Quan Ho is performed on boats - Illustrative image (Source: VNA) BacNinh (VNA) – Thousands of local peopleand visitors have flocked to Tien Du district in the northern province ofBac Ninh to attend the Lim festival, which honours Quan Ho (love duet singing) –the world intangible cultural heritage recognised by UNESCO.
The annual festival takes place on February 27-28 or the 12thand 13th days of the Lunar New Year.
The incense-offering rituals were organised at HongAn pagoda (Lim pagoda) on Lim Hill. The pagoda isdedicated to Nguyen Dinh Dien (Hieu Trung Hau), whoinvented Quan Ho.
The Lim festival contributes to preserving the locality’s traditional culturalvalues and promoting images and tourism potential of Bac Ninh.
The organising board has arranged six areas and one stage forQuan Ho singing. Quan Ho is also performed on boats, and at pagodas andcommunal houses in Noi Due and Lien Bao communes, and Lim town.
Besides Quan Ho singing, the festival also featuresvarious folk games such as traditional wrestling, earthenware pot breaking, andbamboo swinging.
The art of love duets was inscribed in UNESCO’srepresentative list of intangible cultural heritage in September 2009.
Quan Ho is an art form that combinesvarious elements, including music, lyrics and costumes, and features thedistinctive culture of people in the region formerly called Kinh Bac.
The singing represents different kinds ofrelationships -- the relationship between male and female singers as romanticlovers, the relationship between two friendly villages and the relationshipbetween performers and the audience. Each element helps define Quan Ho,give it life and meaning, and the resulting harmony is so much more than just abeautiful song.-VNA
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