In her home in Village 8, Loc Thi Thi prepares costumes and musical instruments, while coordinating with some members of the Tay Folk Song Club in Muong Lai Commune to arrange a time for practicing a few tunes of the "khap cooi" melodies together.
At 61 years old, Loc Thi Thi looks younger than her age, perhaps thanks to her soul being nourished by the folk songs and melodies she has cherished. She shared openly, "Since I was born, I was surrounded by the lullabies of my grandparents and parents. As I grew older, my father, Loc Hoang Tinh, passed down these melodies to me. I participated in the school and village art teams and taught myself along the way. Now, I have 45 years of experience practicing the intangible cultural heritage of folk performing arts and traditional Tay festivals.â€
With such deep roots, Loc Thi Thi not only possesses a profound understanding of various forms of intangible cultural heritage but is also highly skilled in performing the "khap cooi" melodies, the "luon phongslu," "luon but," "hat vi quan lang," "hat then," Tay lullabies, and Tay folk dances. Moreover, she has collected and choreographed traditional Tay festivals such as the Kep Bioc Festival, the Long Tong Festival, the Mung Khau Mau celebration, the Tay ethnic wedding ceremony, and the Tay ethnic full-month baby blessing ceremony.
Driven by a strong desire to preserve and spread the traditional culture of her ethnic group, since 2005, Loc Thi Thi has been actively involved in teaching folk dances and songs to local art teams in her village and commune. These teams have participated in district and provincial public art festivals. She has also shared her knowledge with the Women's Club "Confidence - Respect - Integrity - Diligence" in Muong Lai Commune, and has taken part in a Tay folk singing class combined with ethnic musical instrument lessons funded by Japan. Additionally, she co-founded and taught at the Tay Folk Song Club and the Small Business Club in Muong Lai Commune.
Her dedication to the traditional culture of her people is evident. In 2022, Loc Thi Thi, alongside Nong Thi Kiem, established the Tay Folk Song Club in Muong Lai Commune, where she has been teaching traditional dances and songs to other women in the club.
With 45 years of practicing the intangible cultural heritage of Tay folk performing arts and traditional festivals, Loc Thi Thi has won numerous awards in local and provincial art competitions.
"In 1982, I won the district-wide Outstanding Solo Performance Award with the songs Suoi Lenin, Tieng Sao Ban Em, and Tinh Quan Dan. Of these, Tinh Quan Dan was selected to compete at the provincial level in Yen Bai,†Loc Thi Thi recalls.
She also wrote scripts, directed, and acted in award-winning performances, including the A-grade award for the Long Khoan Festival in 2005, the A-grade award for the Tan Bioc Festival in 2007, and another A-grade award for the Cham Mua Khau Mau Festival in 2023 at the Luc Yen District Public Art Festivals and Ethnic Costume Performances.
In 2011, she was selected to participate in and received a certificate of merit at the Northern Mountain Region's Vietnamese Folk Song Festival. In 2022, she was awarded a certificate of merit by the People's Committee of Muong Lai Commune for her outstanding achievements in the Tay Khap Cooi folk singing course in Luc Yen District. In 2023, she received another certificate of merit from Muong Lai Commune for her excellent performance at the 14th Public Art Festival and Ethnic Costume Performance in Luc Yen District.
With 45 years dedicated to preserving, safeguarding, and promoting traditional cultural heritage, including folk songs and dances such as Khap Tay, Mung Khau Mau, Tay wedding ceremonies, and various festivals, Loc Thi Thi has significantly contributed to maintaining the cultural beauty of her homeland.
For her efforts in practicing and promoting intangible cultural heritage in the form of folk performing arts and traditional Tay festivals, Loc Thi Thi has recently been nominated for the title of Artisan in the field of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Yen Bai Province, in its third round of awards for 2024.
Thanh Trung
