The Prime Minister has authorised the Ministry of Culture, Sports andTourism to prepare application documents proposing the traditionalsinging Bai Choi to be declared a piece of World Intangible CulturalHeritage .
The Ministry was asked to work withthe Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO to submit the documents toUNESCO before March 31 of this year.
Bai Choisinging, a combination of poetry, music, singing, performance andimprovisation, was invented nearly 400 years ago and serves as acommunity game for Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday in the central stretchof Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Nam and Binh Dinh, as well as Phu Yen andKhanh Hoa.
It often takes place on a wide yard in front of communal houses and brings the entire community together.
The stage for Bai Choi performances encompasses nine cottages, eachcontaining five or six ‘players’. One of the cottages, the centralhouse, contains a troupe of musicians and instruments. A deck of playingcards is split in half, with one stack distributed amongst the players,and the other placed in the central house. The cards are stuck ontobamboo poles and erected outside the cottages.
The game singer delivers a flag to each cottage, all the whilesinging Bai Choi, and then draws a card from the central house. Whoeverholds the card closest in value to the game singer’s card wins.
Bai Choi songs are about festivals, daily life and work, and are accompanied by musical instruments.
The singing was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in late August last year.-VNA
The Ministry was asked to work withthe Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO to submit the documents toUNESCO before March 31 of this year.
Bai Choisinging, a combination of poetry, music, singing, performance andimprovisation, was invented nearly 400 years ago and serves as acommunity game for Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday in the central stretchof Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Nam and Binh Dinh, as well as Phu Yen andKhanh Hoa.
It often takes place on a wide yard in front of communal houses and brings the entire community together.
The stage for Bai Choi performances encompasses nine cottages, eachcontaining five or six ‘players’. One of the cottages, the centralhouse, contains a troupe of musicians and instruments. A deck of playingcards is split in half, with one stack distributed amongst the players,and the other placed in the central house. The cards are stuck ontobamboo poles and erected outside the cottages.
The game singer delivers a flag to each cottage, all the whilesinging Bai Choi, and then draws a card from the central house. Whoeverholds the card closest in value to the game singer’s card wins.
Bai Choi songs are about festivals, daily life and work, and are accompanied by musical instruments.
The singing was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in late August last year.-VNA
