Chhay-dam drum dance (Tay Ninh Province) recognized as national intangible cultural heritage

Recently, People’s Committee of Truong Tay Commune, Hoa Thanh District, Tay Ninh Province held a ceremony to receive recognition of Chhay-dam drum dance as national intangible cultural heritage.
Speaking at the ceremony, Chairman of People’s Committee of Hoa Thanh District, Mr. Nguyen Nam Hung said, in order to preserve the national intangible cultural heritage of Chhay-dam drum dance, Hoa Thanh District asked the authority agencies, especially People’s Committee of Truong Tay Commune to facilitate for Khmer people in the commune to usually organize Chhay-dam drum dance performance, support training expenditure, teach Chhay-dam drum dance for Khmer young people.
Chhay-dam drum dance is a special art type taught to Khmer people in Viet Nam in 1972 by Cambodian monk Thai Chia Thanh to perform in the festival of Cao Dai Temple in Tay Ninh Province. Later, Chhay-dam drum dance is usually performed in all festivals, holidays of Khmer people. Now, this art type is conserved by several groups of Khmer people in the South, including Khmer people in Truong Tay Commune.
Chhay-dam drum dance isn’t used lyrics like tuong, cheo singing… it has only the shout of dancers and sound of drum (accompanied with gong, cymbal, castanet) to create the boisterous atmosphere. Chhay-chip drum dance has exercises of drum beat, drum dance and hand dance. When performing, dancers wear drum in the front of their belly and stand in the horizontal, vertically or arc lines and clap on the drum. More complicated, they use their elbows or heels to drum. Besides, there are also some people playing gong, cymbals; monkey dancing …
The drum in Chhay-dam dance is made of the body of old areca trees hollowed inside. The drum is more than 1m high, its head is covered by dry skin of buffalo, cow or python with a diameter of about 30cm, then smaller and larger in the tail with a diameter of about 15cm. The drum’s tail does not get covered skin. The wall of drum is decorated pattern of lotus petals… Covering the drum is green, red, yellow clothes…
Thu Giang.