Preserving Intangible Culture of Vinh Phuc

Duc Bac is a riverside village known for Trong Quan singing (military drum-a response folk song of Vietnam) that has been passed down through generations; people here do heavy and hard work throughout the year, so Trong Quan has become an necessary spiritual performance in daily life. In each spring, the village is full of joyful sounds created from the military drums of village festivals.

 

Trong Quan singing in Duc Bac is regarded as the one of the long-lasting specialties of the local culture. The Duc Bac's Trong Quan performance has been refined over the centuries and contributed to building great artistic value and enriching the culture and traditions of the nation.

 

The Duc Bac' Trong Quan is performed in the spring, also called the Xoan singing, that often takes place in front of the river banks of Duc Bac Village and then to the village square. During Trong Quan festival, Duc Bac's gentlemen welcome ladies from Phu Ninh village to the festival to sing in pairs. They move from boat to the shore and continue singing together while walking. Ladies wear small drums that was prepared by gentlemen and the gentlemen sing and play the drums. Each pair sit in face to face and the women go backwards and the men go forward. They will keep walking and singing until they come to the entrance door of the village. The singing sessions will last from noon till night. Specifically, one will sing and others reply. The lyrics are elegant and help the singer to show their feeling. The Trong Quan singing is a type of folk song for boys and girls to meet in a public place of the northern midlands. The lyrics of the Duc Bac's Trong Quan song is romantic, for people to express their love with others.

 

For more than a century of the existence and development, the Duc Bac's Trong Quan singing has experienced many ups and downs, tracing the history of the country. When the temple of the Four Ladies was burned by the French in the battle on the Lo River in 1947, the singing was forgotten.

 

In 2002, the Vietnam Academy of Music started studying about the Trong Quan festival, and audiences had the chance to listen to the beautiful songs once again. Over the years, Vinh Phuc province, under the direction of the Vinh Phuc Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, has been very interested in preserving the cultural values of the tangible and intangible objects of the province. The province pays much attention to the preservation of the cultural values.

 

Trong Quan Singing has recently been back to the spiritual life of the people of the Duc Bac village. However, due to some limitations and difficulties of the village, the preservation and promotion of the intangible cultural values remain difficult. Many young people of the village are no longer interested in the singing. To preserve and promote the inherent worth of the folk art and contribute to the rich cultural identity of Vinh Phuc while creating a cultural tourism product to attract tourists and develop a sustainable tourism as well as to alleviate the poverty, the Duc Bac's Trong Quan needs more research. This will bring the intangible culture back and attract more tourists to the Vinh Phuc.