Quan Ho vitality in everyday life
A normal day for the sisters at Hoai Trung Quan Ho Club, the rhythm of life is closely associated with Quan Ho melodies. The rooster just crowing roared throughout the hamlet, the crowing sound echoed through the grass patches filled with young dew, Ms. Nguyen Thi Huyen - Head of Hoai Trung Quan Ho Club hurriedly, running around with the job of cooking feasts - work that often requires staying up late and getting up early, busy regardless of normal days or weekends.
Usually, for early meals, we have to start setting fire from 3 am. It's hard, but it's the main job to support the family, so everyone tries their best," Ms. Huyen shared.
Outside the hamlet, in the vast fields, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Minh is busy with the early morning rush season. At the age of over 60, Mrs. Minh is still attached to 6 sao of rice fields and vegetable gardens to have rice to eat, and extra vegetables and loofahs to bring to the market to sell to earn money to cover daily expenses.
Unlike Ms. Minh and Ms. Huyen, Ms. Vu Thi Dinh chose to trade at the market as a livelihood. From 4 am, she was present at wholesale markets to import fruits, then hurriedly returned to pack goods in time for the early market. On busy days, she could earn a decent amount of money to cover living expenses.
After a long day of busy work, in the evening, the women of Hoai Trung village return to the small room of the club, everyone's faces are still radiant with joy, murmuring traditional songs. Hoai Trung Quan Ho Club operates periodically on Thursday and Sunday evenings every week.
Mrs. Dinh smiled and said: "No matter how hard it is to do business during the day, when it comes to activities, I try to go all the way. Here, I can both learn to sing and "talk", if sisters have any joys or sorrows after working days, they tell each other. All the fatigue seems to disappear.
Keeping the fire of heritage from the community
For members of Hoai Trung Quan Ho Club, Quan Ho is not only a hobby in their spare time but has become a "job" to preserve and maintain in today's rhythm of life, stemming from love, passion and responsibility for the cultural heritage of their homeland. At each activity, the "lien anh" and "lien chi" coaches and correct each other with each "i, a" sentence, each breathing method, as well as enthusiastically teaching the young generation.
In the living space of Hoai Trung Quan Ho Club, there are also exhibits of memorabilia and utensils in the playing style of Quan Ho people. These are betel pots made of bamboo inlaid with beads; sets of copper teapots; betel-shaped knives with bamboo leaves, silver-studded horns or baskets containing Quan Ho guest teapots.
The keepsakes in the club's display space are diligently collected by brother Duong Duc Thang - Deputy Head of Hoai Trung Quan Ho Club. For him, the keepsakes he has painstakingly collected for many years not only originate from the love of Quan Ho but also from the desire to fully and truthfully introduce them to visitors who visit the traditional customs of the ancient Quan Ho people.
There are memorabilia dating back nearly a century, a vivid proof associated with the names of senior artisans. Bringing unique cultural values, the display space of Hoai Trung Quan Ho Club has welcomed many tourists, especially delegations of students... to visit, research, exchange, and study.
After a long period of activities, Hoai Trung Quan Ho Club has actively participated in performing and displaying artifacts at many major events inside and outside the province, contributing to connecting culture, educating traditions, and preserving the spiritual values of Bac Ninh Quan Ho folk songs.
In Bac Ninh, from 49 original Quan Ho villages according to the traditional ket cha custom, Quan Ho has now spread strongly in community life with about 150 Quan Ho villages practicing, more than 600 folk songs clubs and over 10,000 members participating regularly throughout the province.
The figures show that Quan Ho is being preserved, conserved and promoted by the community as an indispensable part of local cultural life.
According to the Bac Ninh Provincial Museum, in the context that Bac Ninh is focusing on developing cultural tourism associated with heritage, the role of artisans and prestigious people is becoming even more important, they are both "keepers of the fire" for heritage, and "inheritors of the fire", bringing national cultural identity to tourists with their own voices, hands and enthusiasm.
Ancient Quan Ho folk songs from the simple living room have followed many "lien anh" and "lien chi" of Hoai Trung Quan Ho Club to perform at large stages inside and outside the province. Through this, it can be seen that the Bac Ninh Quan Ho folk song heritage is being strongly preserved. The community is the place to preserve its roots, while cultural institutions play a role in spreading and connecting heritage with tourism and modern life, so that Quan Ho is not only preserved, but continues to live in the contemporary space of Kinh Bac land.
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It's a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit.
