Sweet "nhoân" melody

(Baonghean) - It would be extremely boring if Thai boys and girls in the past only knew how to sit together on the "khuong floor" to talk intimately and watch the moonlight. And it would also be boring if around the "jar of wine between boys and girls" on Tet there was no pi and nhuon sounds.

"Nhuon", a unique folk song of the Thai, Tay, Muong people in Western Nghe An. It is mainly and first of all a love song. Through the words "nhuon", we can see the Thai soul appearing innocent, pure, poetic and full of human love (Only the Thai people of the Tay Muong group have "nhuon", other Thai groups in Western Nghe An do not have this folk song). The melody of "nhuon" makes people gentle, simple and full of love for the mountains, forests, streams, villages, people, life, and fellow countrymen. Each word, each sentence is filled with sincere and warm feelings. Let's listen to a part of "nhuon" love song: The boy praises the girl with "nhuon": "Which stream did you bathe in that your skin is as white as a peeled egg/ Which stream did you bathe in that your figure is as beautiful as a striped melon or a cantaloupe". The "nhoân" girl replied: "My skin is not as white as a peeled egg/ My skin is as dark as the water spinach in the stream/ My figure is not as beautiful as the striped melon or the cantaloupe/ If you love me, please tell me the truth/ Don't let me dream of getting lost on my way back to my village...".

From those encounters, many couples fell in love and became husband and wife, bonding very strongly with each other.

Nhuon singing in the Nine-room Temple Festival (Que Phong).

However, in the old society, the love of Thai boys and girls was often not fulfilled, they poured out all their feelings and emotions into the words "nhuôn". The girl was forced to get married by her parents, bound by etiquette, and often did not dare to confide her sadness and emotional deadlock to anyone... In a "nhuôn", the girl could express her feelings to her ex-lover through sweet "nhuôn" words, without fear of any more constraints: "(Now) I have had a bowl of meat soup/ (But) I still dream of a bowl of fish soup/ I can sleep on a mattress, covered with an embroidered blanket... still dream of my lover/ Even though I lie next to my husband, I still dream of my lover".

Someone has made a very correct comment: "nhuon" is the heart of the Thai Tay Muong people!

Nowadays, the Muong village has been renewed, the "nhuon" lyrics in the entertainment are not simply the love songs of boys and girls anymore, but are created by many artists, such as songs praising the rich and beautiful Muong village, praising the new and wide road, praising the increasingly prosperous and happy life, praising the Party and beloved Uncle Ho...

Article and photos:Thai Tam