Community refuses to sing final xoan song

With a traditional music style on the verge of extinction, residents in An Thai Village ramp up efforts to protect their sacred art. When spring comes, men and women at An Thai Village (in Viet Tri City’s Phuong Lau Commune) eagerly prepare their costumes and gather every night at the village’s communal house to practise singing and dancing. Spring festivals and Tet (Lunar New Year) are occasions for them to raise their voice to the rhythm of xoan (folk singing) which is the integral part of every festival in the province. The northern province of Phu Tho is the cradle of xoan singing but now only a handful of villages have a place for it. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has submitted a file to UNESCO to gain recognition for traditional xoan singing as world cultural heritage that needs urgent protection.
Old tune
Nguyen Thi Lich was born in a family with a tradition of singing xoan. Her grandfather and father have been leaders of xoan troupes.
When she was young, she was attracted by xoan singing and picked up some singing from her family. From the age of 10, she began to be trained by them, instilling a love for xoan singing that hasn’t declined yet. According to legend the sacred art appeared long ago, during the reign of the Hung Kings, some 4,000 years ago. According myth, at that time xoan singing was usually organised in front of communal houses (dinh) during the
spring, hence it is also called hat cua dinh (singing in front of the communal house). Xoan singing is organised not only to entertain the villagers and honour the Hung Kings but also to pray for clement weather and good harvests, praise the natural landscapes and depict the work, agriculture and daily activities in rural areas. Located in the most remote commune of Viet Tri City, An Thai Village has the typical appearance of an old village
of the northern midlands, with thatch-roofed houses and earthen walls lying under the shades of palm trees. Here senior artist Lich and her troupe of 42 never tire of singing and recounting stories about xoan. As the legend has it, the sixth Hung King’s queen became pregnant. On the day of the delivery, she struggled for hours to give birth, but couldn’t. A servant suggested that Que Hoa who was talented in singing and dancing
should be called from An Thai Village to entertain the queen and help her reduce the pains of child-birth. Hoa came and sang beside the queen’s bed. Her voice was sweet and her dance so delicate that it helped the queen forget the birth pangs and successfully deliver three handsome and healthy sons. In indescribable joy, the king invited Hoa
to stay in the palace and teach the princes to sing. Hoa agreed. It was the beginning of spring so that the singing became known as xuan (spring) singing. Over time the name was slowly transformed into xoan. Time has changed the meaning of much of xoan tradition. The name of An Thai, meaning safe womb has now become just An Thai.
The stories and names of legend that have been passed down orally in just three living copies have resulted in
similar deviations. Xoan has certain local cultural and spiritual customs. It is performed in the spring as an activity to welcome a new
year. The singing is performed at certain places at the communal house’s doors. Each team of xoan performance holds a
certain number of communal house’s doors. It requires the establishment of teams of xoan or families of xoan. Each team usually has 4-5 men and 12-15 women led by a principal singer. The costume of a male singer includes a four-flapped gown, a turban and white trousers and the costumes of a female singer includes a five-flapped gown, a white loose-fitting blouse, a belt, brassiere bands of different colours and silk trousers. Xoan is performed according to a certain order consisting of three parts: rites, performance and festive singing.
Firstly, the performers pray in front of the communal house’s gate. They commune with the genies and sing the praise of Saints and Gods. The performance begins when the performers describe old rural life or sing the praise of natural beauty or retell old stories and legends. Festive singing features love songs with dances and games. This is the most joyful part of xoan. Xoan is very difficult to learn. It requires the combination of good voice, appearance and gestures. To convey the emotion of the song, the performer must sing from the heart. Xoan singing traditionally has a total 14 tempos. The singer must be proficient in the rhythm before starting to learn the song lyrics. The songs are attached with one another by movements, dances and performance in different scenes. The musical instruments for xoan singing are similar to many other kinds of folk songs, including drums, wooden bells and castanets. Drums and castanets are played by men, while singing and dancing are done by women. There are dances performed by two 10-year-old boys.
A xoan performance begins at 5am with a drum beat to gather the people and lengthens until the next morning.
Singers and instrumentalists only have a rest at the midnight but no one complains about the tiredness, according to Lich.
"Respect for the Gods, a love for singing and the encouragement of the audience help us lose ourselves in singing," she says.
Xoan is an invaluable cultural heritage of the local people in Phu Tho Province. To preserve and develop this art form, the singing groups have constantly taught the younger generations traditional folk songs imbued with love for their native land, contributing to preservation of Vietnamese folklore.
New blood
Among senior xoan singers of An Thai xoan singing troupe, only Lich has transferred the ancient art to the current generation. She has opened a xoan class to preserve the art. She has taught more than 100 young singers. "My paternal grandfather and father are famous xoan singers here. I have followed them to become a xoan singer but I’m not sure the next generation will be able to preserve it," says Lich.
The class takes place in the yard of the communal house. No fee is required. Both teacher and students have a passion for singing and submerging themselves into the emotional and velvety xoan songs. Each class has 20 students; most of them are 14 to 15 years old. Training takes several months, enough for the students to basically grasp the old xoan songs.
"I teach the students the songs orally and correct each tune and dance movement. Now the xoan singing classes are attracting an increasing number of young people, even children of nine to 11 years old."
"My class has been in existence for nearly a decade but all of the trainees have moved and it is very difficult to get
them together," she says.
The younger ones have to work to earn a living. Some of them have left the village to find job in cities. If this situation continues xoan singing could be lost when Lich’s generation passes. "It is not so difficult to train good singers but it is extremely hard to keep them singing xoan," she adds. Nguyen Thi Hong Nhung, 16, is one among Lich’s best students. She began learning xoan at the age of 10 and has
performed together with veteran artists in festivals and performances. As a high school’s student, Nhung is often busy studying. She has classes every morning and several afternoons but hasn’t missed any of Lich’s class. "I love singing xoan," she says, "I want to study at a university in Ha Noi, but I will sing xoan as long as I stay at the village."
Bui Duc Thanh left the village for military service. He has come back and started singing xoan at the age of 30 together with Lich’s other students. Learning a song can take up to four months, but after two months, he already has the rhythm of several songs, although he still needs to stand his teacher to follow her voice. "For any An Thai villager, xoan is as familiar as a lullaby," Thanh says, "I learned the lyrics by heart, and can sing
thanks to the drum and castanets."

Lich may face difficulties in training the next generation but she’s really proud of her students. "All of them have a love and responsibility for our heritage," she says, "they learn with all hearts".
"After school, they gather at the communal house to practise. Sometimes, when I can’t come or come late, they don’t wait, but come to my house to ask for help in their training."
As a way of preserving this heritage, xoan groups like Lich’s troupe have spent money buying musical instruments and outfits and practicing singing xoan songs as a catalyst for young people to follow the tradition. She hopes the troupe and her classes will receive recognition and concrete state support.
Chairman of Phuong Lau Communal People’s Committee, Nguyen Van Bay says that it is lucky so many young people have as strong an attachment to xoan as Nhung.
"We, truly want to do something to help the artists but due to a lack of money, all we can do is provide them with a venue to perform, practise and train," he says.
Musician Dang Hoanh Loan agrees with Lich’s idea of bringing xoan into schools. Children don’t have to learn how to sing but they should know xoan lyrics as poems and try to play musical instruments, he said.
Vietnamese academics all agree on the urgent need to protect the art as part of the world’s intangible cultural heritage.
They say attention should be given to collecting and organising xoan related documents for careful research and analysis as well as the restoration of the traditional rituals of xoan singing.
Researcher Nguyen Khac Xuong thinks xoan should be professionalised, with directors, nicer costumes instead of just having old people performing the traditional music.
"Apart from the ritual section, xoan singing includes performances which are romantic and cheerful; it should be performed by young people."
Musician Loan affirms the important position of xoan singing in folk culture.
"Artists in their 70s and 80s who still remember and can sing are still popular," he says, "we don’t have to worry about materials and lyrics on xoan singing because they are collected and stored at the institute."
Loan praises xoan singing as a valuable part of the nation’s heritage. Xoan singers like Lich are day by day trying their own best to preserve this heritage and spread their passion to the younger generation. Every time they don their festive costumes to sing in the communal house, their hearts share the same beat of respect and love for the traditional xoan folk songs.