Preserving intangible culture: Need for appropriate policies

(Baonghean) - Along with the restoration and embellishment of tangible cultural heritage, the conservation of intangible cultural heritage in our province has achieved certain results in recent times. However, there are still difficulties and concerns...

Kim Lien - Nam Dan fabric ward vi singing club.

One of the intangible cultural heritages that our province has been trying its best to preserve and promote recently is the folk songs of Ho, Vi, and Giam of Nghe An. From 2011 to now, the province has successfully coordinated to organize the scientific workshop "Preserving and promoting the values ​​of folk songs of Ho, Vi, and Giam of Nghe An" in March 2011, the international scientific workshop "Preserving and promoting the values ​​of folk songs in contemporary society (the case of Nghe Tinh folk songs of Vi, Giam)" held in May 2014. Both of these workshops have attracted the attention of many domestic and international folk researchers, aiming to find appropriate solutions for conservation work, policies to attract, motivate, and encourage folk artists. In addition, since 2009, the province has established the Center for Preservation and Promotion of Nghe An Folk Heritage to strengthen research, identification, promotion and teaching of Vi and Giam folk songs, including bringing folk songs into schools, establishing folk song clubs in localities... In particular, since 2012, the Nghe An Vi and Giam Folk Song Festival has been organized annually throughout the province to arouse the love of folk songs among all classes of people, creating a meaningful playground for mass arts.

However, the current situation of preserving intangible cultural heritage is facing many difficulties. Ms. Nguyen Thi Nu - Head of Cultural Heritage Department - Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said: Nghe An is gradually losing intangible cultural heritage, because very few people take on this job. When a certain type of collection is collected, it is only kept in books and documents without finding a way to promote it. How to make people live by promoting intangible cultural heritage is something that needs to be discussed...

For many years, artist Nguyen Thi Tam - Kim Lien - Nam Dan Folk Song Club has always had a deep love for Nghe An folk songs and always thought about the future existence of this genre. Born in 1924, she grew up listening to lullabies and folk songs from her grandmother and mother. Therefore, she was famous for being a good folk singer when she was young. When Kim Lien Folk Song Club was established, she was the pioneer in mobilizing members to participate in activities. Without funding, the members contributed their own money to the fund with the desire to preserve the cultural values ​​of their homeland. With the role of transmitting and teaching folk songs to the younger generation, up to now, despite her rare age, she has never been absent from a club meeting. Mr. Nguyen Van Tu - Club Director said: Ms. Tam is the one who remembers a lot and knows the most ancient melodies in the Club. The generation of folk singers like Ms. Tam now has very few left, only a handful. Therefore, it is hoped that relevant authorities should have incentive mechanisms to encourage artisans to promote, train, and discover folk singing talents right from the grassroots level.

Talking with People's Artist Hong Luu - Deputy Director of the Center for Preservation and Promotion of Folk Heritage of Nghe An, she said: Due to the characteristics of intangible cultural heritage that exists in memory, is mainly transmitted by word of mouth, the collection, preservation and promotion of intangible cultural heritage is not commensurate with the existing potential, research and collection work is still scattered; many intangible cultural heritages have been collected but have not been exploited and used in life; many cultural lifestyles are no longer suitable for current life, superstitions in ethnic minority areas still exist. 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 groups are in danger of being lost...

To preserve and maintain intangible cultural heritage, we need specific solutions such as: Strengthening propaganda work so that people understand the great values ​​of intangible cultural heritage; collecting, researching, preserving in books, discs, taking photos, recording, filming... as documents. Like tangible cultural heritage, intangible cultural heritage must be returned to the community, it must live and exist in today's modern life. For example, from folk songs, over time we have developed new songs with the breath of modern life through the creativity of musicians, through the staging of plays by the Center for Preservation and Promotion of Nghe An Folk Heritage... Strengthening the understanding of the young generation about the precious heritage left by their ancestors. To do that, localities need to bring heritage into teaching and introducing in schools. Organize competitions for composing new lyrics and new melodies among the people and students, creating a mass composing movement. Further develop folk song, folk music, folk dance clubs and localities need to have policies to encourage and motivate clubs to operate. Each locality must identify its most unique intangible cultural heritage to have a specific direction for conservation, preservation and promotion, not spread out and general. Localities with tourism potential can combine conservation and promotion of intangible cultural heritage to serve tourists. For example, tourists coming to Nam Dan will hear the singing of the fabric guild, coming to Hang Bua - Quy Chau will hear Thai folk songs, coming to Yen Thanh will enjoy Ke Gam plays...

The most important thing is still the mechanism and policy to maintain the activities of intangible cultural heritage. To have folk songs recognized by UNESCO as representative intangible culture of humanity is a journey, but what those who do research, collect, and teach such as People's Artist Hong Luu, Folk Artist Chu Van Ty and many other artists are very concerned about is how to make folk songs in particular, and intangible cultural heritage in general, forever exist among the people, associated with the lives of working people.

Thanh Thuy