The crowd quickly shaped into a circle in the front yard of the VietnamMuseum of Ethnology as drumbeats resounded and amateur artisans put downheaps of clay.
Adults were like little kids, unable to take their eyes off the crackers that were being moulded in different sizes and shapes.
Thesizes, shapes and thickness decide the sound of explosion, a young mantold the audience as he raised high a conical hat-shaped cracker that hehad just finished making.
When he said any child can give the crackers a try, about 10 boys and girls jumped in, rolling up their sleeves.
"Inever made this before. This game is a lot of fun," said Le Quoc Minh, aseventh grader from the Nghia Tan Secondary School in Cau Giaydistrict.
"I made one small one and one slightly bigger. They did not make such a big bang, but I would love to try again."
Theclay crackers were demonstrated by artisans from Hai Phong city at aspring festival hosted last weekend by the museum in Hanoi.
Theartisans from Hai Phong were joined by their counterparts from Ha Tinhand Hoa Binh provinces, who presented several folk games and artperformances.
Several groups of girls, women and even littlechildren enjoyed a bamboo pole dance introduced by people of the Thaiethnic minority community. Among the audience cheering and applaudingthe dancers were several foreign visitors. In other corner, many youngpeople and even children kept onlookers entertained as they tried theirbest to walk on stilts.
Others tried their hand at climbing tallbamboo poles, catching loaches in big jars, a game that involved rollingpomelos (akin to bowling) through a small "goal post", sack jumping andseveral other of 25 games brought to the festival.
"Manylocalities have begun to revive and promote their folk games at springfestivals that are being held nationwide, said Nguyen Van Huy of theNational Council for Cultural Heritage.
A former director of themuseum, Huy welcomed the development, saying: “Folk games reflect thenation's culture, they enable us to understand more about friendship,love for family and the homeland, enhance community spirit and connectthe neighbourhood."
The interest and enjoyment shown at severalspring festivals by both Vietnamese and foreign visitors, in particularthe youth, show that folk games can still be a big draw, he said. "If wego in the right direction, these games will not be lost, and canactually flourish."
The ongoing Tran Temple festivals in thenorthern provinces of Nam Dinh and Thai Binh have helped revitalise folkgames like kylin and dragon dances, human chess, wrestling and severalforms of martial arts.
Vietnam celebrates around 8,000 festivalseach year. Apart from the main activity – rituals – folk games are stillconsidered the soul of most festivals, and as such, play a significantrole in developing the nation's culture, experts say.
"Folk gamesare not just a form of healthy entertainment and good physicalexercise. They also stimulate the players' intelligence," cultureresearcher Giang Quan told the Ha Noi Moi (New Ha Noi) newspaperrecently. "Many games are artistic and aesthetic, and highlight theadmirable skills of players."
Another culture researcher,professor Ngo Duc Thinh, told Vietnam News that festivals are a greatenvironment for the games that go beyond mere entertainment.
"Folkgames have a religious and spiritual base. Hence they are not simplygames. They also help improve physical fitness and provide moraleducation," he said.
Thinh gave the example of a swingcompetition where male-female pairor martial arts performance representsthe combination Yin and Yang, or martial arts performance in whichwinners have the coveted honour of praying in front of the local God.The belief is that such an honour will bring them health, happiness andprosperity during the Lunar New Year, he said.
However, Thinhalso said there is some worry that folk games were better conserved inmountainous and remotes areas, not in urban areas where imported toysdominate the market.
"In recent years, both culture managers andresearchers have paid greater attention to conserving traditional gamesin an effort to keep children off these harmful toys," Thinh said.
"However,it's easier said than done. Results in terms of both quality andquantity remain limited because of inadequate organisation."
Prof.Thinh said Vietnam, the Republic of Korea and some other Asian nationsare jointly compiling documents to have some common traditional gamesrecognised as a world heritage.
While this is good, it is muchmore important to ensure that folk games are brought into full play inthe daily life of local communities, he said.
He said: "Any folkgame, especially for children, will only fulfill its potential if it'splayed all year around, and not just during festivals./.”-VNA
Adults were like little kids, unable to take their eyes off the crackers that were being moulded in different sizes and shapes.
Thesizes, shapes and thickness decide the sound of explosion, a young mantold the audience as he raised high a conical hat-shaped cracker that hehad just finished making.
When he said any child can give the crackers a try, about 10 boys and girls jumped in, rolling up their sleeves.
"Inever made this before. This game is a lot of fun," said Le Quoc Minh, aseventh grader from the Nghia Tan Secondary School in Cau Giaydistrict.
"I made one small one and one slightly bigger. They did not make such a big bang, but I would love to try again."
Theclay crackers were demonstrated by artisans from Hai Phong city at aspring festival hosted last weekend by the museum in Hanoi.
Theartisans from Hai Phong were joined by their counterparts from Ha Tinhand Hoa Binh provinces, who presented several folk games and artperformances.
Several groups of girls, women and even littlechildren enjoyed a bamboo pole dance introduced by people of the Thaiethnic minority community. Among the audience cheering and applaudingthe dancers were several foreign visitors. In other corner, many youngpeople and even children kept onlookers entertained as they tried theirbest to walk on stilts.
Others tried their hand at climbing tallbamboo poles, catching loaches in big jars, a game that involved rollingpomelos (akin to bowling) through a small "goal post", sack jumping andseveral other of 25 games brought to the festival.
"Manylocalities have begun to revive and promote their folk games at springfestivals that are being held nationwide, said Nguyen Van Huy of theNational Council for Cultural Heritage.
A former director of themuseum, Huy welcomed the development, saying: “Folk games reflect thenation's culture, they enable us to understand more about friendship,love for family and the homeland, enhance community spirit and connectthe neighbourhood."
The interest and enjoyment shown at severalspring festivals by both Vietnamese and foreign visitors, in particularthe youth, show that folk games can still be a big draw, he said. "If wego in the right direction, these games will not be lost, and canactually flourish."
The ongoing Tran Temple festivals in thenorthern provinces of Nam Dinh and Thai Binh have helped revitalise folkgames like kylin and dragon dances, human chess, wrestling and severalforms of martial arts.
Vietnam celebrates around 8,000 festivalseach year. Apart from the main activity – rituals – folk games are stillconsidered the soul of most festivals, and as such, play a significantrole in developing the nation's culture, experts say.
"Folk gamesare not just a form of healthy entertainment and good physicalexercise. They also stimulate the players' intelligence," cultureresearcher Giang Quan told the Ha Noi Moi (New Ha Noi) newspaperrecently. "Many games are artistic and aesthetic, and highlight theadmirable skills of players."
Another culture researcher,professor Ngo Duc Thinh, told Vietnam News that festivals are a greatenvironment for the games that go beyond mere entertainment.
"Folkgames have a religious and spiritual base. Hence they are not simplygames. They also help improve physical fitness and provide moraleducation," he said.
Thinh gave the example of a swingcompetition where male-female pairor martial arts performance representsthe combination Yin and Yang, or martial arts performance in whichwinners have the coveted honour of praying in front of the local God.The belief is that such an honour will bring them health, happiness andprosperity during the Lunar New Year, he said.
However, Thinhalso said there is some worry that folk games were better conserved inmountainous and remotes areas, not in urban areas where imported toysdominate the market.
"In recent years, both culture managers andresearchers have paid greater attention to conserving traditional gamesin an effort to keep children off these harmful toys," Thinh said.
"However,it's easier said than done. Results in terms of both quality andquantity remain limited because of inadequate organisation."
Prof.Thinh said Vietnam, the Republic of Korea and some other Asian nationsare jointly compiling documents to have some common traditional gamesrecognised as a world heritage.
While this is good, it is muchmore important to ensure that folk games are brought into full play inthe daily life of local communities, he said.
He said: "Any folkgame, especially for children, will only fulfill its potential if it'splayed all year around, and not just during festivals./.”-VNA
