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  • Manage No, Sortation, Country, Writer ,Date, Copyright
    Manage No EE00001195
    Country Vietnam
    ICH Domain Performing Arts
    Address
    Bắc Ninh and Bắc Giang provinces
    Year of Designation 2012
Description Quan họ is a form of alternate singing between males and females, once only popular in 49 villages of the ancient Kinh Bắc region, presently in Bắc Ninh and Bắc Giang provinces. The singing tradition is an intergral part of tục kết chạ (friendship custom) between villages, tục kết bạn (friend-making custom) between groups of singers, as well as tục ngủ bọn (sleepover custom). During these twining occasions, groups of quan họ singers from two villages sing throughout day and night. Quan họ songs are sung in harmony as alternating verses by two females (liền chị) from one village, and two males (liền anh) from the twined village sing with similar melodies and responding lyrics. The twining relationship allows singers maintain as artistic and intimate friendship, marriage is not allowed. Quan họ singing has three main types: hát canh (the singing at a host’s house), hát thi lấy giải (singing for prizes), and hát hội (singing at festivals). Lim Festival, taking place on the 13th of the First Lunar month every year, is the most significant event to celebrate and commemorate the founding father of this singing tradition. Music accompaniment was introduced into quan họ singing several decades ago, giving ways to new forms of performance, such as on stage and in celebrations such as wedding, anniversaries and ceremonies.
Social and cultural significance Quan họ folk songs exist in a cultural environment with their own social customs, the friendship among villages. Out of the 44 traditional Quan họ villages in Bắc Ninh province, there are 33 pairs of friendship villages, making up nearly 80% of the total. The friendship customs are distinctive from those in the locations in the Red River delta, in that they are linked to a folklore performance. From the friendship custom, Quan họ songs have been developed and popularized in close association with Quan họ friend-making. Each Quan họ group from one village makes friends with another group from another village following the principle that male groups make friends with female groups and vice versa. With the friendship-partner villages, men and women in Quan họ groups from these villages are not allowed to marry each other. For hundreds of years, Quan họ songs have existed, expressing the spirit and awareness of the Việt in the region about the nature and society, and the songs are also the means for local people to perceive themselves and distinguish themselves from the Việt in other regions. Thus, the songs are preserved and promoted by Quan họ artists.
Transmission method Traditionally, Quan họ singing is orally transmitted at communities through twining and sleepover activities. Today, quan họ communities are practicing and passing on the singing tradition onto the next generations. The practice of quan họ singing has expanded into not only many other villages in Bac Ninh and Bac Giang provinces but also nationwide.
Community The holders of Quan họ Bắc Ninh folk songs are the Việt people who support themselves through wet rice cultivation and handicraft production in the current Bắc Ninh and Bắc Giang provinces. Quan họ villages are located on the two sides of the Cầu river, more than 30 kilometers from the capital, Hanoi. The villages are all situated within a contiguous area of 60 square kilometers. According to a 1962 inventory, there were 72 artists, 50 of whom were singers prior to August 1945. A 1972 inventory in 27 Quan họ villages in Bắc Ninh province identified approximately 100 artists who had been performing Quan họ songs since the turn of the 20th century. A 2003 survey in Bắc Ninh province identified 59 Quan họ artists among whom six artists were recommended to the State to be recognized as Living Human Treasures. Two of these artists have passed away, the remaining four are Nguyễn Văn Thị, Ngô Thị Nhi, Vũ Thị Chịch, and Nguyễn Thị Nguyên. A 2008 inventory on Quan họ cultural heritage identified 1417 artists and practitioners from 12 to 98 years old in the 49 Quan họ villages (see the Supplementary Documentation: Intangible Heritage Inventory: Quan họ Bắc Ninh Folk Songs, Vietnam Institute of Culture and Arts Studies, Hanoi, 2008).
Type of UNESCO List Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
Incribed year in UNESCO List 2009
Keyword
Information source
Vietnam National Institute Culture and Arts Studies (VICAS)
http://vicas.org.vn
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