Passionate about traditional national culture

In Ninh Tay commune, artisan Y Hy is a dignitary and prestigious person among the Ede people. That is not simply because he is the Party Secretary of Ninh Tay commune, but also because he is very passionate about the traditional culture of the nation. Having visited Mr. Y Hy's house many times, each time we were surprised by what he did, how he cherished the customs, habits, and cultural beauty of his people. I remember that in early 2020, artisan Y Hy was very happy to establish a gong team that gathered people who loved this musical instrument to practice and perform traditional gong songs of the Ede people together. He also collected and preserved valuable bronze gong sets with good sound quality. In November 2024, after many years of saving, artisan Y Hy completed the construction of a long house in the traditional style of the Ede people. The house is where he displays the tools, labor tools, and musical instruments of the Ede people such as: baskets, crossbows, bamboo sticks, wine jars, gongs, five-stringed trumpets, etc. In particular, this place has become a cultural activity place for people in the villages in Ninh Tay commune. Every weekend or on holidays, people can hear the sound of gongs echoing, humming, and spreading from this long house. “Since I was young, my ama (father) taught me gong songs, how to recognize a good set of gongs, and that has permeated my soul. Later, when my ama was no longer around, I still practiced gong songs and gong playing skills to better understand the tones, timbres, and rhythms of each gong,” said artisan Y Hy.

A prominent feature in the gong performance is the participation of many people, each using a separate gong and sitting together on the Kpan (a traditional bench of the Ede people) to play different sounds. Each gong sound emitted from the gongs is like a dialogue, the feelings of the player through the collision of different rhythmic groups. The gong set of the Ede people usually has 5 gongs, symbolizing the members of the family and in order from large to small, including: Bõh knăh phun (grandfather gong), bõh knăh hleang (father gong), bõh diet hluoe khơk (son gong), bõh diet hluoe hliang (grandson gong) combined with 2 gongs with knobs that the Ede people call mđũ ana hong mung. The set of 7 gongs as above harmonizes with the sound of the H'gor drums to create a solemn and soaring harmony. "The Ede people often perform gongs in the long house. Currently, I am holding traditional gong songs of the Ede people such as: "Tong hong klei drai ea" (echo of the waterfall); "Tong hong klei ư êpa, ư êpa", "Bơ yơh, bơ yơh", "Kơtap dum anăn" (gong songs that encourage people to strive in life)...", artisan Y Hy shared.

Promoting gong melodies

Not only mastering and practicing gongs himself, artisan Y Hy also sought out village elders and prestigious people in villages in Ninh Tay commune to invite everyone to encourage villagers to learn to play gongs and use other musical instruments of the Ede people. Since then, the number of people who know how to use gongs has increased, which is also a necessary condition for artisan Y Hy and village elders to restore some traditional festivals such as: Water wharf worship ceremony, housewarming ceremony, wedding ceremony... In those festivals, the performance of gongs is indispensable. Thanks to that, in recent years, the preservation and promotion of traditional cultural values ​​of the Ede people in Ninh Tay commune has improved a lot. In particular, some typical gongs of the Ede people in Khanh Hoa province such as kok gongs and gongs have been restored and performed again.

“When I was young, I also learned to play gongs and blow the zither. But later, due to living conditions, I neglected it for a long time. Recently, I was encouraged by artisan Y Hy and invited to join the gong team, both to revive my old hobby and to contribute to preserving my ethnic musical instruments,” said Mr. Y Ty (Buon Dung village). As for Mr. Y Suk (Buon Lac village), since learning how to use the kok gong from artisan Y Hy, he has become fond of this musical instrument. “I was encouraged by artisan Y Hy to join the commune’s gong team, to practice and perform for everyone. Later, I learned how to use the kok gong and immediately fell in love with it. The sound of the kok gong is not as melodious and resonant as the bronze gong, but it is familiar and simple,” Mr. Y Suk shared.

With his efforts, artisan Y Hy has made an important contribution to preserving and promoting gong melodies in today's life. Through the organization of the gong team, up to now, artisan Y Hy has mobilized the establishment of art troupes in some villages. The members of the art troupe not only perform gong ensembles but also perform the five-stringed trumpet, the tut-stringed trumpet, folk songs, and traditional dances of the Ede people... Each sound of the gong and other musical instruments combined with the singing and dancing is like a string that binds the people's feelings together. From there, the unique cultural and artistic values ​​of the Ede people continue to be passed on and preserved. As for artisan Y Hy, he was unanimously proposed by the Council for the title of Meritorious Artisan and People's Artisan of the province to the Ministry-level Council for consideration of the title of Meritorious Artisan.

FAMILY

Source: https://baokhanhhoa.vn/van-hoa/202504/nguoi-giu-tieng-chieng-cho-buon-lang-b5a32fc/