The cultural space of gongs in the Central Highlands is facing the risk of fading away as the number of gongs, artisans and heritage practice spaces is increasingly narrowing. According to statistics from the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Dak Lak province, from 2011 to 2024, the number of gong sets in the community decreased from 2,307 to 1,515 sets; the number of artisans also decreased from 3,855 to 3,749 people.
For many years, Lao Dong Newspaper has reflected the reality of a shortage of successor forces in preserving the traditional culture of the E De people. Many young people today pay little attention to gongs, brocade weaving and cultural values passed down through many generations. Along with that, the class of artisans, village elders, and people who understand customs and habits are becoming increasingly sparse due to old age and weakness.
Mr. Y Kham Ta Nie - Secretary of the Party Cell, Head of hamlet A1, Ea Sup commune - worried that the most worrying thing now is that many artisans who deeply understand gongs and traditional rituals are gradually moving away from the village when they have not yet passed on all the precious assets to the next generation. Meanwhile, young people are heavily affected by modern lifestyles and are not really interested in traditional culture.
Therefore, every year he maintains classes teaching gong playing and xoang dance for children in the village. For him, preserving culture is not only preserving ancient gong sets or gong tunes, but more importantly, conveying love and pride in national identity to the younger generation.
Each gong class is a bridge connecting the past with the present, connecting generations in the community. Only when young people love and understand the value of heritage, will the sound of the gong continue to resonate in the village. Preserving the gong is also preserving the soul, identity and pride of our nation," shared Mr. Y Kham Ta Niê.
Mr. Truong Cong Thai - Vice Chairman of Dak Lak Provincial People's Committee - highly appreciated the contributions of Lao Dong Newspaper in propagating the guidelines and policies of the Party and State, especially the National Target Program for socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas.
According to Mr. Thai, in the past time, Lao Dong Newspaper has produced many articles vividly reflecting the results of implementing national target programs in the province. Not only providing information about infrastructure investment, supporting livelihoods, and sustainable poverty reduction, the articles also contribute to spreading efforts to preserve and promote the traditional cultural identity of ethnic minorities.
The articles rich in practical breath have brought the Party and State's guidelines and policies closer to the people, and at the same time truthfully reflect the efforts of the locality in preserving culture associated with socio-economic development," Mr. Thai emphasized.
