In the story of residents in the Can Gio coastal area (HCMC), boy singing is never simply a classic form of stage.
It exists as a "breath" of spiritual life, as a spiritual flow associated with the worship of Ca Ong and the stormy seas. And over the past forty years, Meritorious Artist Linh Hien has been one of the most persistent witnesses to that flow.
Singing a feast - a spiritual source in the Nghinh Ong festival
In Can Gio, every August 16-18 of the lunar calendar, this land is awakened by the sound of festival drums, the bustling sound of muzzles and the brilliant flow of people in costumes in the ancestral ceremony.
In that context, badminton singing appears as the soul of the festival. Meritorious Artist Linh Hien told us in a slow but bright voice of pride: "In my life, I only know how to sing a lot. For more than 40 years following the troupe, it is unknown how many times he has performed at festivals in Can Gio and especially Nghinh Ong festival. But every time I stand on the stage of Can Gio's ceremony, it is still a very different feeling - both sacred and as close as singing for my own relatives at sea".
The characteristics of Bai Lu singing in Can Gio still retain the traditional style with heavy costumes, traditional movements, luxurious voices and familiar prose such as "Son Hau", "Tam Nu Hoang", "Phan Le Hue"... Performing artists mostly come from the Bai Lu singing troupes of the South or artists who have been associated with the profession for many years, including those who have followed the Bai Lu singing profession to perform in coastal areas.
On the stage in front of the communal house, the yellow light shone on the faces of artists with thick costumes and brilliant costumes. From the outside, the sound of the waves blends with the sound of the Trumpet like a chord of heaven - sea - people. Those moments, according to Meritorious Artist Linh Hien, "are so sacred that artists do not dare to sketch out a movement".
"They watch singing ably with faith, with gratitude to Ong fish. I sing in this festival not only to perform, but also to contribute to the riceance ceremony, offer incense, and pray for peace for the fishermen," he said.
The unique color of the song of the sea
The Bai Lu singing has a strict rules system, modeling from the walking pose, looking up the neck bracelet weighing tens of documents. But in Can Gio, the audience's reception creates a very unique nuance: they not only watch but also "send".
They do not review acting like in a theater, but they watch with their hearts, Meritorious Artist Linh Hien shared. Just a beautiful role, a proper performance class, for the people to celebrate as if the sea would be gentle that year, he added.
The plays in the festival are always selected, mainly Tuong with sacred colors, suitable for beliefs. Although famous, historical books of Vietnam do not appear on Nghinh Ong festival, because they are not suitable for a specific religious space.
Singing a lot - creating livelihoods for sea people
Few people know that this art is also an important source of income for people in the Can Gio sea area during each festival season. Meritorious Artist Linh Hien recounted that during the holiday season, people are very bustling. Not only artists but also costume, makeup, stage, sound, and street vendors can make a living during such bustling festival days.
A troupe can run three or four shows per night. Thanks to that, many families have significant additional income. For artists who sing in a nutshell, at this time, we call each other "run shows" because everyone has the opportunity to meet their audience, who still love traditional house singing of the nation. At this time, people can also do additional trading to earn income" - he recounted.
In Can Gio, visitors do not only come to see mangrove forests or eat seafood. They were caught up in the festive atmosphere, the choreography of the song of the moon - something that few places in the South still have.
It is the combination of eco-tourism, spiritual tourism and traditional arts, especially boy singing, that has created a new source of income for the local community.
For Can Gio people, the art of youth singing is a spiritual support. That belief connects the community, helping them become stronger in their livelihoods.
However, the veteran male artist regrets that each year, boy band singing only takes place in Can Gio, usually a few days, so sometimes it cannot create a strong effect, and the revenue of people around the festival season is not too high.
Therefore, he hopes that boy band singing should be spread, especially creating livelihoods for boy band singers and people in making costumes, shopping, business, food and beverage services, etc.
Need to keep the passion for the profession of singing abroad
During many festival seasons, Meritorious Artist Linh Hien realized the change of the times: the young generation no longer has patience with plays lasting 3 - 4 hours. They only stood watching for a few dozen minutes and then left, even though behind the stage was the hard work of many artists to practice for the rest of their lives.
"We can't blame you. Society today has many things that are too fast. But if we can't keep young audiences, sing big and then where will we go?" - he wondered.
He once proposed a 25 - 30 minute excerpt model, the best and most meaningful performances. "Just if you stand long enough to see the quintessence of the character, the movement, the sound of the Trumpet... you have sown a seed to love the job".
The biggest sadness of experienced artisans like Meritorious Artist Linh Hien is the absence of the young generation pursuing the profession. "Every year, the group enrolls students, sometimes only one or two students come to study. There are years when there are no students," he said.
The faces that are still attached to him such as Thanh Binh, My Kim, Hoang Hoa... have also reached the age of 40. If there is no new solution, in about ten years, the artists may gradually expire.
According to Meritorious Artist Linh Hien, to sing along to avoid being "submerged" in the new era, support from many sides is needed. He suggested: "I hope that agencies in the cultural sector need to invest systematically in the next training course, restore traditional costumes and props, build a school stage program and have a policy to treat older artists.
Developing tourism products associated with singing along such as watching behind-the-scenes in costumes, exchanging artists, visiting ceremony stages... is a direction to help art become sustainable, not completely dependent on the festival season".
When talking about himself, he was concerned: "Although health does not allow us to continue to be attached to the catwalk as before. I have lived in this profession for 46 years. I never give up my job. But the most frighten thing is that one day there is no one to continue".
It is not only the voice of a veteran artist, but also the fear and worry about the danger of a traditional art form fading away.
The song of the sea breeze in Can Gio is not only the resounding drum sound in the middle of Nghinh Ong festival, not only the brilliant costume under the lights, but also the memory, belief and livelihood of an entire community adhering to the sea. Through the story of Meritorious Artist Linh Hien, it is clear that one art is standing on a fragile line: one side is the risk of being lost and losing the next generation; the other side is the opportunity to be revived through tourism and conservation policies in the right direction.
Maintaining a rich singing voice is protecting the cultural foundation of Can Gio - where the ocean, beliefs and art blend into an un mixed identity, lasting like waves offshore that never get tired.
