Resurrected festival cheers local heroes

      Trung Hieu joins throngs of people, two boats on wheels and a couple of wooden elephants, for a unique festival in Tan Hoi Commune, near Ha Noi, held only once every five years.
Dawn is yet to break, but villagers in Tan Hoi Commune, 20km from the centre of Ha Noi, are already up and chatting noisily around Voi Phuc Temple in Thuong Hoi Village.
The temple was built to worship Saint Van Di Thanh, a Vietnamese general who fought Chinese Ming invaders and died defending his homeland in the 15th century. After he died, local people worshipped him as the Saint of the four villages in this commune.
At 7.30am, the yard in front of the temple is crowded with people. On the edge of the yard, villagers lay two dragon-head boats. Close to the boats, there are two huge, wooden elephants. Each elephant is decorated with a giant flower on its head, and each has a young girl in traditional costumes sitting on its back. Another girl, holding a long trumpet in her hand, stands in front of the elephant.
On each boat stands two women and 10 young girls. Their traditional costumes make the older women look like female generals of the feudal times.
The boats, which are set on four wheels, are then pushed around the yard by four strapping young men. The elephants are pushed alongside the boats to "protect" them.
After ritual ceremony to worship Saint Van Di Thanh, a session of ask-and-respond singing is held between the girls on the boats and the girls on the elephants:
"Today, we the young women travel on the dragon-head boats.
Tomorrow, all the country’s people travel on the East Sea... "
The girls on the elephants sing:
"I am a woman elephant-keeper, sitting on the elephant’s head.
I am wearing like a man.
I hold a hammer in my hand, and a speaking-trumpet in the other hand... "
The festival, hat cheo tau (folk songs peformed while rowing a boat), takes place across several days in the commune in Hoai Duc District. The area is home to four villages: Thuong Hoi, Thuy Hoi, Vinh Ky and Phan Long. As well as the singing and dancing – all performed by women – there are also games of chess, swinging contests and rice-making competitions.
Violent origins
Different from many other folk songs in the Northern Delta that are also performed to worship gods and saints, hat cheo tau has unclear origins.
Some local elders say the show was first performed to commemorate general Van Di Thanh. To this day, local people dare not name their children Thanh.
Another legend says hat cheo tau may originate from celebrations of the uprising of the two Trung Sisters’ against Chinese Han invaders, and a third hypothesis says the performance came about to cheer a meeting between King Trieu Quang Phuc and King Ly Phat Tu in the 6th century.
One thing that everyone does agree on is when the festival is held. Local man Dong Sinh Nhat, 65, says hat cheo tau used to be held once every 25-30 years.
"Hat cheo tau can only be held when the community have a bumper crop and everyone has to agree on it."
But the festival almost fell into oblivion in the 20th century, according to Ngo Thi Thu, chairwoman of the local hat cheo tau club.
"The last hat cheo tau event held at the beginning of the century was in 1922. After that, wars, hunger and times of trouble prevented us from holding it again. It wasn’t until 1998 that we could organise the festival again," she says.
Today the festival is held every five years, says the commune People’s Committee chairman, Nguyen Huu Thao.
"Hat cheo tau is only found in Tan Hoi Commune, you can’t find it anywhere else. It’s a big source of pride for local people," he says.
Girl power
The festival uses some special props. Thuong Hoi and Thuy Hoi villages both have a 4.5m-long, 1m-wide dragon-head boats. They were made in 1998 to celebrate the day when Voi Phuc Temple and General Van Di Thanh’s Van Son Mausoleum were recognised as national historical and cultural relics.
The boats have wheels, and each has space for a dozen people to stand, sing and dance. The other two villages also have important props, also made in 1998: two 2.5m elephants made of timber and bamboo and set on wheels.
Props aren’t the only necessary attention to detail. The performers themselves are picked according to stringent criteria.
Four women, aged over 50 with reputable family lives, are chosen to be me chieu quan (mothers who manage singers). Each boat has two chua tau (boat owners) and 10 young girls to be con tau (boat singers). All of them must be 13-16 year-old virgins. Each elephant has two keepers, one to sit on the elephant’s back and another to stand in front of it.
Practice sessions begin six months in advance on August 15, according to the lunar calendar. The run-up to the event, always held on January 15 of the lunar calendar, demands a lot of hard work and dedication. But instead of money, the performers get paid with prestige. The girls never quit because their participation in the festival is a source of great pride for their families.
Simulator
On the morning of the big day, people from all four villagers gather in front of Voi Phuc Temple in Thuong Hoi Village.
The wooden boats and elephants are positioned in front of the temple and the officiating priest, a village elder, walks ahead of the me chieu quan and their flock to offer incense and sing sacred songs to the gods.
Then it’s time for the singers to "set sail". The boat owners lead the song, while everyone sings and simulates rowing movements. This is where the folk song gets its name: hat cheo tau, literally means singing while rowing a boat. After that, the elephant girls sing ask-and-respond songs to the performers on the boats.
Some of the songs are about love, a good lifestyle, loyalty, affection and the beauty of their homeland. Others praise the exploits of the two Trung Sisters and General Van Di Thanh. Those sung inside temples are not sung outside, and each village has their own variations.
"The songs teach people about patriotism, national pride and traditions," says hat cheo tau club chairwoman Thu. "We know there were about 300 tunes when the art died out in 1922, but today we only have 12. We learnt a lot from our old folk, who have since passed, like Do Truong, Tien Thi Luc and Bep Ba."
Thu says the singers must learn by heart three parts of the hat cheo tau: hat trinh or songs for gods; trao ca, songs sung on the ships, and ask-and-respond love songs.
Intangible heritage
Hat cheo tau researcher and musician Dang Hoanh Loan, former deputy head of Music Research Institute, says he believes the folk music plays an important part in strengthening the community.
"It reflects the culture of the region, involves participation from a large part of the community and takes a lot of time and effort to organise. The art combines many different musical forms, so far we haven’t been able to collect them all."
Performers do it for love, not money, says commune People’s Committee deputy chairman, Nguyen Vy Hung. "They don’t get paid much to perform at local festivals, but they still do it with passion."
Club leader Thu says singing for the love of it is one thing, but more funds are needed to keep the folk art alive. "It’s hard because most of the singers have to be unmarried girls, so we have to train new girls every few years."
There are now over 50 young women learning to sing hat cheo tau at the club. "People here know they are lucky to be able to learn hat cheo tau," Thu says.
It’s getting dark, but the enthusiastic crowds watching the singers don’t look like they’re going home anytime soon. Thu gestures to the transfixed faces of her fellow villagers. "Even if they live far away, people still travel back home to watch the performance," she says.
"The Viet Nam Folk Art Association is now preparing research on hat cheo tau to present to UNESCO so our folk heritage can be officially recognised. I myself have always believed in its vitality," she says.