Soul of Hop Thanh sacrificial drum

(Baonghean) -The sound of drums has existed since ancient times. Through the ups and downs of history, the sound of drums has contributed to encouraging people to rise up and defeat all invading forces. The sound of drums is present in every activity in every village, every person of Vietnam. That sound carries the sacred soul of mountains and rivers, pointing back to the origin, stirring people's hearts...

Along the green rice fields, my daughter and I headed to Hop Thanh commune (Yen Thanh). This place has been famous for its drum beating competition for generations.

Hop Thanh is quiet with its dark brown tiled-roof villages, hidden under the peaceful bamboo hedges, bearing the ancient features. Mr. Nguyen Giang, an elder and also a great drummer of the commune, poured a cup of yellow sticky rice wine to invite guests, then pointed to the thunder drum on the ancestral altar, and said: “This is an old thunder drum, it is only used for sacred ceremonies. To make this type of drum, the craftsman must fast through the process of joining the drum and stretching the drum face. In particular, the buffalo used to join the drum skin, in addition to being carefully selected, is also carefully worshiped. The drum body is made from pure jackfruit wood core over 300 years old. The sound of this thunder drum resonates to the heavens and the earth”. The Nguyen family's ritual drum music has been passed down for a long time, has its own characteristics, and can "captivate" people's souls...

On January 15, the year of Quy Ty, the People's Committee of the commune organized a drum beating competition at Phung communal house, the Nguyen family drum orchestra also won first prize, among 17 participating families.

Lose yourself in the drum music

That afternoon, we were fortunate to witness the drum orchestra on the Nguyen family's ancestor's death anniversary. Starting at noon, the thunder drum conductor raised his pair of drumsticks and bowed three times before the ancestor's altar, then went to the place where the thunder drum was placed and solemnly played three times, nine times. When the ceremony was over, seven members of the drum orchestra dressed in ceremonial costumes stood in position. When the chanter announced the "Khoi Chinh Co" ceremony, the drum music began to play majestically. The low notes of the drums and the high notes of the gongs mingled with the incense smoke, moving the attendees to return to their spiritual roots.

In the past, every January 15th, Hop Thanh commune held a grand ceremony at the village communal house. This was the occasion for the incense offering ceremony - the biggest festival of the year. In the consciousness of the village community, this was a sacred place for the gods to descend. On these days, the whole village stopped working in the fields, came to offer incense to express their sincerity, to show their respect, reverence, and gratitude to the heroes. During the ceremony, the sacrificial drums were always performed solemnly. The order of the ceremony was conducted by the Dong people. After that, there was a drum competition of the clans.

Due to many factors, the drum festival gradually faded away and stopped for a long time. Over a cup of wine at the beginning of the spring, Mr. Giang confided: “Drum music is an indispensable spiritual and cultural activity. But the younger generation today is not interested in it. This is a sad reality.”

Faced with the risk of the drum music being lost, the People's Committee of Hop Thanh commune has sought every way to restore the competition. Mr. Hoang Van Ly - Chairman of the commune said: "Currently, the People's Committee of the commune has organized a competition to preserve and maintain the drum music that our ancestors left behind. Through that, we aim to educate the younger generation to live responsibly and always look back to their roots. We restored and started organizing the competition from January 15, Nham Thin year (2012) very successfully. The competition was encouraged by many people inside and outside the commune.

Crowds of people watched the performance in the drum beating competition.

On February 23 (January 14, Quy Ty year), groups of people from hamlets, villages of Hop Thanh commune and some neighboring localities raised flags, beat drums, and carried palanquins with colorful and neat clothes from all directions to Phung communal house to open the drum music festival at the beginning of Spring. This is the second time that the People's Committee of Hop Thanh commune has organized a drum music competition on the occasion of the beginning of Spring. The competition lasted for 1 day, not only 14 clans in and outside the commune participated, but also attracted thousands of people inside and outside the district to watch and cheer. The opening ceremony began with a solemn 3-beat drum ceremony, performed by 17 clans in a majestic chorus. After that, each clan competed in the ritual and 3 beats of drum music. Each clan, the ritual and drum music had its own style and characteristics, but in general, it created a jubilant and respectful atmosphere, a spiritual cultural space that moved people's hearts.

Musician Phan Dang Hai marveled: “In the process of forming music in the ritual drum, rhythm is an important factor. The drum pieces are built on the basis of rhythms from simple to complex, creating rich colors. The harmonious combination of simple rhythms with complex rhythmic shapes, along with the skillful drum playing techniques of the artisans of Hop Thanh commune, has created extremely diverse drum sounds. Their harmony has made the drum pieces develop in a counterpoint, multi-layered way. This is considered an important factor of ritual music. The drum sounds sometimes urge people's hearts, sometimes are contemplative, profound, affecting the mind, helping us feel the magic of spiritual culture...".

As a result, the Organizing Committee awarded the First Prize to the Nguyen family (Hamlet 10), the Second Prize to the Vu family (Hamlet 4), and two Third Prizes to the Hoang family (Hamlet 3) and the Pham family (Hamlet 5). All the remaining families received Encouragement Prizes. The competition has ended, but the sound of the drum soul still resonates in people's hearts. The Hop Thanh Drum Music Competition has truly revived the traditional cultural values ​​that are in danger of being lost!

Chairman Hoang Xuan Ly said: “Next year’s Hop Thanh Drum Festival (2014) will have many clans from inside and outside the district participating. We will organize it on a larger scale and more grandly. Not only to restore and preserve cultural identity but also to be a meaningful cultural festival of Hop Thanh commune in particular and Yen Thanh district in general.

Article and photos: Tien Dung (Hop Thanh - Yen Thanh)