist was probably the only sign that this girl was from the highlands.

After a glass of wine, the girl introduced herself as Quynh Thuong, surname Luong, 23 years old. So even her name was completely unfamiliar to Thai culture. She confided that after finishing high school, she did not choose to study further like her friends in the commune and village, but stayed home to help her family with the farming. However, embroidery and weaving were unfamiliar to her. When she was young, no one taught her and she did not want to learn. The girls of the same age in the village were all the same. If she did not know how to embroider dresses or weave blankets, what would she wear when she got married? After hesitating for a moment, the girl replied: “Just go buy some. Now when I hear about wearing ethnic dresses, I feel embarrassed!”

According to Thuong, not many girls in the village know how to embroider or weave anymore. And of course, the young girls here no longer wear their ethnic costumes every day. Only rarely, during cultural performances in the village or outside the commune, do they wear Thai skirts and shirts. "During the last cultural performance, I forgot to wear a scarf," the girl honestly shared.

The departure from traditional ethnic costumes does not only occur in Bon village but also in many other ethnic minority villages. Son Khe village (Chi Khe - Con Cuong) has recently seen the emergence of a number of classes aimed at restoring the brocade weaving profession. It must be said that such classes are springing up like mushrooms in the highlands, and are very necessary for the brocade weaving profession as well as some other industries and occupations of the people. However, it is worth mentioning that the students participating in these classes are all older, the number of young people attending classes is often small. Some young people do not hesitate to share that they go to school just for fun and to "get money" to support. A student from Son Khe village shared: "I go to school so as not to forget my grandparents' profession". After a while, when she returned, it was learned that after the class, the girl no longer touched a needle and thread or a loom. In addition to the time in class, helping her mother with housework, she focused on... her newly purchased mobile phone?!

Familiar features fading away

The restoration of crafts such as brocade weaving and weaving has created a sideline job and farm work for women in the highlands. For many reasons, these professions are not attractive to young people. Not only traditional costumes and folk songs, but also folk games are gradually disappearing from daily activities. After each working day, in the late afternoon, young men and women in the highland villages gather at the village football fields to play volleyball and soccer. In the evening, the village boys gather at houses with billiard tables, not only for "fun" but the losing side often has to pay for soft drinks, even dinner and breakfast for the winning side. Folk games such as stick pushing and tug of war only appear sporadically during festivals and New Year's holidays. Along with that is the absence of folk melodies that are still considered a unique feature of highland culture, replaced by loudspeakers and radios playing dance music, pop music, karaoke all night long, especially when there is a wedding or a housewarming party.

Modern touches in a highland wedding.

The press has talked a lot about this, but rarely has there been any listening to young people talking about change. Mr. Vi Khai Hai, 29 years old, living in Bon village (Yen Na - Tuong Duong) shared: When our generation hears the sound of the pi and the khen, they can still listen. As for the next generation, especially those born in the 1990s, no one wants to listen to traditional music anymore!

Meanwhile, a cadre of Yen Na commune who is very passionate about ancient knowledge (including Lai Pao script, the game of “calling the moon fairy”...) shared: In the past, whenever we heard the sound of “pi thiu” (bamboo flute), even when we were eating, we would put down our chopsticks and run after our friends. Now, we can no longer hear it!”

Thus, the picture of the spiritual and cultural life of the highlanders has two different parts. The middle-aged and elderly people are still interested in the traditional culture of their ancestors, while the young generation is turning their backs on the cultural products of their homeland. Ban Bon is a locality that most clearly shows this picture. Here, middle-aged and elderly women still like to sit on rattan chairs, embroider, and wear Thai skirts every day, while the young men and women are no different from "strangers" with short skirts, dyed hair, and always carrying a smartphone... For those who are interested in highland culture, this is a worrying thing and a danger of losing many traditional cultural features?!

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