Folk singing of the Cao Lan people take many forms and covering a wide range of topics. Besides alternating singing between males and females as an outstanding characteristic of the element, Cao Lan people also sing about farming, honoring the land and agricultural deities, singing lullabies, playing riddles, so on. Through these traditional melodies, Cao Lan people express their sentiments to each to other, conveying contemplations, telling dreams and hopes, showing their love for nature and respect to the gods. Besides the traditional songs passed down for generations, Cao Lan people can improvise and compose new songs, reflecting their contemporary life. Cao Lan people learn how to sing their folk song with pride and naturally in everyday life. As a longstanding tradition of singing, the element has become a factor to contribute to community cohesion.

Folk singing of the Cao Lan people take many forms and covering a wide range of topics. Besides alternating singing between males and females as an outstanding characteristic of the element, Cao Lan people also sing about farming, honoring the land and agricultural deities, singing lullabies, playing riddles, so on. Through these traditional melodies, Cao Lan people express their sentiments to each to other, conveying contemplations, telling dreams and hopes, showing their love for nature and respect to the gods. Besides the traditional songs passed down for generations, Cao Lan people can improvise and compose new songs, reflecting their contemporary life. Cao Lan people learn how to sing their folk song with pride and naturally in everyday life. As a longstanding tradition of singing, the element has become a factor to contribute to community cohesion.

Dá hai is an art form performed on the folk stage by Nùng people in the eastern districts of the northern border. In the 1960s and 1970s, Dá hai drama had a strong development and many groups performing this kind of drama appeared. Dá hai drama had turned into a Nùng style from a form of puppetry Mộc Thầu Hý, a popular art form at village fairs in Cao Bằng Dá hai drama performs ancient stories, such as Phạm Tải - Ngọc Hoa, Hoa Mộc Lan tòng quân (Hoa Mộc Lan joined the army), Hoa phù dung, Tống Chân - Cúc Hoa, Lương Sơn Bá - Chúc Anh Đài, etc. Dá hai has many tunes, depending on content, themes, and details of characters that performers use—Sai va páo (playful, excited), sli páo, pìn táo (lyrical, romantic), cù táo (sad and mourning). The nhị (two-string fiddle) is always played as accompaniment in Dá hai. On a larger stage, Dá hai drama includes the accompaniment of a small orchestra consisting of nhị bố (two-string fiddle with a bass sound), nhị mẹ (two-string fiddle with delicate sound), cymbal, bamboo flute, and small drum. This track has excerpts of characters who, despite broken love affair, should not to be too sad but hope for a better future.

According to statistics data in 2009, the Cao Lan people (known as Sán Chay) in Vietnam had a population of 169,410 people, residing mostly in Tuyên Quang province. The Cao Lan ethnic minority has a treasure of poetry, folk music, and dance such as sình ca (unique folk singing), múa trống (drum dancing), múa xúc tép (small shrimp catching dancing), múa chim gâu (cuckoo bird dancing), etc. The musical instruments of Cao Lan people are various, including thanh la (small knobless gong), não bạt (small cymbals), drums, bells, and wind instruments. Kèn is a wind instrument performed in festivals and ritual forms. Kèn consists of four parts: the body, the bell, reed stake, and the reed. The body is a cylindrical hollow tube made of hard wood about thirty centimeters in length. On the body, there are seven pressing holes on the front and one hole on back near the stake. The instrument bell is made of a frustum-shaped thin wooden piece. The smaller of the bell is attached to the big end of the tube. The stake is attached to the small end of the tube. The reed is made of a reed pipe or worn nest attached to the stake. Its sound is strong, a little discordant at high pitches and a little cracked at the low end. The register of the instrument is two octaves. Kèn is played by men only. This track is a medley of extractions that are often played in the rituals, such as hành quân (army operation), kèn Khắp, and đưa Phật (Buddha greeting).

CD9_MUSIC OF TRADITIONAL THEATRE IN VIETNAM\n\nThe traditional theatre is an indispensable element in describing the appearance of traditional Vietnamese music. The forms of traditional Vietnamese theatre are mainly practiced by the Kinh ethnic group and some ethnic minorities such as Khơ me and Nùng. Two special forms of traditional theatre with long histories are Tuồng (classical drama) and Chèo (traditional operetta) of the Kinh group. These art forms gather many elements, including literature, painting, music, dance, and drama.Tuồng was born in northern Vietnam and performed in the court, and then followed mandarins to central and southern Vietnam with a new name Hát bội or Hát bộ. Tuồng was perfected and reached its peak in the Central Vietnam from the seventeenth century to the eighteenth century in the Nguyễn dynasty. Tuồng was performed not only in the court but also in common communities and was loved by common people. At the end of the nineteenth century and beginning of the twentieth century, Tuồng still played an important role in the spiritual life of Vietnamese people, especially to the people in central and southern Vietnam. Tuồng was one of a few traditional Vietnamese artistic types, loved by the court and common people.\n\nIn its flourishing period, the artists of Tuồng were categorized into two ranks, including Tuồng thầy artists (professinal artists who are knowlegeable and have exemplary performance style) and Tuồng rong artists (semiprofessional artists who lack of knowledge and have seasonal performances, mainly giving impromptu performances in tuồng cường. The system of Tuồng is clearly categorized according to the content such as Tuồng pho (Tuồng with many acts and performed on many nights), Tuồng đồ (Tuồng with content closer to daily life and based on folk stories), and Tuồng tân thời (Tuồng with the stories from new novels). Special Tuồng plays called Tuồng ngự were selected by the Minstry of Rites to be performed for for the king’s enjoyment.

CD8_ĐỜN CA TÀI TỬ, A CHAMBER MUSIC OF SOUTHERN VIETNAM\n\nĐờn ca tài tử is a special traditional genre of chamber music of the Việt people in southern Vietnam. In comparison with other forms of traditional musical performances in Vietnam like Ca trù (Ca trù singing), Ca Huế (Hue singing), etc, the art of Đờn ca tài tử was a late traditional form. According to many musical researchers, Đờn ca tài tử came into being in the mid-nineteenth century from the musical context of the ceremonial music nhạc Lễ of southern Vietnam and the chamber music nhạc Huế. Historically, nhạc Lễ played a very important role in the cultural life of southern Vietnam. The repertoire was divided into two styles played by a martial ensemble phe võ and a classical ensemble phe văn. The phe võ is composed of drums, cymbals, and the Vietnamese oboe kèn bầu. The phe văn consisted of stringed instruments, particularly four types of the cò (two-stringed fiddles, such as the cò, the cò chỉ, the cò tre, and the gáo fiddle), and percussion instruments such as the trống nhạc (drum), and a trống cơm (a small cylindrical drum).\n\nThe two ensembles are invited to play at major village festivals. But for less important occasions such as weddings, birthdays, and housewarmings, a smaller phe văn group is called in, which includes the stringed instruments without percussion instruments. This ensemble is called đờn cây. For the need of artistic entertainment, other stringed instruments progressively joined this ensemble such as the đàn tranh (sixteen-string zither), the kìm (moon-shaped lute) and the very small wooden song lang. Music gradually escapes the solemn nature of rituals to serve daily life. It can be considered the initial foundation of Đờn ca tài tử, but it was not yet the Đờn ca tài tử. In 1885, when the Huế capital fell, the immigration of instrumentalists of the Nguyễn court from central Vietnam to the southern region made significant influence on the development of Đờn ca tài tử. At this time, Đờn ca tài tử was actually shaped after acquiring Huế chamber music in both repertoires and performance styles. The emergence of Đờn ca tài tử has received great support and favor of the majority of people in the southern Vietnam.

ICH Courier is the quarterly magazine on ICH in the Asia-Pacific region issued by ICHCAP since 2009. Every issue has its own theme under the title of the Windows to ICH, and the theme of the Vol 32 is 'Lacquerware Arts.'

Based on the ICHCAP Field Survey on Intangible Cultural Heritage Safeguarding Efforts in some South-East Asian countries (2009-2012), this summary provides a brief overview on the ICH situation in Cambodia, Thailand, Viet Nam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Laos, and Myanmar . The summary focuses mainly on ICH safeguarding systems, safeguarding policies, and ICH inventories as well as on pending issues and the urgent safeguarding needs of these countries. Moreover, information on the main entities in charge of ICH safeguarding and opinions of each country on the issue of community involvement are provided. To give a quick overview these countries’ participation in ICH safeguarding at the international level, some additional information related to UNESCO is specified as well. Apart from the main topic, information on the situation of intellectual property related to ICH safeguarding in each country is included. This survey report offers a large sample of the diverse ICH situations in South-East Asian countries. Each country has a different background on the issue of intangible heritage. \n\nFor instance, Indonesia is the only country participating in the field survey that has a programme in the Register of Best Practices. Viet Nam developed ICH-related definitions in its Law on Cultural Heritage; whereas the Philippines has a strong legislative background and solid network of public structures protecting cultural heritage. Cambodia recognises the link between cultural heritage and development of national economy and runs relevant activities on promoting traditional culture while maximizing its economic benefits to the country. For Laos, training local artists rather than researchers in ICH safeguarding, including IPR, is deemed to be essential, as the artists are the important resources that master their arts. Among the South-East Asian participants, Thailand and Myanmar are the newest to approach ICH safeguarding. Although all countries are concerned about the threats ICH faces, most countries participating in the survey haven’t defined ICH and haven’t established national ICH lists. Meanwhile, drawing up an inventory of traditional cultural expressions in different forms—register, cultural map, or database—is a common activity in these countries. Moreover, each country expresses a high degree of motivation and encouragement for safeguarding ICH, sharing experiences, and promoting international cooperation.\n\n- Ratified the ICH Convention in 2005; conducted survey in 2009 and updated in 2015.\n- As of March 2018, has 11 ICH elements on the RL, 1 element on the USL, and 2 accredited NGOs.\n