Bac Giang (VNA) – San Chi Folk Music in Kien Lao Commune, Luc Ngan District is one of 12 unique intangible cultural heritages of Bac Giang Province recognised as a national intangible cultural heritage.
The San Chi ethnic group lives in villages, accounting for 70% of the population of the commune, which is home to seven ethnic groups.
San Chi folk songs are preserved by word of mouth. They are sung as people undertake daily activities such as farming, going to the market, greetings, house warming, weddings or funerals. They sing to communicate and express their feelings. San Chi folk songs can be sung solo, in duets, or between men and women.
The lyrics of the folk songs are both rustic and sophisticated, close to people's lives. They often praise the homeland, labour and express people’s wishes for a happy life and love.
According to studies, San Chi folk songs are divided into four main groups including daytime singing (Chuc Coo); nightime singing (Cnáng Coo); wedding singing (Chau Coo) and name-change singing (Zoong Hoo Coo).
Daytime singing is also known as love singing or teasing singing. In this genre of singing, the San Chi people still have about 300-500 songs from the past, written in Chinese characters.
Nightime singing takes place indoors or people sit on mats in the yard and sing. They usually sing five to seven nights a week from about 8pm until morning of the next day. There are about 700-1,000 songs for people to sing. There is a rule that songs performed one night must not be repeated on the following nights.
Meanwhile, San Chi people have about 100 folk songs that they sing at weddings.
Name change singing is a genre that only men sing together during the name change ceremony of an adult male when he turns 18 years old. There are about 50 songs left. Their lyrics express congratulations to the person whose name is changed, marking his maturity and his pride.
In addition to the four main singing forms above, San Chi folk songs also have another form. This format is called the Cap Chay Coo, a style of singing which details people's destiny. Cap Chay Coo song lyrics often have a heavy tone that includes invasion, war, the death of family members, fires, or desolate fields.
For the San Chi people, singing is an indispensable part of their spiritual life, encouraging and motivating them, helping people come closer to nuture their love for their homeland.
To preserve and promote the historical, cultural, and scientific value of this type of folk performing art, meritorious Artist Lam Minh Sap from San Chi ethnic group has been working hard for many years to collect and teach the San Chi folk songs to people.
He has collected more than 800 folk songs and composed many others. In 2011, Kien Lao commune established a San Chi folk singing club. The club has attracted 70 members from 7 villages in the commune where San Chi people live. They join performing San Chi folk songs at major celebrations of the country and the locality.
The club also holds exchanges with the San Chi people in Lang Son Province and the Central Highland Region.
Sap and other club members open folk singing classes for more than 60 San Chi ethnic students in the locality.
The provincial Culture Department has published a thousand-page book "San Chi folk songs of Kien Lao Commune, Luc Ngan District" in which folk lyrics are transcribed and translated so that everyone can learn and understand the deeper meaning of the songs./.
