Bustling Hoang Ha drum village at the end of the year

With a history of hundreds of years, Hoang Ha drum village in Dien Hoang commune (Dien Chau district, Nghe An province) is unique in that the craft's secrets are only passed down within the Nguyen family.

A very elaborate profession

Although he is 54 years old, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Cat has had more than 40 years of experience in making drums. He confided: “Since I was a child, I have been helping my parents with all kinds of chores and learning the trade.” Having been in the profession for more than half his life, whenever asked, he enthusiastically talks about each step, even sharing the method and a few secrets.

To make a beautiful and resonant drum, the wood used to make the drum must be jackfruit wood that is 40 years old or older. Only the core wood must be used so that the drum does not shrink or warp and retains its sound. Some houses also use sapwood to make the drum but sell it very cheaply.

“In the past, jackfruit wood was easy to buy, but now we have to order and collect it in batches because it is very rare, even in mountainous districts. To create a resounding sound when playing, the skin of the drum head must be made from old buffalo or cow skin, at least 3-4 years old, mainly from Lao cows and cows from highland areas,” said Mr. Nguyen Dinh Cat.

The purchased cowhide is washed clean, completely without chemicals, but is processed by hand, thinly sliced ​​and stretched on a bamboo frame, dried in the sun for 2-3 days, then put in the shade for 2-3 hours to soften, then stretched, shaved, measured and cut according to the size and shape of the drum face.

These steps are done very carefully by the drummer so as not to affect the resonance of the drum. The stretching, adjustment, sound pickup, and drum mouth must all be done correctly, otherwise the drum will have a cut sound and will not make any sound.

In which, the stage of shaving the drum skin is the most difficult, determining the good and suitable sound for each type of drum, requiring the craftsman to have experience to feel the thinness and thickness of the drum skin.

Drum products in Hoang Ha village are rich and diverse with over 10 types of drums, from large drums, medium drums to small drums, and they are also divided into many types, serving a variety of needs from schools, temples, family drums, drums used in cultural events, with types of drums such as Cheo drums, dance drums, music drums...

According to craftsmen, the drum body is durable and can last for hundreds of years without breaking, but the drum surface usually only lasts for 6-7 years of use before it is punctured, so in addition to buying a new one, customers often send the drum to be repaired.

Currently, a medium drum costs 3 million VND/piece, a large drum is elaborately carved with dragons, phoenixes and gilded patterns for 7 million VND/piece, a small drum is only a few hundred thousand VND/piece. However, the craftsmen of Hoang Ha drum village have also made large drums that cost hundreds of millions of VND.

Mr. Cat said: Once, a company specializing in manufacturing and trading wooden products in Yen Ly ordered a large drum to be placed in the company's premises, with a price of up to 150 million VND. He had to hire a few more workers and it took 4 months to complete.

Struggling to keep the job

Drum making in Dien Hoang has been around for hundreds of years. In the past, all the steps were done by hand, it took the workers half a month to finish a big drum, and 5-7 days for a smaller drum. Since 2005-2006, sawing machines and planers have been introduced, reducing the working time to 4-5 days and making it much easier. Currently, most households are fully equipped with sawing machines and joiners, however, some steps still have to be done by hand to produce drums with good sound.

In the last days of the year, the drum village is busier and busier. “From now until the end of January is the main business season of the year, the demand increases for Tet and the beginning of the year,” said Mr. Nguyen Xuan Ky, 75 years old. None of his children follow the profession, they all work far away, so normally each month the grandparents only make and sell 7-8 drums. But since the 11th lunar month, he has had to “speed up” to make enough dozens of drums to meet the needs of customers. Because of his old age, he has to ask his grandchildren to help him with the big drums.

Not only his family, but also other households doing the same job. Mr. Nguyen Dinh Cat said that if he normally sells 7-8 drums/month, then at the end of this year, he sells 14-15 drums/month, from the 12th lunar month to the 15th day of the first lunar month, he sells 20-30 drums.

Vice Chairman of Dien Hoang Commune People's Committee - Mr. Ho Hoang said: Not only sold within the province, Hoang Ha drums are also consumed in Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Thanh Hoa, the southern provinces, and sold to Laos. During the prosperous period, the village had over 30 households doing the craft, but now there are only 14 households left. Apart from some who only do it "seasonally", a few households who could not develop and gave up, the households who have been doing the craft for a long time still keep the craft, determined to maintain and develop the traditional craft.

However, due to the unwritten "rule" from ancient times of not passing on the profession to people outside the family, the drum making profession has also narrowed and gradually disappeared, especially when today's young people rarely follow the traditional profession of their ancestors but go abroad and do other professions with higher income.

“Not everyone can do it, not only must they be hard-working but also skillful and truly passionate. The elders said that several generations ago, two people passed on their profession to people from other places, and since then, no one in the family could follow the profession anymore. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but unlike other professions, no one in the village passes on their profession to people outside the family,” Mr. Nguyen Xuan Ky shared.