Almost a year ago in March 2009, Quan ho Bac Ninh, traditional love duets of northern Bac Ninh province, were recognized as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Now the question is - what is the best way to preserve this art form?
The Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism has cooperated with Vietnam National Music Institute, the Department of Culture, Sport and Tourism of Bac Ninh Province to help preserve the traditional music.
The government started assisting the community to make an inventory of quan ho folksongs and artists and is providing support to artists.
It has helped organize Quan Ho Bac Ninh Festival every two years, develop the Quan ho cultural center on Lim hill, and establish the Quan ho artisan association.
However the State leaders should focus on creating a cultural environment for the people, including a banian tree, well and temple courtyard for Quan ho.
It is the role of people themselves that is the most important thing.
“Nobody can preserve culture like the people who created it. Put the culture back into the hands of its owners,” said Professor Ngo Duc Thinh, member of the National Heritage Board.
For centuries, Lim has been one of the most important Vietnamese traditional festivals. It takes place every year on the 13th day of the first lunar month in the village of Lung Giang (also known as Lim), 18 kilometers from the center of Ha Noi in Noi Due Commune, Tien Son District, Bac Ninh. Thanks to the participation of more than fifty Quan Ho villages in the area, Lim is well and truly the country’s leading Quan ho folk festival.
Tens of thousands of people go there every year to hear Quan ho performed by lien anh (male singers) and lien chi (female singers) in public squares and pagodas, on hills, and in dragon boats on the water. The singing takes the form of a dialog between lien anh and lien chi, who converse with elaborate questions and answers.
Visiting the festival is the best way to experience Quan ho and learn all about it.
The Lim Festival also includes worshipping the legendary founder of Quan ho, and the village’s spiritual protector, human chess, tug-of-war and cock-fighting.
This year, Bac Ninh’s biggest village festival expects to attract more than 100,000 visitors.
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