When will singing Vi Phuong Vai become a tourism product?

(Baonghean) - For a long time, Nam Dan people have been nurturing and preserving the art of singing Vi Phuong Vai to serve tourists.However, to make Vi Phuong Vai singing an attractive tourist product, there is a lot of work to be done.

Singing Vi Phuong Vai has become an intimate part of the spiritual life of Nam Dan people. Singing Vi Phuong Vai has gone through many ups and downs and at times seemed to be forgotten. In the 70s and 80s of the 20th century, singing Vi Phuong Vai here was restored, but then due to the influence of the market economy, singing Vi Phuong Vai encountered many difficulties. Recently, we went to Xuan Hoa, visited the Singing Vi Phuong Vai Club led by Mr. Dinh Xuan Tinh - Chairman of the Commune Elderly Association and the Club's director. The advantage of the Club is that there is folk artist Nguyen Thi Hai (90 years old this year) participating in the activities and she is the "soul" of the Club.

Vi Phuong Vai singing performed in Kim Lien commune, Nam Dan district. Photo: Xuan Tam

Considered one of the most effective clubs in Nam Dan, the club is still operating in a "come-as-you-go" manner. Although there is a Board of Directors, a specific operating regulation has not yet been established, due to lack of funding. Each time they participate in a performance, the club members have to take care of everything from A to Z. Talking with artist Nguyen Thi Hai, we learned that her concern and anxiety is how to get the club to receive the attention of the local government, even if it is just a small party after the club's successes; how to mobilize funds for the club to be able to hold regular activities, even if only once a month; how to make the young generation increasingly love singing Vi Phuong Vai like the elders in the past... As for Mrs. Ho Thi Mao, the passion of the club members is abundant. During rehearsals to prepare for the Sen Village Singing Festival or performances on the occasion of the Elderly Day, the elders still diligently practice day and night with the hope of teaching many melodies to their children and grandchildren, composing new lyrics... only then can the singing of Vi Phuong Vai enter life, and fully promote the beauty of the homeland's melodies.

Talking with Mr. Tran Van Sinh (cultural officer of Xuan Hoa commune), we learned that in fact, the local government has not had any mechanism, policy or financial support for the club's activities. Partly due to the limited budget of the commune, and partly due to the lack of advice, supervision and close monitoring of this issue by the commune's cultural officers. Therefore, the club's activities still face many difficulties. In the near future, with their responsible role, the commune's cultural officers will advise the Party Committee and the government to support funding for the club to operate more regularly.

As for the Kim Lien - Nam Dan Folk Songs Club - which has the largest number of artists awarded the title of folk artist in the province, there are currently only 10 people left, and the living conditions are not very bright. Every year, regular activities are organized two or three times; whenever there is a performance or festival, we sit together to review excerpts and old lyrics. When asked about his worries and concerns, Mr. Tran Van Tu (85 years old this year), the club's director, confided: The members of the club are all old, there is no operating budget, although many times we have made recommendations and proposals to the commune and district levels, but everything is still the same. However, Mr. Tu's biggest concern is that the artists are getting older and older, and the time will come when they have to return to the eternal world, but teaching the younger generation is still very difficult. Because their passion cannot overcome the "worry about food and money". In the past, the elders sang and played in the Fabrics Club because the society at that time was not competitive, they wore whatever they had, ate whatever they had. However, nowadays society has developed, has progressed, village roads and alleys are all concreted and people also have to try to follow that industrialization and modernization, so people are forced to think about economic development. After all, we cannot blame the young generation, but we are just sad, sad because the fabric guild has fewer and fewer people participating in singing. Then tomorrow, when our class "returns to dust", will we be able to maintain the fabric guild club?

Discussing this issue with Mr. Le Xuan Tam - Deputy Director of the District Cultural and Sports Center, we learned that in 2006, the People's Committee of Nam Dan district issued the Project "Preserving and promoting Vi Phuong Vai singing in Nghe - Tinh folk songs", with the aim of preserving and promoting Vi Phuong Vai singing so that this art form becomes a tourism product serving domestic and foreign tourists when visiting Nam Dan. However, up to now, after more than 7 years of implementation, the project still has many difficulties and problems such as the melodies are not attractive to the young generation; the team of professionals with passion and deep understanding of Vi Phuong Vai singing is still too small, the approach between the new and the old of the generations is still limping. Although in the past, a number of Vi Phuong Vai folk song clubs have been formed, their activities are not continuous, regular, seasonal, spontaneous, only participating in practice when there is a performance, so they are not mature in the profession; And an eternal reason is that the operating budget of the clubs is still passive, mainly depending on the members themselves, without any support (even very little) from the local government.

To restore and expand the singing of Vi Phuong Vai, every year the district's Department of Culture and Information selects core members, establishes teams, and brings Vi Phuong Vai singing to participate in festivals, competitions, and mass art performances at the provincial level such as "Sen Village Singing Festival", "Folk Song and Instrument Festival" ... Up to now, many localities have restored and developed Vi Phuong Vai singing such as Xuan Hoa, Nam Giang, Nam Thanh, Khanh Son, Nam Tan, Nam Loc, Nam Nghia. A typical example is the "Hoang Thi An" Phuong Vai Singing Club in Kim Lien commune, which attracts a large number of members of all ages, and operates in a disciplined manner, contributing greatly to the collection and preservation of the hometown's Vi songs. In particular, every year in the Sen Village Singing Festival held on the occasion of the Sen Village Festival, the district's Center for Culture and Information sets out regulations: participating teams must have a performance of Vi Phuong Vai singing.

In the coming time, Nam Dan will continue to encourage all classes of people to participate in singing Vi Phuong Vai associated with community cultural activities. Continue to improve the form, quality, and content of performances to create appeal, attracting enthusiastic response from young people. Include watching Vi Phuong Vai singing performances in one of the contents of the sightseeing program at Kim Lien relic site and other relics and scenic spots in the district. Hopefully, when Nghe folk songs are recognized by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity, Nam Dan Vi Phuong Vai singing in particular, Nghe Tinh folk songs in general will be attractive cultural tourism products for domestic and international tourists when coming to Nam Dan, Nghe An.

Thanh Thuy