Final Post: Needs Special Attention
Nghe An folk songs are facing great challenges on the way to becoming an intangible cultural heritage of humanity. To help readers better understand the direction of the functional sector in preserving and promoting the value of Nghe An folk songs, Nghe An Newspaper reporters had an interview with Mr. Pham Tien Dung - Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism about this issue.
PV: Could you tell us more about the process of building the dossier and submitting it to UNESCO to propose recognizing Nghe An's Vi and Dam folk songs as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity?
Mr. Pham Tien Dung:For a long time, Vi and Dam folk songs have been a unique art form and have a rich and lasting life in the communities of the people of Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces. Realizing the many cultural and spiritual values of Nghe folk songs in people's lives, since 2010, Vi and Dam folk songs of Nghe have been planned to be surveyed and a dossier has been built to submit to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to become an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Based on the criteria set forth by UNESCO, the Vietnam Institute of Culture and Arts has coordinated with the Department of Heritage Management (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) to issue an official dispatch guiding the process of building and submitting dossiers. The Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces has invited experts in cultural research in general and Nghe An folk songs in particular to conduct field surveys, scientific inventories, collect paintings, photos, clips and build dossiers to submit to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on building dossiers of Nghe An Folk Song Heritage. In addition, many seminars on the preservation and development of Nghe Tinh Vi and Giam folk songs have also been held.
On March 29, 2013, the Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to coordinate with the Vietnam National Committee for UNESCO to carry out the necessary procedures to submit the dossier of Nghe Tinh Vi and Giam folk songs to UNESCO before April 2, 2013. During the research and field survey, many new discoveries were also recognized, contributing to enhancing the cultural and spiritual value of Nghe Tinh Vi and Giam folk songs in people's lives.
Reporter: Recently, it is known that cultural management agencies at all levels have made great efforts in preserving and developing the values of Nghe Tinh Vi and Dam folk songs. Is bringing Vi and Dam folk songs to the stage a good way to preserve this heritage?
Mr. Pham Tien Dung:The performance space of Vi and Dam folk songs is a concern of ours in preserving the inherent values of Vi and Dam folk songs of Nghe Tinh. But we must also acknowledge the fact that through many historical events, the living conditions of the people have also changed a lot, so the previous performance space of Nghe folk songs was the banyan tree, the communal house yard and the manual working life of the people is no longer the same as before, so preserving the original performance space of Vi and Dam folk songs of Nghe Tinh is extremely difficult.
However, it is not because of this that we think that bringing Vi and Dam folk songs to the stage is something that somehow erodes its inherent values. On the contrary, every time Vi and Dam is brought to the stage, the first thing to be concerned about is that the sound and light, costumes, and stage setting must also be appropriate, thereby recreating the labor scenes and cultural activities of the ancient people in the most realistic way. This is also a thing that creates good effects for the current young generation to witness and re-imagine the unique and rich cultural living space of our ancestors.
PV: The preferential policies for folk singers are also a concern, sir?
Mr. Pham Tien Dung:This is an issue that we will pay more attention to in the coming time and specifically will introduce preferential policies for artisans who have made many contributions to the preservation and transmission of Nghe Tinh Vi and Dam folk songs. In the near future, regulations on the recognition of artisans, preferential policies for artisans and active folk song clubs will be introduced. Artisans as well as clubs are proof of the vitality of Vi and Dam folk songs in people's lives, so they need more attention and investment.
PV: If the folk songs Vi and Giam are recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, what solutions do we need to preserve this art form after it is recognized?
Mr. Pham Tien Dung:If Nghe Tinh Vi and Giam folk songs are recognized by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity in 2014, it will be a source of pride and good news for the two provinces of Nghe An and Ha Tinh. However, based on the cultural and spiritual values that Vi and Giam folk songs carry, whether or not they are recognized, it is still necessary to outline directions for preservation.
Specifically, it is necessary to preserve documents on Vi and Giam folk songs so that they do not fade away and to constantly search for and supplement many valuable documents to enrich the folk song treasure of Nghe An. Next, it is necessary to focus on developing performance activities so that Vi and Giam folk songs still retain their unique values as before. The issue of investment in the development of Vi and Giam folk songs is also worth paying attention to, such as the treatment regimes for artisans, the support of all levels in the activities of folk song clubs, etc. Only by preserving the inherent cultural values can we then invest in developing other aspects related to Vi and Giam folk songs such as cultural tourism, promoting the image of Nghe An people to other provinces, cities and around the world.
PV: Thank you!
Thai Anh (performed)
