Honoring the title of artisan: 'Living treasure' is waiting for approval

(Baonghean) - Implementing Decree 62/2014/ND-CP of the Prime Minister regulating the awarding of the title of Meritorious Artisan and People's Artisan in the field of intangible heritage, in early 2016, Nghe An province organized the first honoring and awarding of the title of Meritorious Artisan to 39 artisans.

Up to now, the second review process of meritorious artisans and people's artisans is underway, but in reality there are many things to discuss.

Difficult due to documents

Born and raised in Na Cong village, Chau Hoan commune, Quy Chau district, since the age of 12, Mr. Truong Van Thong (born in 1958) was taught by his father and grandfather the "capital" of using musical instruments and folk songs of the Thai ethnic group skillfully and expertly.

Along with that, he also kept in mind the traditional rituals and offerings that were only given to the male line and served them in major local festivals. Although he had never stood on the podium of honor, for decades, the people of Chau Hoan commune still called him the "artist" of the village.

When the cultural officer informed and guided him through the procedures for the title of Meritorious Artist, Mr. Truong Van Thong was quite surprised. He shared: “The State has this honor policy, I am very happy, but I find the procedures too complicated. To make the application “beautiful”, it is necessary to have a certificate of merit, a certificate of merit, and photos, tapes and discs... I have also attended many competitions and performances, but I only have a collective certificate of merit, no individual certificate of merit, and I do not keep any photos to prove it.”

Meritorious artist Truong Song Huong in Quy Hop (right) performs with Tho ethnic musical instruments. Photo: Phuoc Anh

Like Mr. Truong Van Thong, many intangible heritage holders in Quy Chau district expressed their difficulties in meeting the requirement to have images and tapes recording the folk performing arts they hold. In fact, most of them are elderly, Thai ethnic people living in remote villages, most of them are poor households, and have limited ability to use technology.

According to statistics from the district's Department of Culture and Information, up to now, 29 sets of documents have been submitted from communes, however, the quality of the documents is not high, many of them do not meet the requirements. Mr. Tran Viet Duc - Head of the district's Department of Culture and Information said that among them, there are many sets belonging to "artists" who are very worthy of being honored because of the valuable knowledge they possess as well as their passion and enthusiasm for community activities. If they are rejected because the documents do not show their true value, it would be a pity.

To overcome difficulties and ensure the rights of the "artists", the Department of Culture of Quy Chau district had to send staff to directly meet each person, provide specific instructions on the steps of completing the application, support photography, filming... However, the funding for implementation is still very difficult. This reality also occurs in many other districts.

In addition, there are still many issues to discuss in terms of propaganda and raising awareness about the issue of honoring artisans. According to the progress assigned by the Department of Culture and Sports to the districts, by August 30, 2017 at the latest, they must collect and send the dossiers for consideration of awarding the title of Meritorious Artisan and People's Artisan to the Department, however, up to now, some localities are still at a standstill.

As in Tuong Duong district, although the provincial People's Committee sent the implementation plan since the beginning of April, the district's Department of Culture has deployed the content to the communes since June, but as of August 11, there were still no documents sent.

Mr. Vi Van Son - Head of the Department of Culture and Information of Tuong Duong district said: "The communes are not very interested, they have been urged but still stagnant; while the "artists" in the streams and creeks have limited knowledge, without specific instructions, they just wait. Perhaps we have to send district officials down to do the job"! According to statistics from the Department of Culture and Information, as of August 10, only 2 localities have sent documents, namely Cua Lo town and Tan Ky district, each locality has 2 sets.

Concerns after honor

According to Decree 62/2014/ND-CP, achieving the title of Meritorious Artisan is one of the criteria for preparing a profile for consideration of a higher title of People's Artisan. In Yen Thanh district, Meritorious Artisan Phan The Phiet (1947) in Hoa Thanh commune is one of those who are guided to prepare a profile for consideration of being awarded the title of People's Artisan. However, instead of joy, the artist who has devoted his whole life to the Vi and Giam is burdened with worries.

“Honestly, if I get the title of People's Artist, that's great, but if I don't, that's fine too, I don't really care. The title is just a spiritual encouragement for the individual, but what I and many other people who love Vi and Giam most hope for is to have practical, regular, long-term policies so that the Vi and Giam movement in localities can develop well" - Meritorious Artist Phan The Phiet shared.

Anh Va Ba Dua (Nhon Mai commune, Tuong Duong district) - the person who was guided to prepare the application for the title of Meritorious Artist of Mong Panpipe Performance. Photo: Phuoc Anh

Sharing the same concern, Meritorious Artist Truong Song Huong (1951) in Tho Hop Commune, Quy Hop District shared that, 1 year after being honored as a Meritorious Artist, his life is still no different. Without a pension or any other source of support, he still depends on his children and grandchildren in a simple house.

For decades, not for fame or material things, but only with passion and a sense of responsibility, he has quietly collected, created, and passed on folk songs and dances of the Tho ethnic group. However, sometimes he still cannot help but feel sad when he is getting older, economic conditions are difficult, and the budget for artists and folk song clubs to operate is not worth much.

At nearly 70 years old, he no longer expects much, only worries that the younger generation will not be interested in folk culture when looking at the difficult lives of those who currently hold the heritage.

Elite artisans such as Mr. Phan The Phiet, Truong Song Huong and hundreds of “artisans” in the countryside of Nghe An who have not been honored for a long time are still called “living human treasures” by folk culture lovers. How can these “treasures” be fueled with enthusiasm to “give wings” to the heritage?

How can the titles not only shine during the honoring ceremony? The answer is for the cultural sector and local authorities, but first of all, what needs to be done immediately is to be proactive, thorough, and highly responsible in completing the dossier for the second round of awarding the title of Meritorious Artist and People's Artist, and not let the "living treasures" wait.

Phuoc Anh