The whole Tho family is passionate about gongs.

(Baonghean.vn) – The sound of gongs and the singing and dancing of the Tho people have long been the passion of the extended family of Mrs. Vu Thi Thanh (U village, Nghia Thang commune, Nghia Dan).

For a long time, the gong sound of U village (Nghia Thang commune - Nghia Dan) has been known to many people with the gong club recognized in December 2015. Famous artisans of the club such as Vu Thi Thanh and Nguyen Thi Than are those who have contributed to preserving and maintaining the culture of the Tho ethnic group, and are also sisters-in-law in the same family.

Mrs. Vu Thi Thanh is over 80 years old this year but is still diligently playing gongs.

Vu Thi Thanh is 80 years old this year, her back is hunched but she is still very alert and healthy. She plays the gong and guides her children and grandchildren whenever they do not perform a dance correctly or make a sound out of tune. Thanh is the one who took the trouble to collect thousands of antithetical songs of the Tho people. According to her, in the past, whenever a man wanted to get married, he had to sing and respond to the girl he liked. If he could respond, then he would consider marriage. For example, if a man wanted to enter the house, he would sing: "At first strange, then familiar, oh my dear, I'm waiting outside the back alley, I'll sneak into the house." The girl would respond: "Come in, oh my dear, I've spread out the flower mat, I invite you to sit down, otherwise your legs will get tired standing"...

Mr. Thanh said that he started playing gongs at the age of 14. In those days, whenever he had free time, he followed his father to play gongs in all the villages above and below. Mr. Vu Van Chinh - Mr. Thanh's father is one of the most passionate gong lovers in this land. During festivals or on moonlit nights, people gather to enjoy gongs. At the age of 18, when she was already familiar with the gong melodies, the Tho girl - Vu Thi Thanh traveled everywhere to instruct young children to play gongs, drums, and trumpets. She was afraid that when her children grew up, they would forget the soul of the nation, so she was always worried.

In the 80s, everyone in the village competed to sell their gongs because of hunger. Mr. Thanh traveled far and wide to mobilize people and then spent money to buy back the lost gong sets.

Mrs. Nguyen Thi Than, Mrs. Thanh's sister-in-law, is a drummer and has a "true" Tho dance.

Sharing the same passion as Mrs. Thanh, her sister-in-law Nguyen Thi Than, now 78 years old, is also recognized as a gong artist. According to Mrs. Thanh, in the U village today, only Mrs. Than is the one who can dance the Tho dance most accurately, as passed down by Mr. Vu Van Chinh. Mrs. Than's steps and drumming are very skillful.

Mr. Than said: "I am old now, I just want to see my children and grandchildren preserve the dance, the gong, the drum, and the flute when I die."

Having been passionate about gongs since childhood, she also studied with Mr. Vu Van Chinh and became his daughter-in-law. After many years of hard work, she learned the "true" Tho dance style passed down by Mr. Chinh.

Mr. Nguyen Trung Thu, Mr. Thanh's son, is a person passionate about the Turkish trumpet.

Thanh's son, Nguyen Trung Thu, is currently a military officer in Nghia Thang commune, but whenever he has free time, he follows his mother to perform everywhere. Thu is known to everyone as the best trumpet player in the area. Nguyen Trung Thu said: "When I grew up, I was nearly 20 years old when I started learning to play the trumpet from the elders. At first, I was discouraged because I only knew how to play gongs and drums, so it was difficult to switch to playing the trumpet. At first, I only practiced playing the trumpet alone, then I brought the gongs and drums together. It took me 3 years of hard work to be able to play like this."

In their spare time, Mr. Thanh's family often sings and dances to gongs.

Nowadays, Mr. Thanh, Mr. Than and Mr. Thu still diligently teach their children and grandchildren and the young generation in the village the gong, drum, panpipe and singing to preserve the national culture.

Dao Tho