Mong people's instrumental music - Part 1: Musical instruments from the great forest

Leaf trumpet

In Mong language, it is called Blông, and blowing the leaf flute is called Sua Blông. Mong people do not play the leaf flute inside the house or in the village, but only on the road or in the fields.

When sitting together, boys and girls never use blown leaves to confide in each other, nor do they blow leaves at night because according to legend, if you blow leaves at night, ghosts will follow the sound of the leaves to find you. Although green leaves are available in any farming village, the blower must find smooth, hairless, soft leaves so that the breath can pass through them to create vibrations and make it easy to pronounce. Normally, when two people are far away from each other and cannot talk, people use blown leaves to ask about their hometown, whether they are married or not, or to tease each other to reduce fatigue from work.

Holding the breath and holding the instrument are important techniques when playing the leaf flute. Photo: Dao Tho

Pitch, intensity, and duration depend on the technique of the player and depend on the content of the lyrics. From the way of choosing leaves to the way of placing leaves on the lips, from the way of blowing air to the way of hitting the tongue, all are coordinated rhythmically to create a clear, concise, easy-to-hear sound, easy to recognize the sound of leaves of each player.

Jew's Harp (Long)

Blowing the mouth harp is sua da. This is a musical instrument that Mong men and women used to consider as a personal item. Nowadays, although few people use it, when hearing the sound of the mouth harp, no one can be indifferent or cold to it. To get copper to make the mouth harp, people take a little bit of each type of copper such as yellow copper, red copper, hard copper, and soft copper in a ratio that only experienced craftsmen can come up with. After choosing the types of copper, people heat it at high temperature until the copper melts into water, pour it onto a very flat object, wait for it to cool, and then cut it into pieces according to the intended size. The copper is flattened and hammered very thin, especially without hammer marks, so that you can't feel the difference in height and lowness with your hand. After flattening it and seeing that it meets the requirements, people use a sharp knife to cut the reed. This work must be done very carefully and meticulously because if you accidentally use too much force, the instrument will have marks and lose its value. After cutting the reed, grind the back. Grinding also requires technique so that the lines around the reed fit tightly, the reed can vibrate from front to back, but the groove is not too hollow to concentrate air into the reed. Because making a mouth harp is so complicated and meticulous, few people can do it today, and its use is also rare.

People play the mouth harp when they are free alone, but mainly to make souvenirs and to exchange feelings between boys and girls. What is really special about Mong boys and girls: Even though there are 3 or 4 boys outside, they lean close to the wooden floor of the house to play the songs they think are the best and most emotional for the girl in the room to listen to, the girl still recognizes which one is the sound of the mouth harp of the person she is interested in; when it is time to exchange the souvenir, the souvenir still reaches the right "address" (even though the boys and girls do not talk to each other). After the souvenir has reached the recipient, the other boys quietly retreat so that the boy can have the chance to stay with the girl. Like the leaf flute, the mouth harp depends on the technique and musical taste of the player to have the exact pitch that the player wants. Therefore, the person playing the mouth harp must also practice, must learn to love his "second tongue", to express his feelings and his partner to understand, to understand everything that the mouth harp says.

Hmong woman playing the mouth harp. Photo: Lang Luong

Lien Do Tea (Vertical Flute)

There are two types, one with a button to block the air at the mouth called Tra dia, one with a chin to block the air at the mouth called Tra lien do. This type is the most popular.

People use the vertical flute anytime, anywhere without any resistance. All ages play it, but most of all, it is played by young people. Young men use the flute to express their feelings and to send messages to girls. Every year, when the harvest season is over, when Tet comes and spring comes, and every day when the afternoon falls, when the fog covers the forest, it is the season for young men to go to the village where the girl they are interested in is. They use the vertical flute to explore, to date and meet. At those times, they play the flute with great intensity so that the sound of the flute can be heard far away, not only for the girl they are interested in to hear but also for others to hear as to introduce themselves, to show off their talents. With the same flute, when the village has fallen asleep, when the girl they are interested in is left alone by the fire, the young man plays it more gently, the sound of the flute is lower, deeper, no longer clear and melodious, but gentle, warm, deep like a whisper, but still conveys to the girl the words he wants to say. The advantage of the flute is: Once you know how to make and measure, with just a stick, anyone can make their own flute.

Blai Tea (Horizontal Flute)

It is a horizontal flute that is played like the common bamboo flute but is much longer and larger.

The deep, warm sound of the flute is widely used in life, in all spaces and times, especially young men use the flute to express their feelings to girls. Old people play the transverse flute to recall memories of their youth or to tell their hearts.

Plùa tô (Second)

Nowadays, the two-stringed fiddle is not commonly used among the Mong people in Nghe An. To pull the two-stringed fiddle to make a sound, people use a piece of bamboo branch with bamboo fibers or horsetails attached to it. The Mong people call the two-stringed fiddle a "lua chia".

Aunt's Tea (Flute Calling Birds)

It is called a flute but when blown it sounds like a whistle that children play, anyone can blow it. I heard from the elders that when blowing tea, there is a type that imitates the sound of birds, there is the sound of a male bird calling a female bird, there is the sound of a female bird calling a male bird.

Curse (Gem)

Cast or hammered from bronze, the sound is clear and crisp. The Drầu lênh is used in ceremonies, worshiping, welcoming the New Year, welcoming spring. When performing the ceremony, the shaman holds the Drầu lênh to beat the rhythm of songs and prayers.

Hula Hoop

The Chử lênh is cast in bronze. When performing the ceremony, the shaman puts two of them between the fingers of his right and left hands and shakes them up and down to the rhythm of the prayer. When shaking, the metal beads hit the two halves of the Chử lênh, creating a ringing sound that is cheerful and pleasant to the ears.

(To be continued)