The entire Thổ family is passionate about gongs.

(Baonghean.vn) – The sounds of gongs and drums, and the songs and dances of the Tho people have long been a passion for the extended family of Mrs. Vu Thi Thanh (U village, Nghia Thang commune, Nghia Dan district).

For a long time, the gongs of U village (Nghia Thang commune - Nghia Dan district) have been well-known thanks to the Gong Club, which was recognized in December 2015. Famous artisans of the club, such as Ms. Vu Thi Thanh and Ms. Nguyen Thi Than, have contributed to the preservation of the Tho ethnic culture and are also sisters-in-law from the same family.

Mrs. Vu Thi Thanh is over 80 years old this year, but she is still dedicated to playing the gongs and drums.

Mrs. Vu Thi Thanh, now 80 years old, has a hunched back but is still very sharp and healthy. She plays the gong while guiding her grandchildren whenever they make mistakes in a dance or play a tune out of rhythm. It was Mrs. Thanh who painstakingly collected thousands of call-and-response songs of the Tho people. According to her, in the past, when a young man wanted to marry, he had to sing call-and-response songs with the girl he liked. If they could respond, then marriage would be considered. For example, if the young man wanted to enter a house, he would sing: “At first strange, then familiar, oh my dear, I wait outside the gate, then I will sneak into the house.” The girl would respond: “Come into the house, oh my dear, I have spread out the flower mat, I invite you to sit down so you don’t get tired standing…”

Ms. Thanh said she started playing gongs and drums at the age of 14. Back then, whenever she had free time, she would follow her father to play gongs and drums throughout the villages and hamlets. Mr. Vu Van Chinh – Ms. Thanh's father – was one of the most passionate gong and drum enthusiasts in this area. During festivals or on moonlit nights, people would gather to enjoy the gongs and drums. At the age of 18, having mastered the gong melodies, the Tho ethnic girl, Vu Thi Thanh, traveled far and wide to teach young children how to play gongs, drums, and horns. She feared that when her children and grandchildren grew up, they would forget the soul of their ethnic group, so she was constantly worried about this.

In the 1980s, when people in the village were selling their gongs and drums because of hunger, Mr. Thanh went around persuading people and then spent his own money to buy back the gongs and drums that had been lost.

Mrs. Nguyen Thi Than, Mrs. Thanh's sister-in-law, is a drummer and performs a dance that is "authentic" to the Tho ethnic group.

Sharing the same passion as Mrs. Thanh, her sister-in-law, Nguyen Thi Than, now 78 years old, is also recognized as a gong and drum artist. According to Mrs. Thanh, in U village today, only Mrs. Than still performs the traditional dance of the Tho people, passed down by Mr. Vu Van Chinh, most accurately. Mrs. Than's footwork and drumming are truly skillful.

Grandfather Than said: "Now that I'm old, all I want is for my children and grandchildren to preserve the traditional dances, the sounds of gongs, drums, and flutes when I pass away."

Having been passionate about gongs since childhood, she studied under Mr. Vu Van Chinh and later became his daughter-in-law. It took her many years of diligent study to learn the authentic Tho dance style passed down by Mr. Chinh.

Mr. Nguyen Trung Thu, the son of Mr. Thanh, is a passionate lover of the Thổ horn.

Mr. Nguyen Trung Thu, the son of Mrs. Thanh, is currently a military officer in Nghia Thang commune, but whenever he has free time, he accompanies his mother to performances everywhere. Mr. Thu is known as the best Thổ horn player in the region. Mr. Nguyen Trung Thu said: “When I was almost 20 years old, I started learning to play the horn from the elders. At first, I was very discouraged because I only knew how to play gongs and drums, and now switching to playing the horn was difficult. Initially, I only practiced playing the horn alone, then I added the gongs and drums to combine them. It took me three years of hard work to be able to play like this.”

During their free time, Mr. Thanh's family would gather to sing, dance, and play gongs.

Even today, Mr. Thanh, Mr. Than, and Mr. Thu still diligently guide their children, grandchildren, and the younger generation in the village on the rhythms of gongs, drums, flutes, and songs to preserve the national culture.

Dao Tho