Preserving intangible cultural heritage "Difficult!"

(Baonghean) Not only valuable in knowledge education and human personality formation, many tangible and intangible cultural heritages of Nghe An have been promoting their role, potential and strengths in promoting the image of Nghe An homeland, developing tourism economy, attracting tourists and investors to explore and choose investment opportunities.

However, the current situation of preserving intangible cultural heritage is much more difficult than that of tangible cultural heritage, because artisans are getting older and the young generation is not interested. There are too few officials doing the collection work, and they are not enthusiastic. Besides, the investment between these two types of heritage is too different. We can spend billions of dong to restore and rehabilitate tangible cultural heritages such as communal houses, temples, pagodas, etc., but there are not many truly serious conferences to find ways to collect intangible cultural heritages. A ceremony to honor artisans has not been organized. Furthermore, there is no truly attractive and popular work about intangible cultural heritages.

Practice session of Dien Lien Ca Tru Club (Dien Chau).

Intangible cultural heritage is a symbol of traditional cultural identity, the lifeblood of each locality and each nation. Mr. DoanMale- The Head of the Department of Cultural Heritage - Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said that Nghe An is losing a lot of intangible cultural heritage. When a type of intangible cultural heritage has been collected, it is only preserved in books and documents without finding a way to promote it. The gongs of the Central Highlands, Quan Ho Bac Ninh, Xoan singing of Phu Tho... resonate throughout the five continents thanks to the people there living with their own art forms. For people to live with their own regional cultural identity, then it is possible to seriously preserve these intangible cultural heritages. Nghe An has also done that, but very little. The brocade weaving of the Thai people or the melodies of the Tho people, Nhuon, Du Du Dieng Dieng; folk singing, Ho Vi Dam, Ca Tru singing of the Kinh people... have helped the people there feel secure in their lives to be creative. But the intangible cultural values ​​of Nghe An are very latent. Also according to Mr. Doan Nam, in 2011, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism organized an inventory of intangible cultural heritage, gradually made a list of heritages by region, studied the current situation and will provide directions and solutions for the work of preserving and promoting intangible cultural heritages that have a strong influence in the community.

For many years, Mr. Phan Van Lang (73 years old) - a traditional opera singer of the traditional opera club of Ke Gam village, hamlet 5, Xuan Thanh commune - Yen Thanh district has been concerned about the survival of opera, an art form that has been associated with Xuan Thanh land for generations.

However, artists like him are gradually disappearing, and the young generation does not dare to pursue it. Moreover, Tuong artists still do not have any source of support. Tuong art is very difficult to preserve and develop when each year only a few excerpts are performed at festivals, at the beginning of the New Year. To ignite the passion for traditional Tuong, Mr. Lang himself is the one who makes costumes for the Tuong club in his neighborhood with his own money. How many dedicated artists like him are left?

Implementing Resolution 5 of the 8th Central Committee on preserving and promoting national cultural identity, in recent times, Yen Thanh has restored a number of traditional festivals such as: Duc Hoang Temple Festival (Phuc Thanh), Canh Temple Festival (Duc Thanh), Chua Gam Temple Festival (Xuan Thanh), Ca Temple Festival (Hoa Thanh)... organized in the form of socialization. The important thing is that through these festivals, the ancient clubs have the opportunity to exchange and perform for the people in the region. Coming to Yen Thanh at the beginning of the New Year is also the time when the festival season blooms, the atmosphere from the beginning of the village to the end of the hamlet is always bustling and bustling. The good news is that the establishment of the ancient clubs has received the support of the people and local organizations. But the worrying thing is that most of the clubs only attract the elderly and the commune has only stopped at encouraging and has not had any policy for the clubs.

Meritorious Artist Hong Luu - Deputy Director of the Center for Preservation and Promotion of Nghe An Folk Heritage said: Currently, our province is paying great attention to bringing Nghe An folk songs back to the people's lives, preparing to be recognized by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage of the world by 2015. To bring folk songs back to the people, return folk songs to the performance space, the original space, one of the goals of the center is to build and establish folk song clubs. It can be said that this is the most positive direction to complete the project in the fastest, most correct and most effective way. Currently, the whole province has over 70 clubs established. These clubs are concentrated in 15 districts, cities and towns along the Lam River (except for the mountainous districts: Tuong Duong, Ky Son, Quy Chau, Quy Hop, Que Phong). These organizations are established voluntarily by members, have annual fund contributions, and have operating regulations.

However, due to weak economic resources, during the process of operation and exchange, they have collected a small amount of funding. Some clubs have called for investment support from sponsors such as Nghi Trung Commune Club (Nghi Loc District), but only occasionally with a small amount. Therefore, almost all clubs can only be maintained thanks to the passion and enthusiasm of the members. Due to lack of funding, the costumes and musical instruments of the clubs are very poor and not uniform. They can take advantage of any musical instruments that their families have. Therefore, most of the programs of the clubs seem to only convey their deep love for the traditional folk songs of their homeland, but are not really programs of good artistic quality.

As in other localities across the country, the issue of preserving and promoting intangible cultural heritage in Nghe An was raised late and has not been as expected. The collection, preservation and promotion of intangible cultural heritage has not been commensurate with the existing potential.

Research and collection work is still scattered, not in-depth and one-sided. Many intangible cultural heritages have been collected but have not been exploited and used in daily life. Traditional literary and artistic forms such as fairy tales, legends, genealogies, royal decrees, folk songs, proverbs, folk literature... have been researched and collected, but have not been compiled and edited scientifically and systematically; costumes, languages ​​and writings of ethnic minorities are at risk of fading away... It is time for the drastic involvement of relevant departments and sectors when artisans are still clear-headed and enthusiastic enough to teach the younger generation.

Thanh Thuy