The beat goes on!

Drum making is a traditional craft in Vietnam and one which Nguyen Chi Tinh hopes will keep banging on.

VnnNews – Drum making is a traditional craft in Vietnam and one which Nguyen Chi Tinh hopes will keep banging on.

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Nguyen Chi Tinh’s home on the fourth floor of an old-shabby house off Hang Non street in the capital city doubles as a workshop. Inside drums of all sizes can be seen pretty much everywhere. “I was born to make drums,” the 79 year old says with a gentle smile. “My father bequeathed this trade to me.”

Tinh’s home village of Doi Tam in Ha Nam province’s Duy Tien district is also famous for drum making, which is itself an ancient art for Vietnamese civilisation. Drum making in Doi Tam is said to have a 1,000 year old history.

In the spring of 986 AD, the village discovered that King Le Dai Hanh (980-1005) would come to their village to plough a field to encourage people to work diligently. The villagers were over the moon with excitement. Two brothers named Nguyen Duc Nang and Nguyen Duc Ban chopped down a jackfruit tree and killed a buffalo to make a big drum to welcome the king. The drumbeat was said to resonate like a clap of thunder.

The king was suitably impressed and he declared them to be Trang Sam (Thunder Men). Ever since the craft of making drums has been a local speciality and the Trang Sam have been worshipped as the fathers of the village’s drum culture.

Tinh also recalls another tale in which King Ly Thai To moved the country’s capital from Ninh Binh province’s Hoa Lu district to Thang Long (present-day Hanoi). When the king passed through Doi Tam the villagers welcomed him with drums. The king was delighted and asked the local drum makers to follow him to the new capital.

“It is possible that Hanoi’s existing Hang Trong street (Drum Street) was established at that time,” Tinh says. Tinh’s wife, 75 year old Le Thi Bich is also from Doi Tam. She first started making drums when she was just 17-years old. “It is the drums that led to our marriage. We met at a drum making contest and love began,” Bich says.

The culture of drums

Depending on the occasion, drumbeats can either create an atmosphere of joyful union or sad separation. Traditionally, drums would be heard at festivals and weddings. They would also be used to announce arrivals to the community, as well as when a school opened, or closed, or during art or musical performances. In Vietnam there’s a line used for slothful freeloaders: “As soon as he hears the cheo drumbeats, he visits the village’s communal house for a performance, and, after a heavy meal, he sleeps”.

When a flood, fire or death had occurred in a village, the drum would be used as call to arms or to announce a period of mourning. During the US war, the sound of the drum roused soldiers into action in the countryside. It also served as mark of respect for a cheo or ca tru performance. During a performance a connoisseur would knock the drum stick on the side of the drum at appropriate moments to show his appreciation.

Tinh’s father began to teach him the craft when he was 13 years old. At that time, the country was under French rule and many Doi Tam villagers evacuated. Tinh’s family went to a more central region to earn a living. Everywhere the drum makers went the craft was kept alive.

But in 1955, Tinh’s family returned north and settled in Hanoi. In 1958 Tinh joined the city’s cooperative which specialised in making drums and musical instruments. There he remained until 1986, when Vietnam introduced its doi moi policy, which ending the collectivised period and allowed private enterprise.

“We have opened many drum making workshops in Hanoi but the narrowing demand for drums has shrunken our business,” Bich says. But even though their shop is small, it is a well known address for local art troupes and proves popular with many foreigners, who often buy drums as souvenirs.

“You need to have good hands, a good ear and big knowledge of music, as well as a luminous soul to make a drum!” Tinh says. In 2000, when Vietnam marked the 990th anniversary of Thang Long – Hanoi, Tinh and Doi Tam artisans set a national record for the biggest drum ever built in Vietnam. The giant drum was 2.01 metres in diameter, 2.65 metres in height and 10 cubic metres in volume. The drum, which is now on permanent display at the Temple of Literature in Hanoi, took three months to be completed.

Now Tinh says he is planning to make another giant drum to welcome the upcoming millennium celebration of the founding of Hanoi. “Doi Tam craftsmen and I want to make the world’s biggest drum, some 2.5 metres in diameter and 3.5 metres in height,” he says.

Faith in the future

“Drum making cannot bring me wealth but it gives me a good spiritual life,” he says. “But I don’t think that the craft will fade away.” Holding out his calloused hands, Tinh happily says six of his eight children are following his craft. His 18-year old grandchild by the name of Cung Minh Hung has been learning the craft from his grandfather for three years.

“It is a good job. Though it is a difficult job, I like it very much!” says Hung as his grandfather jumps up and down on a freshly made drum. When his grandfather tires, he clambers down and nods. Hung happily jumps up on the surface of the drum and continues Tinh’s work, dancing on the drum until it is taut and ready to be banged and beaten for life.  

Source: Time-out

Tags: Doi Tam, Drum Making, Of The Drum, The Craft, The Drum, The King, Year Old, Physics games

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