The most famous drum village in North Central Vietnam is now a thing of the past.

(Baonghean.vn) - During the French colonial period, the drum-making village of Nghi Duc commune (Vinh city) was famous throughout the North Central region. As the years have passed, there are now less than 10 households in the old drum village that still maintain this traditional craft.

According to the artisans in the area, the Nghi Duc drum making profession has existed for over 100 years, and up to now, there have been about 10 generations involved in this profession. At that time, from Thanh Hoa to Thua Thien Hue, many people flocked to Nghi Duc to buy drums and learn the craft. Nghi Duc drums were once famous throughout the North Central region and lasted until the 90s of the last century.

Making drums is divided into many stages: making wood, assembling the drum shell, shaving the drum shell, tanning cowhide, smoothing the shell, covering the drum face, smoothing and beautifying the drum. Each stage requires meticulousness and skill to create a satisfactory drum. The drum is made of jackfruit wood, the drum belt is made of rattan, the drum dowel is made of bamboo...

Cowhide is an indispensable material for drum making. Before being put into the drum, the cowhide is dried in the sun for 2 days.

Nowadays, when you come to Nghi Duc and ask the remaining artisans of the craft village, everyone shares the same sentiment, that the drum making profession has faded away and will no longer be able to survive. Mr. Nguyen Duc Muoi (Xuan Dong hamlet) is the 4th generation of the Nguyen family to follow the drum making profession.

Mr. Muoi started making drums in 1983, and has been doing so for more than 30 years. His family used to be one of the households with a good income from this profession. But when meeting Mr. Muoi now, he sadly said: "I will probably quit after finishing the remaining drums in the yard."

The Nghi Duc drum making profession is now only preserved by 10 households as an ancient profession.

The jackfruit wood drum shells are sun-dried before being assembled. Now Nghi Duc drum village only makes small-sized drums.

To complete a drum, it takes at least 2-3 days if done continuously, even longer because it depends on the weather when having to dry the drum shell, rattan for the drum belt, cowhide for the drum face... "The effort is a lot, it's very hard but the profit is not worth it", said Mr. Nguyen Van Hong - a person with more than 30 years of experience making drums in Xuan Duc hamlet.

According to research, the current price of drums is quite cheap. Ordered drums are a bit more expensive: 2 million VND for 40cm diameter drums, 2.5 million VND for 45cm size... Ready-made drums for import to wholesale markets are much cheaper. The average monthly income from drum making is only about 3 - 4 million VND.

The drums are almost finished.

In Nghi Duc drum village today, only those of the grandfather and father's generation still retain some of the old features of the traditional craft. The children of the families making "family" drums have also left to pursue other professions. It is a pity for an ancient craft that was once "famous".

Thien Thien