VietNamNet Bridge – In Vietnam’s treasure, the cultural space of gongs in Central Highlands region is distinguished from others as the heritage’s performing arts and practicing space are inseparable.

Gongs are indispensable part of Central Highlanders’ spiritual life

Owners of the heritage are the Ba Na, Xe Dang, MNong, Co Ho, Ro Man, De De and Gia Rai ethnic groups. With their living areas covering five provinces including Kon Tum, Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Dak Nong and Lam Dong, the echo of gongs resound throughout the mountain ranges and forests of Central Highlands region. In the provinces of Dak Lak, Gia Lai and Kon Tum alone, the ethnic peoples have preserved over 9,760 sets of gongs.

Gongs are a valuable asset of every Central Highland’s family and gong performance is not only a long-standing musical tradition in their community, but also a cultural essence that has been passed down through many generations. Gongs not only play an important role in the locals’ spiritual life but are also considered to be the “voice” of the people and of the gods.

Gongs are present in most cultural practices and festivals of the Central Highlanders, including the naming ceremony for newborns, funerals, new rice season, and the buffalo stabbing festival.

When a baby is born, the village elders come to its bed and beat the most ancient gong. The action means that the very first thing the baby hears is the sound of a gong while affirming that the baby now is a member of the community.

When the child grows up, gongs are indispensable in every part of its life, from daily activities such as field work and welcoming guests, to important events like dating, and the new house warming ceremony.

Through the sound of gongs, listeners can imagine the living, working and hunting space as well as festive atmospheres of the indigenous people.

On festive days, people dance in circles beside a fire, drinking jars of wine amid resounding gongs, creating a mysterious and romantic out-door space. Gongs also serve as inspiration for epics and poets in Central Highland’s literature.

Gong culture is said to originate in the ancient Dong Son civilisation, also known as the brass drum culture, of Southeast Asia.

Gongs can be performed individually or collectively. A gong orchestra includes many set groupings from two to 12 gongs; each gong measuring between 25 and 80 centimetres in diameter. The most important gong in an orchestra is called the Mother Gong. The others are named based on the sound they play.

A set comprising of more than nine gongs will include the Father Gong, joining together with the Children Gongs and Grand-Children Gongs to present a family, in which the Mother Gong is placed first in line with the Central Highlanders’ matriarchy.

During the performance, the Mother and Father Gongs produce bass sound as background to the whole orchestra. Three Children Gongs then join the presentation at the same time to produce a harmony, representing the pillars of a house. The remaining gongs are then played alternately in a fixed order and speed in smooth coordination. Different arrangements and rhythms are adapted to the context of the ceremony.

For the unique and lively space of performance, the culture of the Central Highlands gongs was recognised by UNESCO as an intangible and oral masterpiece in 2005.

One cannot fully enjoy a performance of gongs by just listening to the music without witnessing the way the instrumentalists play their gongs. Sitting down beside a flickering fire, sipping indigenous wine out of a jar, tasting delicious grilled wild animals and feeling at ease with resounding gongs, it is a truly unforgettable and must-try experience for visitors to the Central Highlands.

Nhan Dan/cinet