11-generation drum making village in Thanh Chuong

Coming to Van Thuong drum village, Dai Dong commune, Thanh Chuong district, regardless of day or night, when approaching the craft village, you can hear the clattering sound of chisels, the sound of bamboo hammers hitting the joints, the sound of drums being tested, and the sound of saws cutting wood, which is really pleasant to the ears.

We visited the largest and oldest drum factory of Mr. Phan Van Cu (born in 1959). Here, there are all kinds of drums from Chau drums, lion drums, ceremonial drums, large drums... completed and ready to be delivered to customers.

Mr. Cu said: "The drum making profession here has been passed down from Hung Tay commune, Hung Nguyen district for 11 generations. The profession is maintained all year round, but the period before and after Tet is when we receive the most orders, because most festivals are held during this time. My workshop has to operate at full capacity to meet the needs of customers. On average, we make 15-20 drums of all kinds every month."

There are many types of drums produced, such as village drums, family church drums, pagoda drums, festival drums, lion dance drums, wine drums, school drums and parish drums.

According to Mr. Cu, to create a standard drum, the craftsman must go through many meticulous stages, requiring high skills. First, the wood and buffalo and cow hide must be carefully selected. The wood used to make the drum body is mainly jackfruit wood because it is durable, less prone to cracking and produces a resonant sound. The buffalo and cow hide must be fresh, unprocessed to ensure the best elasticity.

After preparing the materials, the craftsman proceeds to shape the drum body, in which the most important step is to process the leather and cover the drum mouth. The craftsman needs to stretch the buffalo or cow leather evenly, ensuring there are no wrinkles, then fix it with rivets made from old bamboo. This is the step that determines the sound quality of the drum, requiring skill and many years of experience. On average, a drum can be completed in 3-5 days if the materials are available, but there are also large drums that take a month to complete.

Van Thuong drum village currently has 7 households participating in the profession. Besides Mr. Phan Van Cu's family, there are other households that are good at making drums such as Mr. Phan Van Tu's family, Mr. Ngu Nhan's family...

Thanks to their high skills and long-standing reputation, drum manufacturing facilities in Dai Dong commune always have many orders, creating stable jobs for many local workers. Each drum workshop regularly employs 3-4 workers, with an average income of 400,000 - 500,000 VND/person/day. After deducting raw material and labor costs, workshop owners can earn tens of millions of VND per month. This is an important source of income, helping many households have a stable life.

Currently, the drum making profession is also facing many difficulties such as increasingly scarce raw materials, high prices of jackfruit wood, while buffalo and cow leather are also competing with other manufacturing industries such as leather shoes. In addition, this profession requires perseverance, meticulousness and passion, but today's young people are less interested.

Despite many challenges, the drum making profession in Dai Dong commune still has the potential to develop if properly cared for and preserved. Supporting the search for stable sources of raw materials, combined with vocational training for the younger generation, is an important solution to maintain and promote the value of this traditional profession. Not only a handicraft product, the drums also carry a strong cultural identity, contributing to preserving the national soul and promoting the local economy.