Scientific research sought for Chau Van dossier

 

The national Chau Van (spiritual singing) festival has gathered more scientific grounds for the compilation of a dossier seeking UNESCO’s recognition of the traditional singing genre as an Intangible Culture Heritage of Humanity.

The festival, which wrapped up in Sam Son town, the central province of Thanh Hoa, on February 27, saw performances selected from 11 cities and provinces known for the fork art, such as Thai Binh, Nam Dinh, Dong Nai, Hanoi and Binh Phuoc.

Chau Van was created during the Tran Dynasty (1225-1400) and northern Nam Dinh province is considered its birthplace.

The highly rhythmic and trance-oriented form of singing often accompanies “hau dong” (mediumship) during the rituals to honor the Mother Goddesses and connect to other gods. It is performed mostly at temples and pagodas.

The music and poetry performed in the folk art are mingled with a variety of rhythms, pauses, tempos, stresses and pitches. The genre has also adopted folk songs from the uplands and highlands of the North, Centre and South. The main musical instrument used in the genre is Dan Nguyet or moon-shaped lute.

Earlier, the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism put Chau Van in the list of national intangible cultural heritages.

Vietnam now has six examples of world intangible heritage listed by UNESCO, including Hue's royal court music, Gong space culture in the Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands), the northern province of Bac Ninh's love duet singing, the Giong festival, Ca Tru ceremonial singing and Xoan singing.

Source: VNA