Youths from many villages in Yang Bac commune, Dak Po district in theCentral Highlands province of Gia Lai, are raising funds to preserve andpromote gong culture.
In each village, the People's Committeelends farm land to each group of youths to grow crops and raise cattle.The profits are mostly earmarked for buying new gongs for theircommunities.
In Jung village, for example, youthsexchanged two buffaloes, 20 million VND (940 USD), for a set of gongs.Similarly, nearby Bung Bang, Kroi and Jro Dong Villages all have theirown set of gongs, which are worth up to million dong each.
"Wehave loved the sound of gongs since we were still in our mothers' wombs.Playing gongs is also the major cultural activity of local youth duringfestivals. All the youth in my village are able to play gongs. Eachcommune consists of 15 villages, each of which has established its owngong group," said Dinh-DRap, Secretary of the Youth Union in Yang Bacvillage.
Truong Trung Tuyen, Secretary of YouthUnion in Dak Po Village added: "Gongs are not only a musical instrument,but a means of communication and valuable family heirlooms. The ideatherefore should be expanded widely in the Central Highlands."
Gong culture has already been recognised as a Masterpiece of theIntangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO and listed asnational-intangible heritage by the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture,Sports and Tourism.
It is also considered part ofthe spiritual life of ethnic people in the Central Highlands, so itspreservation is of great importance.
According toProfessor Tran Van Khe, a cultural and musical researcher of traditionalVietnamese music, youth play a key role in preserving gong music.
A gong festival is held every four years in the province and every twoyears in Gia Lai. These are the effective ways of passing on knowledge.
Gia Lai Cultural-Arts Vocational School andboarding schools in the province are introducing gong culture into theircurriculum.
According to recent statistics, there are5,655 sets of gongs, of which 932 are considered precious. All are keptin the province.-VNA
In each village, the People's Committeelends farm land to each group of youths to grow crops and raise cattle.The profits are mostly earmarked for buying new gongs for theircommunities.
In Jung village, for example, youthsexchanged two buffaloes, 20 million VND (940 USD), for a set of gongs.Similarly, nearby Bung Bang, Kroi and Jro Dong Villages all have theirown set of gongs, which are worth up to million dong each.
"Wehave loved the sound of gongs since we were still in our mothers' wombs.Playing gongs is also the major cultural activity of local youth duringfestivals. All the youth in my village are able to play gongs. Eachcommune consists of 15 villages, each of which has established its owngong group," said Dinh-DRap, Secretary of the Youth Union in Yang Bacvillage.
Truong Trung Tuyen, Secretary of YouthUnion in Dak Po Village added: "Gongs are not only a musical instrument,but a means of communication and valuable family heirlooms. The ideatherefore should be expanded widely in the Central Highlands."
Gong culture has already been recognised as a Masterpiece of theIntangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO and listed asnational-intangible heritage by the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture,Sports and Tourism.
It is also considered part ofthe spiritual life of ethnic people in the Central Highlands, so itspreservation is of great importance.
According toProfessor Tran Van Khe, a cultural and musical researcher of traditionalVietnamese music, youth play a key role in preserving gong music.
A gong festival is held every four years in the province and every twoyears in Gia Lai. These are the effective ways of passing on knowledge.
Gia Lai Cultural-Arts Vocational School andboarding schools in the province are introducing gong culture into theircurriculum.
According to recent statistics, there are5,655 sets of gongs, of which 932 are considered precious. All are keptin the province.-VNA
