Discovering the Mong community in Western Nghe An: Part 3 - The Mong flute

(Baonghean) - Nowadays, young people in ethnic minority communities are not very interested in traditional music. However, for young Mong people, they still listen to Mong music, sing traditional folk songs and the sound of Mong flutes still resounds on small songs...

Legend of the Mong flute

Any Mong people in the highlands consider the panpipe as a sacred object. Mature men often buy a few panpipes, small or large, and play them whenever they are happy or sad. The sound of the panpipes often resounds during Spring festivals and when they are free from forest work. In funerals, the sound of the panpipes is a particularly important musical instrument. According to the Mong people's concept, a panpipe is required to hold a funeral. The sound of the panpipes is the words and the dead follow those songs to eat breakfast, dinner and go to heaven. Without the sound of the panpipes, ghosts will not understand what people say.

Mr. Xong Gia Sau - Nam Can village (Nam Can - Ky Son) plays Mong flute.

There are several legends related to the Mong flute. Among the many things shared with us throughout the afternoon, village elder Lau Xai Phia in Nam Khien village, Nam Can commune (Ky Son) told the following story… No one remembers what family lineage the 6 brothers belonged to anymore. We only know that they no longer had parents. Because they were orphans, the brothers loved each other like toes and fingers. One day, when returning from the fields, all 6 of them waded across a large stream. At that time, it was raining and windy, and floodwaters were pouring in. Halfway through, they were all swept away by the flood. Four of them drowned, while 2 brothers drifted to the river bank where there was no one in sight, and the bamboo bushes by the river were littered with drowned bodies.

After finding food and being no longer hungry, the two brothers lamented their fate as orphans, separated by heaven and earth. They used the bones of people who had drifted to the riverbank to grind into bamboo knives, carved flutes, and blew them, resounding throughout the mountains and forests. Afterwards, the two thought of their unfortunate brothers and felt heartbroken. They discussed finding six flutes to put together, the largest and shortest one was the eldest flute. The smallest one was the youngest. The six flutes created a musical instrument with a new name, the Khen, which when played had high and low sounds, loud and soft sounds. The flute helped them to talk to their deceased brothers in heaven.

Hearing the flute and the panpipe, all the animals in the forest understood the thoughts of the two brothers. They came to listen to them. Then the animals coveted the brothers' musical instruments. At this time, the two men told them that whoever helped them cross the river would be rewarded with the best flute. Of all the animals in the forest, only the ape and the hawk bravely accepted. The ape took turns carrying each of them across the river, while the hawk flew ahead to guide and support them in difficult areas.

After crossing the river, the two Mong brothers happily went to find their village. They did not forget the merits of the gibbon and the hawk. The gibbon was given the best sounding flute, while the hawk had less work, so it was only given an ordinary flute. That is why today the gibbon's song is better than all the birds'. That is because the two Mong brothers gave it the best flute. The hawk was only given a flute with a low pitch, so its song is only average...

Happy melody in Pha Noi village

Because of the story of old Xai Phia, when we came to Mong villages, we often listened to find the sound of the flute. Then, one afternoon at the end of the day, we came to Pha Noi village, Muong Tip commune (Ky Son). Before that, the Vice Chairman of the commune, Ha Ba Thai, had introduced that this village was crowded and had the most prosperous life in the commune. The small village rarely stopped hearing the sound of the flute.

Indeed, when we entered the village, it was just the time for the children to herd buffaloes from the grazing grounds along the hills back to the village. From the wooden house by the road came the sound of deep music, sometimes intimate and sometimes innocent. When we peeked through the crack in the door, we saw a young father sitting there playing a flute. Hiding on his shoulders were two little boys, one about 2 years old and the other 4.

There were strangers in the house, the young father stopped the music, looked up and greeted them with a broken Kinh accent. The young father was Va Ba Di, 30 years old. He was one of the two best panpipe players in the village. Ba Di said that this afternoon his children were crying so the young father had to soothe them with the panpipe. Later, when asking the people in Na Ngoi commune, we learned that Va Ba Di in Pha Noi village was the best panpipe player in the area.

In the cultural exchanges of the 4 communes of Nam Can, Na Ngoi, Muong Ai, Muong Tip, this guy always won first prize. Being a passionate person of Mong flute, Ba Di's house always had 2 flutes. The Mong people in the Western part of Nghe An no longer know how to make Mong flutes like in the northern mountainous provinces, so they have to buy flutes from Lao street vendors, even have to go to the neighboring country to buy the desired flute.

Then, like an enthusiastic artist, Va Ba Di told about the Khen dances. According to him, the Mong people have many Khen dances. A person who is considered good must know how to play and dance at least 6 Khen dances. The simplest Khen dance is called "Ton Di". Learning this Khen dance is not simple because it is the first exercise. While mastering the Khen and the notes is already a difficult task for beginners, playing the music is even more difficult. Once mastering the Khen and the first exercise, learning the Khen becomes simpler.

A good flute player does not necessarily dance well. The dances seem simple at first glance, but to learn them requires a lot of effort and perseverance. When he first started practicing flute dancing, just the dance of blowing the flute and kicking his legs back or forward made Va Ba Di lose a whole season. Later, he was able to overcome 6 flute dances. Some only had to swing his arms and legs to the rhythm of the music, some had to swing his legs and walk in circles. The flute dances require the practitioner to be both skillful and strong, because while dancing, the melodies of the music must still resonate without interruption. If the music stops, the dance becomes meaningless, and it can even make the ghost unable to understand the words of the person if the flute dance is performed at a funeral.

The villagers told us that the reason why no young person in the area has surpassed Va Ba Di’s talent in dancing with the Khen is because he has performed the most difficult dance. This dance is considered the final dance that the practitioner must achieve, in which there is the movement of blowing the Khen while flipping forward and backward. And Ba Di said, if the dance is successful in this dance, the practitioner must know how to endure pain, especially to avoid accidents…

Although we only had a short afternoon on foot during the journey, the young man who loved the Mong and Ba Di flutes told us many interesting things about the 6-tube bamboo flute, which is not only a musical instrument but also a sacred object, leaving the most emotions for us, on our journey to discover the Mong community in Western Nghe An!

Huu Vi - Dao Tho