Don ca tai tu seeks UNESCO recognition

A don ca tai tu performance in Can Tho Province - Photo: Dang Khoa

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has asked Vietnam’s National Academy of Music to file a national dossier on “Don ca tai tu” (southern amateur music) to be submitted to UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage, reports Thanh Nien.

March 2011 is the deadline for Vietnam to forward its dossier, so a film crew from the institute began a fact-finding tour in mid-November to shoot a documentary on southern amateur music in 14 southeastern and Mekong Delta provinces over two months.

An international seminar on don ca tai tu will also be hosted at the Rex Hotel Saigon on January 9 in HCMC’s District 1. The seminar will feature 33 scientific studies, of which seven are from France, Cyprus, Germany, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea and Singapore.

A singer will perform with traditional instrument musicians playing the dan co (also known as a dan nhi), the Vietnamese two stringed fiddle, dan tranh, or 16 string zither and the doc huyen cam (the monochord, which is now often replaced by the guitar).

Officials say they hope the compilation of a dossier to ask UNESCO for recognition of the music as an intangible culture would protect the nation’s cultural heritage at an international level and raise the community’s awareness of the art while promoting the country’s image to attract more tourists.

As ca tru (ceremonial singing) and quan ho (love duets) in the north or nha nhac (Hue royal music) in the central and gongs in the Central Highlands have been recognized as the world’s intangible heritages, don ca tai tu needs the same recognition.

According to statistics,, 21 provinces and cities in Vietnam have don ca tai tu with 2,019 clubs with 22,643 members and 2,850 musical instruments.

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Don ca tai tu seeks UNESCO recognition

A don ca tai tu performance in Can Tho Province - Photo: Dang Khoa

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has asked Vietnam’s National Academy of Music to file a national dossier on “Don ca tai tu” (southern amateur music) to be submitted to UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage, reports Thanh Nien.

March 2011 is the deadline for Vietnam to forward its dossier, so a film crew from the institute began a fact-finding tour in mid-November to shoot a documentary on southern amateur music in 14 southeastern and Mekong Delta provinces over two months.

An international seminar on don ca tai tu will also be hosted at the Rex Hotel Saigon on January 9 in HCMC’s District 1. The seminar will feature 33 scientific studies, of which seven are from France, Cyprus, Germany, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea and Singapore.

A singer will perform with traditional instrument musicians playing the dan co (also known as a dan nhi), the Vietnamese two stringed fiddle, dan tranh, or 16 string zither and the doc huyen cam (the monochord, which is now often replaced by the guitar).

Officials say they hope the compilation of a dossier to ask UNESCO for recognition of the music as an intangible culture would protect the nation’s cultural heritage at an international level and raise the community’s awareness of the art while promoting the country’s image to attract more tourists.

As ca tru (ceremonial singing) and quan ho (love duets) in the north or nha nhac (Hue royal music) in the central and gongs in the Central Highlands have been recognized as the world’s intangible heritages, don ca tai tu needs the same recognition.

According to statistics,, 21 provinces and cities in Vietnam have don ca tai tu with 2,019 clubs with 22,643 members and 2,850 musical instruments.

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Conference to mull ways to revive southern amateur music

HCM CITY – More than 120 Vietnamese and foreign cultural experts will gather in HCM City on Sunday for a three-day conference to discuss ways to revive don ca tai tu, or southern amateur music.

The organisers said researchers, educators, cultural administrators, and musicians from Germany, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, and other countries will attend the conference at the Rex Hotel.

Don ca tai tu artists from 21 provinces and cities and four professors representing the International Traditional Music Association will also attend.

There will be 33 reports tabled at the event, seven of them by foreign experts.

Prof Yamaguti Osamu of Japan's Osaka University, who helped get UNESCO recognition for Hue royal music as a world intangible heritage, will deliver a speech.

Prof Le Van Toan, head of the Viet Nam Institute of Musicology, described the conference as being very important.

There are 2019 don ca tai tu clubs in the country having 22,643 members. The number will be increased by the time an application is made for UNESCO recognition as a world heritage, he said.

Prof Tran Van Khe, a master of Vietnamese traditional music, said don ca tai tu was born at the end of the 19th century and has become popular in several countries.

"Don ca tai tu is not just for entertainment but is a communal cultural activity," he said. – VNS

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Southern amateur music sees revival

HCM CITY — Efforts to preserve and secure UNESCO recognition for don ca tai tu, a form of music performed by amateur artists in the south, are gathering pace.

A seminar held in HCM City on Tuesday sought to gather materials and information on the art for submission to the UN agency.

Dozens of researchers, educators, cultural administrators and musicians attended the meeting at the HCM City Museum.

Vu Kim Anh, deputy director of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Department, said don ca tai tu has lost none of its "miraculous vitality" after more than 100 years of existence.

There are 97 clubs and groups with 1,133 members that propagate the music.

Researchers said the art form is becoming more and more popular among Vietnamese and foreigners though its format has changed for the worse, according to some experts.

Songs are now played as short extracts rather than in full, often leaving listeners unable to understand the meaning.

Composer Ngo Hong Khanh said the art form must be preserved and developed in a creative manner while still retaining all its original values.

Don ca tai tu performer Minh Duc said it is necessary to create a cultural space for the art and popularise it among the younger generations and teach it in schools.

Professor Tran Van Khe presented a CD on don ca tai tu that he and folk artist Bach Hue had made in 1963 for UNESCO.

Viet Nam Traditions of the South, featuring 11 songs, has since found a place in a series called UNESCO Collection of Traditional Music of the World.

Other researchers and composers offered valuable references on the art to a city don ca tai tu research group that was established in August. — VNS

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