The“Ba trao” performer troop of Nhan An Commune in 2007 Cau Ngu Festival (festival of praying for good fishing harvest). Photo by V.T

* Story about  early establishment of the “ba trao” troop at Nhan An Hamlet

When I asked about “ba trao” chanty on a visit to Nhan An Hamlet, villagers shown me the way to Mr. Tang’s house. Actually, his real name was Ngo Xuan Tuan. He was one of the very first founders reviving a “ba trao” troop at the hamlet. “Daren’t you bet me that you can find such a  “ba trao” chanty of ours nationwide? No way! Only at Nhan An Hamlet, “ba trao” chanty has well-organized scenes, fine casts and even author” laughed cheerily the man.

Mr. Tuan narrated that in war time local “ba trao” troop had lost many of its members. Few postwar survivors conserved the “ba trao” chanty. Fortunately, Mr. Tuan heard about an old man named Phan Thanh who was living at Hai Cang District, Quy Nhon City, Binh Dinh Province. He was one of the alive learners of an aged Nhan An baccalaureate graduate. The old man had been still keeping script of the “ba trao” chanty and knew how to direct the musical play. Hence, in 1993, Mr. Tuan collected all of his own saving, making the way to Quy Nhon City, insistently entreating the old man to descend the precious asset to next generations. Because Mr. Thanh was a Nhan An villager and was willing to pass the unique chanty to Nhan An posterity, he agreed to provide free of charge teaching to the young local followers. He also lent 300,000 VND (about 19 USD now) to cover expenses of re-founding the local “ba trao” troop in April 1993.

* Progress of the “ba trao”

The Nhan An “ba trao” troop has 24 members, including a “tong lai” who in charge of controlling the whole boat, a “tong sanh” who controls stem and directs boatmen, a “tong thuong” who controls the middle part of the boat, a “tong co” who cares for flag setting on the boat, 2 persons wearing tiger heads, 2 persons carrying lanterns , 16 boatmen and 3 musicians. Mr. Tuan is not only the troop founder but also the “tong sanh” whenever the troop has performance. He takes a role in the play although he lost a leg in the wartime and has worn an artificial leg since then.

The Nhan An “ba trao” chanty has 4 acts as in exact order of a real fishing sailing: heading for the open sea, catching fish, confronting storms and victoriously returning home. Before its performance, the troop knowtows God of the Sea. During the performance, the troop arranges itself in a boat-shape formation. The boatmen hold colourful painted oars on their hands. The “tong sanh” leads the boatmen correctly in two lines. Two servants kneel down, offering a symbolic stem to the “tong sanh”. After lying prostrate himself in front of the God, the “tong sanh” strikes the first sound and the boatmen separate into smaller groups. The second sound appears, the boatmen kneel down. The third sound resounds, the boatmen knowtow. The fourth sound echos, the boatmen symbolically take off their shirts. The fifth sound is heard, the boatmen put their hands on the oars, standing up and starting to sing.

Mr. Ngo Xuan Tan (centre) is taking the part of a”tong thuong”, a  person in charge of controlling the middle part of the boat. Photo by V.T

* Conservation of the unique “ba trao” chanty

Vice-director of Binh Dinh Province Department of Culture and Information Nguyen An Pha said that Mr. Nguyen Dieu, an old artist, had two confidential “hat boi” operas. He passed the first opera “Ngu Ho Binh Tay” (“5 powerful commanders pacify the West”) to his learner Dao Tan. The other opera which is the unique “ba trao” musical play today was handed over to another learner Duong Dong Luan, a Nhan An villager. However, Mr. Luan had never directed any “ba trao” play but his learner Ma Van Tiet (or De impresario as his nickname) did. At that time, Mr. Tiet was very famous. Mr. Tiet taught the “ba trao” play to Mr. Nguyen Van Thua. Mr. Thua passed it to Mr. Luu Thuong and then Mr. Thuong gave it Mr. Phan Thanh. It was Mr. Phan Thanh that taught the local “ba trao” troop of Nhan An Hamlet at the request of Mr. Tuan.

The “ba trao” chanty has many variants. Mr. Thua used to stay at Binh Tan fishing village, Cua Be, Khanh Hoa Province. He taught the local villagers there the “ba trao” chanty. According to Mr. Nguyen An Pha, the “ba trao” chanty has been performed and conserved in many coastal localities since then. That’s the reason why it has a lot of variants. No “ba trao” chanty keeps its unique original characteristic like the Nhan An “ba trao”.

Showing me out his house, Mr. Tuan said: “It is fortunate for me to meet the old man Phan Thanh and learn the unique “ba trao” chanty from him. If I had been late, I would have had no “ba trao” chanty because Mr. Thanh died 3 years after the meeting. I am now at the age of 68. I want to pass the precious tresure to a person who fervently loves it but it is too difficult”. Fortunately, Mr. Nguyen An Pha stated: “Binh Dinh Province Department of Culture and Information is asking its functional bodies to preserve the precious immaterial cultural heritage. We also suggest to organize a special festival of singing “ba trao” chanty so that we can find the most typical original version to preserve”.

• Written by Le Viet Tho
• Translated by T.U