The north central coastal province of Nghe An has recently offered visitors the chance to enjoy Vi-giam folk singing in the province. The move is among local authorities’efforts to preserve and promote the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage.
Boi Son Communal Folk Singing Club from Do Luong district is performing Vi-giam art form on a river for visitors. Performing folk songs amid the wide river delights the artists.
The club was formed due to artists’ love and passion for Vi-giam folk singing when they were little. From a modest number of members at first, the club now has more than 30 artists. Vi-giam singing is popular in nearly 260 villages in the central provinces of Nghe An and Ha Tinh. The folk music is a repartee sung while working. It reflects the work, cultural lives and feelings of the residents in the central coastal provinces.
Since Vi-giam’s recognition as UNESCO intangible cultural heritage, the province has undertaken various measures to integrate the folk art form into tourism products, including assigning Nghe An Folk Singing Promotion and Preservation Centre to establish Vi-giam Folk Singing Clubs at local hotels.
Though still in the pilot stage, the folk singing has been warmly welcomed by visitors, showing its potential to develop if receiving proper attention and long-term strategies.
Yet, there remain obstacles in promoting Vi-giam folk singing given the lack of human and material resources.
NgheAn’s Department of Tourism is working with their Department of Culture and Sports to devise a detailed project to promote Vi-giam folk singing, which engages a number of agencies. The locality also plans to introduce the intangible cultural heritage in business promotion programs and organise fascinating performances in tours to Nghe An to attract people’s attention to the art form.