At the Village of Culture and Tourism of Vietnamese Ethnic Groups, Then singing of the Tay people is still present as a vivid part of cultural life. The sound of the Tinh zither playing in the traditional space is both a way to preserve heritage and contributes to spreading folk art to a large audience.
The stilt house space of the Tay ethnic village has become a place where artisans maintain professional activities. Here, they both perform, teach, and practice regularly to serve cultural programs. Artisan Ma Thi Hien (55 years old) said that training is maintained daily to meet performance requirements. Besides Then singing, other traditional cultural elements such as bowl dance are also practiced in parallel.
The Then singing treasure is quite diverse with many forms of expression. Besides ancient melodies associated with beliefs, many new works have been born, reflecting contemporary life, praising the homeland, country, Party and Uncle Ho. During the performance, artisans flexibly use both Tay language and common language to suit visitors.
Not only stopping at artistic value, Then singing also carries profound spiritual meaning. In rituals praying for peace, praying for harvests or at the beginning of the year, "Then master" performs rituals with the sound of the Tinh zither accompanying, as a string connecting people with spiritual life.
Currently, Then singing performance activities are organized more and more orderly, with many invested performances, harmonizing traditional elements and modern stages. Along with that, Then singing is being exploited as an experiential tourism product. The teaching and training of successors is also focused on preserving and continuing the heritage values.
