In the mountains of Bình Liêu, captivated by the Tày people's then singing

The Tày people in the highland district of Bình Liêu, Quảng Ninh, have an extremely rich cultural identity, including then singing, an art form of profound significance in the community's life.

In the mountains of Bình Liêu, captivated by the Tày people's then singing

The Tày account for as much as 55% of the district's total population. In any Tày village or family in Bình Liêu, visitors can enjoy the highly distinctive then melodies accompanied by the tính tảu. Performances of then singing often appear in the religious rituals of the Tày, Nùng, and Thái peoples.

A then singing performance. Photo: Bình Liêu District.

Then singing is a form of using melody to recount the journey of the then spirits carrying offerings to the realm of heaven, representing human beings in praying for good things in the earthly world. The indispensable musical instrument when performing then melodies is the tính tảu; then singing and the tính tảu are inseparable on stage, like body and shadow.

Then singing for visitors. Photo: Bình Liêu District.

The high and low, lilting melodies, together with the then lyrics, depict each stage of the then army's journey: at times urging them to hurry, at times leisurely stopping to rest by the roadside, at times earnestly making petitions, and at times crossing the sea amid lively sounds…

Lầu then, a traditional then ritual. Photo: Bình Liêu District.

Each chapter and passage in a then performance (called “không” and “khái”) takes listeners, through the performers (known as bà then and ông then), into a novel world blended with the sound of the tính tảu.

Then singing cannot be separated from the tính tảu. Photo: Quảng Ninh Newspaper.

A then singing night serves as spiritual therapy for the sick, bringing faith, uplift, and love of life and others… to everyone taking part in the then ritual. Thus, the Tày have a saying: “A sick night is long, a then night is short,” showing that then singing makes people forget their troubles and worries, forget illness and suffering…

Many young people in Bình Liêu are passionate about then singing. Photo: Quảng Ninh Newspaper.

Then melodies are connected with every Tày person from the time they are still in the womb until they depart this world, forming a part of their spiritual life and identity. Today, artisans write new then lyrics and bring real, familiar life into each work, making them easier for the public to embrace.

Photo: Quảng Ninh Newspaper.

Then singing in Bình Liêu, as in many other places, follows a seven-syllable poetic form, with each line carrying a positive meaning and offering wishes for good fortune in life. If Lạng Sơn then is gentle and heartfelt, and Hà Giang then features subtle rhythmic emphasis, Bình Liêu then has its own distinctive characteristics, differing in pitch and melody because each region has its own pronunciation, resulting in different singing styles.

Then singing has become a tourism product. Photo: Quảng Ninh Newspaper.

Bình Liêu then is often simple, quietly intimate with listeners, and less melodious than in other localities. For the Tày, then is poetry and a form of profound metaphor. Then singing is indispensable when guests come to the house or when building a new home. Then has many themes, such as praise for the homeland, romantic love, family affection, and songs about Uncle Hồ…

Then singing beside a stream. Photo: Quảng Ninh Newspaper.

Many then works in Bình Liêu remain vibrantly alive today, including works associated with the resistance war against the US (Ngẩm nghỉ chang vằn tấc Mỷ – Thinking during the days of fighting the Americans, Then play: Ăn cương téng nả – The Mirror for Looking at One's Face…), reflecting the construction of socialism in the North (Cùn khảu – harvesting rice, Éo nọong – singing a lullaby to a child…), and, later, many works praising the Bình Liêu homeland (Lằm tàng Phiêng Lèo – the Bình Liêu road, Phiêng Lèo túi mấu – Bình Liêu Renewal…).

A then singing space. Photo: Phượng Đại.

Then not only helps people express sadness, happiness, anger, and resentment, but also serves to express love for the homeland and country. It has become an effective means of disseminating the Party's guidelines because it easily reaches people's hearts.

Many then singing clubs for young people. Photo: Communist Party of Vietnam Online Newspaper.

Today, then singing in Bình Liêu is a distinctive tourism product. Visitors to Bình Liêu can learn about content related to then singing and the tính tảu, and enjoy performances presented by the Tày people of Bình Liêu.

Many ancient then melodies are being preserved in Bình Liêu. Photo: Quảng Ninh Newspaper.

From a form of performance primarily associated with religious belief, then melodies are being developed into a strength of spiritual tourism. This demonstrates the importance and enduring vitality of then. Therefore, then singing has been recognized by UNESCO as Representative Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, which the Tày people of Bình Liêu are preserving.