Then
Song
The then song is the religious music of the Tay, Nung
minorities. This type of song can be considered a religious
performance of Long Poems which depict a journey to the heavens to
ask the Jade Emperor to settle trouble for the head of the
household.
Long Poems consist of several chapters with different
contents and lengths. The longest poem ever collected
was 4,949 sentences with 35 chapters. The then
song is a general performance of music, singing,
dancing, and making gestures in different circumstances.
In the ceremony procession, not only must the artist
carry out religious activities, but the actor must also
sing, play music, dance, and show gestures to
demonstrate the meaning of the sentence he is singing.
Sometimes the artist also performs other activities.
Music is the main element that completely penetrates the
performance. Sometimes the music is accompanied with
song, and at other moments the music serves as a
background for dance or connecting parts of a song. The
main musical instruments in a then
performance are the tinh tau (a traditional
stringed musical instrument resembling a guitar) and a
chain of shaking instruments. Sometimes the band also
has a bell.
All people in the Tay, Nung community, regardless of
their age, sex, and religion, are fond of the
then song. Some groups such as the Kinh living in
the same region have also incorporated this kind of art
form into their spiritual lives. |
