Ede musical heritage, Kon Tum
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Ede musical heritage, Kon Tum
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INTRODUCE

The ethnic minorities in the Central Highlands in general and the Ede Kpa in particular were born and raised in a natural environment full of musicality. They sought to recreate the sounds of nature such as the sound of flowing streams, the sound of wind blowing, the sound of birds chirping, etc. through the creation of musical instruments. Their music is associated with interactive spaces in the community. The presence of music in the lives of the people in the Central Highlands since ancient times has been found in oral stories about the origin of musical instruments.

According to the story of Dong Nam, collected by Ly Van Linh Nie Kdam:

The woman went to the fields, drank water from a rock cave, came back pregnant, gave birth to six children, three boys, three girls. Every day the family was always together working in the fields, playing. Because they were so similar that it was hard to tell them apart, the father brought home six bamboo tubes of different lengths, giving each child one tube to distinguish who was older, who was older, who was younger..

The day their old parents passed away, they were tired from crying, each brother and sister brought their own bamboo tube to blow day and night. Seeing that their elder siblings were exhausted, the youngest brother immediately took a gourd, placed 6 bamboo tubes in two rows in order of meaning: the 3 tubes in the upper row belonged to the 3 sisters, the 3 tubes in the lower row belonged to the 3 brothers. The gentle sound of the 6 bamboo tubes through the gourd became even more melodious. From then on, at every funeral in the village, the youngest brother would bring his own bamboo tube to blow to express his condolences. The name Dong Nam in the Ede language means 6 tubes..”

Social changes and cultural exchanges in the Central Highlands in recent decades have gradually pushed traditional music into the past. However, the traditional music of the Ede Kpa people is still being carried on by a group of artisans living in Akǒ Siêr village, Buon Ma Thuot city, Dak Lak province. Since the 1970s, uncles such as Y Mip Ayun, Y Due Nie, Y Dhu Nie, Y Phiơp Ê Ban, and Y B'Lim Nie have collected and preserved popular melodies that their predecessors could remember, and have recreated these musical instruments using traditional methods and original materials such as bamboo, rattan, and dried gourd shells, in order to preserve the original musical scale system of traditional Central Highlands music. Typical traditional musical instruments include: Dong Nam, Dong Tut, Dong Buot Chok, Ky Pah, and Dong Tak Tar.

The relationship of the Central Highlands community to their traditional music is also changing. Taboos around performing traditional music in villages are gradually disappearing. Except in cases such as the song Funeral Ching, every time the team leader performs, he must represent the whole team to ask permission from the Yangs - the gods, then perform the piece. Ching that. Central Highlands music is being supplemented with performance so that it can be presented in other settings, taking the story of cultural heritage far from where it began.

All information posted in the Connecting Heritage Digital Collection is contributed by the community and is for reference only. The Program is not responsible for any differences from the information stated in the Digital Collection and disclaims any liability arising from the use of information from this Collection. For more information, please visit Community Rules.

IMAGE

Instrumentalist

VIDEO

Year end

The Dong Nam is made from a hollow gourd the size of a soccer ball, along with two bamboo tubes, called drao, sealed at one end, arranged into 3 upper tubes, 3 lower tubes, and sealed with beeswax. Holes of different heights are drilled on the body of the bamboo tube to create sound. The player blows air into the stem of the gourd, and coordinates his hands to press the holes on the bamboo tube to change the notes, creating a melody. To play the Dong Nam, the artist must coordinate smoothly between the blowing air and the fingers to produce the correct sound. The Dong Nam can be played solo or as an accompaniment to arei folk songs, a type of rhyming song with a cheerful, bustling rhythm. Uncle Y Mip Ayun, commonly known as Ama Kim, meaning Kim's father, a Dong Nam player, explained: "The tassels at the end of the bamboo tube are so that when the hand moves the trumpet back and forth to the music, the tassels will sway, making it pleasing to the eye."

Close

The Dong Tut is a musical instrument with a very special way of playing, consisting of five or six bamboo tubes, called drao, straight without holes but with different lengths, the small one has a high pitch, the large one has a low pitch. Each flute can only produce a single sound, depending on the person blowing it using their tongue and lips, fast or slow, to create a rhythm. A leader will blow out the leading rhythm, the rest of the people will listen and gradually blow in harmony, creating a rhythmic melody. The melody created by the Dong Tut changes depending on the feelings of each individual to harmonize into a whole. Therefore, each player in the Dong Tut ensemble must be able to both keep the rhythm and interact with the overall melody. In the past, the Dong Tut was often played by women and girls during their breaks when they came to help with funerals in the village. Uncle Y Due Nie, affectionately called Ama Pur, which means Pur's father, said: "In the past, only women knew how to play the Đïng tut. After the funeral meal, they would cut the bamboo tube and play it to share the sadness with the family of the deceased. I also had to ask the older women to learn how to play. Now, whenever there is a funeral in the village, I encourage the women to gather and play the Đïng tut in the house, so that our tradition will not be lost." The uncles who play the Đïng tut are Y Mip Ayun, Y Due Nie, Y DHư Nie, Y Phiơp Ê Ban, and Y B'Lim Nie.

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The Đïng buột chok is a type of vertical flute made of bamboo tubes, called drao, with four holes forming four different notes, each hole is about two fingers apart, and a small piece of bamboo is attached at the end to make it easier to blow. The player blows the Đïng buột chok vertically, pressing the holes with both hands to change the sound produced. The story goes that the Đïng buột chok was born when a husband heard the sound of the wind blowing through dry bamboo bushes that had several holes eaten by termites, sounding like crying. He wanted to express his regret for his wife who had died early, so he sharpened the bamboo and attached a piece of bamboo at the end where it was easy to blow. Therefore, the sound of the Đïng buột chok is also soft and sad. The word chok in the Ede language means crying. Đïng buột chok is now often used to accompany k'ưt singing, a spoken, unrhythmic singing style during meetings, especially when the two families of a man and a woman meet to discuss pairing.

Kypah

Ky means horn, pah means clap. The buffalo horn used to make Ky pah is the horn from the buffalo skull that was offered to Yang - the gods, made into a trumpet with a reed and a blowing knob in the middle. When playing Ky pah, the player blows into the middle of the trumpet, when wanting to change the pitch, he will use the thumb of his left hand to cover the sharp end, and use his right hand to clap the large end, creating a sound that resonates in the space. Therefore, in the past, people avoided playing Ky pah indoors, for fear of disturbing the gods. Uncle Y Bhiông Nie, also known as Ama Loan, meaning Loan's father, recalled: "The sound of Ky pah must echo in the old forest, leading the procession of people carrying wood back to the village, herding elephants into traps to tame them". Nowadays, the sound of Ky pah is combined with other musical instruments, adding a majestic touch to the traditional music of the Ede Kpa.

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The Đïng tak tar is made from a small dried gourd the size of a fist attached to a bamboo tube with three holes, about the length of the wrist to the elbow. The Đïng tak tar is attached to a bamboo blade, or reed, as small as a fingernail, which is cut into three lines and then bent into a U shape to attach to the end of the blowpipe. The sound of the Đïng tak tar is clear, flexible, and cheerful, and is often blown during festivals to stir up the spirit of the participants. Uncle Y Bhiông Nie, also known as Ama Loan, meaning Loan's father, explains: "The bamboo blade must be made correctly. If it is too thick, it will not vibrate well, if it is too thin, it will easily tear. You have to get used to it, get used to it, and make the bamboo blade and attach it to the trumpet to produce the right sound." Uncle Y Mip Ayun, often called Ama Kim, which means Kim's father, recounted: "The sound of the Đïng tak tar is free and easy, modeled after the sound of black starlings singing in the fields, often played on happy occasions, without taboos, whoever hears it will feel happy inside."

Video interview with local people

The way local words are written in this note is according to the way local people transcribe them into common language (Vietnamese) according to their pronunciation. This means that there may be different ways of transcribing them and they do not follow a common standard.

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