Appendix 6 - International Music Council

cultural characteristics: all those factors have helped to shape and develop
several common cultural features which are the demonstration of Vietnamese
cultural identity. These features found their manifestations in the culture of
all
Vietnamese ethnic groups. Nevertheless,
these common features have not
driven out the unique characteristics of each minority; on contrary, they have
contributed to enrich it
1.4. In the past, the traditional professional music existed only in the culture of
the Viet majority and a part but under the “germ” form in the culture of the
Champa and the Kh’Mer of the South.
The culture of the fifty one remaining
ethnic minorities is a folk culture, which has been always
materialized in the
form of various syncretical kinds of folk performances consisting of different
expressive components including folk-music. Among various components
comprising the syncretical entity of folk cultural expressions or activities,
music often plays a nuclear role. All folk cultural performances and
activities were born and closely linked with productive and everyday life
activities of people and of community. For that reason, more or less, each folk
performance and its musical component has its
own social significance
and function.
Therefore, the traditional music is itself a diversity because
however
many cultural activities and performances we have in the
culture of each ethnic group, that many different
musical genres we
can enjoy. As a result, if we take a panoramic view on the whole Vietnamese
traditional culture and music,
we find a great multicolour cultural
diversity.
The diversity of traditional musics of Vietnamese ethnicities
also
expresse d commonly in the richness of different musical genres which we can
find in the culture of each ethnicity.
According to the social-artistic function of
musical
genres, we can classify them into some systems as follows:
i. The musical genres marking different stages of a human being’s life
from his/her birthday until death such as – Lullaby used in ceremony for
fetching new-born baby and for lulling baby to sleep. – The children’s songs,
dances and games performed together as different components of a same
activity. – Alternating love songs sung between girls and boys in courtship
activity. - Marriage process and wedding ceremony. – Building a new house
for
a newly-married couple. – Celebrating birth day of the old people at the
age of 60,70,80,90, 100, and finally the funeral ceremony.
ii. The musical genres relate to and are expressed in various kinds of
belief and religious activities demonstrating the relation between people and
deities and all the forces in the invisible world to ask their support for
prosperity of plants, domestic animals, peaceful life of the community; for
instance: - Springtime ceremony with the cult to ancestors of descents and to
village tutelary genie, and praying for prosperity, asking for good crops and
good harvest. – Ceremony with cult to Rice Mother and to Earth Mother.
Ceremony is held at night of 15 of the August month of the lunar
alendar. Under the lunar light the children sing, dance and eat the grilled-
th day
c
green rice and ripen fruits to realise the belief that they eat the milk of Rice
Mother and the fruits of Earth Mother. - Shamanic worship curing the ill people.
- Music for ecstatically falling into a trance
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