GONG CULTURE FESTIVAL OF THE THAI ETHNIC GROUP

(MUONG CHOONG)

The gong culture of Thai people has existed for a very long time, playing a huge role in the spiritual life of the people. In 2011, Chau Ly commune, Quy Hop district, Nghe An province held a gong cultural festival for the whole commune, since then, every spring, In Muong Choong, Chau Ly commune is busy organizing a festival with the meaning of praying for good luck in Muong village, praying for favorable rain and wind, good crops, and praying for fertility and prosperity.

The festival attracted a large number of people in the commune to participate. Usually each copy makes a team to participate in the competition. Each participating team consists of 4 people, including 2 men, 2 women, a drummer, a trumpet player, and 2 gong players. Teams have to go through the compulsory competition tunes which are: Ti Coong tune; Ti Cong Ha tune. In addition, teams can perform more self-composed tunes. With time for each team to show is 7-10 minutes. The gong teams must perform smoothly, ensure the correct rhythm of the melodies, and coordinate smoothly and smoothly between the drummers, the trumpeters and the rhythms of the gong beaters. Through the sound of gongs, it expresses the thoughts and feelings of the Thai ethnic people here.

Thanks to this festival, many gong melodies are restored, which is an opportunity for the elderly to be able to teach the younger generation about their nation's gong culture, contributing to promoting the gong culture in particular and the traditional Thai cultural identity in general.