Fashioned from bamboo and reed gathered in the mountains, the Co Tu people's tơr hoong flute once carried messages of affection between young men and women. “It was because I could play the flute that I married a wife who is both beautiful and talented,” village elder Briu Po said with a smile.

When the flute spoke the language of love

W-Anh 77888999.jpg
Village elder Briu Po performs on the traditional courting flute. Photo: Ha Nam
 

Holding a small flute carefully in his hands, Briu Po, 78, a respected elder from Aroh Village in Tay Giang Commune, Da Nang, recalled a time when the sound of the tơr hoong drifting across fields, streams and mountain nights was enough to let young Co Tu women know that someone was expressing affection.

For the Co Tu people living in the western mountains of Da Nang, music is woven into daily life. It can be heard during festivals, beneath the communal guol house, alongside the sounds of gongs and drums, and throughout everyday activities.

Among the community's traditional instruments, the tơr hoong occupies a unique place. The Co Tu often refer to it as the “courting flute” because its melodies once served as a way for young men and women of marriageable age to communicate their feelings.

According to village elders, in the past, when a young man was working in the fields, fishing by a stream or passing by a place where a young woman was gathering vegetables or clearing weeds, he would play the tơr hoong if he had feelings for her. Without speaking directly, the music conveyed his longing, admiration and appreciation for the person he admired.

Sometimes the flute was played simply to ease fatigue after work, yet its melodies often became the beginning of a relationship, drawing young men and women toward one another.

W-5A0A5163.jpg
Briu Po introduces the distinctive structure of the tơr hoong flute. Photo: Ha Nam
 

Briu Po smiled as he recalled those days. He said many Co Tu couples found each other through the sound of the tơr hoong. He himself used the flute to express his affection to the woman he loved, eventually leading to marriage.

“It was because I knew how to play the flute that I married a wife who is both beautiful and talented,” he said with a laugh.

Sitting beside her husband, A Lang Thi Joi also remembered how their relationship began.

“At that time, I heard him playing the flute and thought it sounded so beautiful and full of feeling. I asked around the village to find out who the musician was. That was how we met, got to know each other and eventually fell in love before getting married,” she said.

For previous generations of the Co Tu, the tơr hoong was a discreet language of love, helping strangers connect through genuine emotion and lasting affection.

Today, the flute is heard less often in courtship. For Briu Po, however, making and teaching the instrument is a way to preserve part of the Co Tu cultural memory.

Preserving old sounds in a changing world

W-1762259538068_9087210538381329388_9087210538381329388_e032bad06816918db9c6038bd1031425.jpg
Briu Po, a Party member for 40 years, has spent many years preserving and teaching traditional Co Tu musical instruments. Photo: Ha Nam
 

The flutes that Briu Po proudly displays are all handmade using traditional Co Tu techniques. He explained that crafting a tơr hoong is not particularly difficult, but producing a flute with a beautiful sound requires skill and sensitivity. The instrument is typically made from materials readily available in the Truong Son forests.

“The bamboo or reed used for a flute must have a smooth green surface and the right level of maturity. The inside should still be white and free from insect damage,” he explained.

According to Briu Po, the courting flute has a distinctive design, featuring a square mouth hole in the middle of the body and two finger holes of different sizes on either side. When playing, musicians place their lips at the mouth hole and carefully control their breathing and rhythm to create notes that carry across the mountains.

Its construction may be simple, but mastering the instrument is not. Players must learn how to control airflow, maintain rhythm and vary the sound between high and low notes, long sustained tones and rapid passages in order to express emotion.

“Many people can play the tơr hoong, but not everyone can make the sound travel far and move people's hearts. Someone may not stand out in appearance, but once the flute begins to play, a young woman might notice him,” Briu Po said.

W-Anh 114355.jpg
Briu Po demonstrates the crơtót flute, an instrument capable of imitating the calls of many forest birds. Photo: Ha Nam
 
 

He added that during his youth, nearly every Co Tu man knew how to play the flute or other traditional instruments. Alongside hunting, farming, carving and house building, flute playing was considered one of the qualities that demonstrated a young man's talent and character.

The Co Tu also possess a variety of other wind instruments, including the ahel, tơrel and crơtót flutes. Among them, the crơtót is particularly distinctive because it can imitate the calls of numerous forest birds and was traditionally used to attract birds during hunting and daily activities.

To create those sounds, the crơtót is crafted from a small bamboo tube measuring about eight centimeters in length, with one end left sealed by a natural node. The middle section is carved into a funnel shape, while a small opening and a thin bamboo reed are placed beneath the node.

When played, musicians control and vibrate their breath through the reed to reproduce the calls of different bird species.

Today, the practice of using the crơtót to attract birds is no longer common. In modern life, fewer young Co Tu people know how to make or play traditional instruments passed down by their ancestors.

In 2019, Briu Po was awarded the title of Meritorious Artisan for his contributions to preserving and promoting Co Tu cultural heritage. For him, every flute represents part of his people's identity and spirit. That is why he continues to quietly craft instruments, introduce them to visitors and teach younger generations how to play, ensuring that these old sounds are not lost amid the rhythms of modern life.

Ha Nam