 |
|
What he collected is saved in his laptop. Photo N.T |
With a bike, a rucksack carrying a camera, a notebook, and a bottle of boiled water, he has travelled around villages in Van Canh District, aiming to learn about Cham Hroi ethnic group’s culture in Binh Dinh. He is Minh Thanh Thao, a teacher of Canh Lien primary school, Van Canh District.
Born in a Cham Hroi family in the central province of Phu Yen, he followed in his father’s steps, working as a teacher in Van Canh District of Binh Dinh Province. He then got married and settled here.
His enthusiasm for Cham Hroi’s culture was transmitted from his father, one of experienced Cham culture researchers in Phu Yen province.
His father often told him about cultural features of Cham Hroi ethnic groups and stories he collected. Growing up, he also worried that Cham culture may sink into oblivion.
When working as a teacher in Van Canh, Thao realized the gradual disappearance of many Cham cultural features, such as language, music, and house.
Young Cham Hroi people could hardly express their ideas and feeling in Cham language, but it’s easy for them to speak Vietnamese. Cham Hroi people now build their houses with bricks and tiles.
Some experts excepted, most couldn’t differentiate cultural features of Cham Hroi and Bana ethnic groups. Owing to the influence of modern music, for example, young Cham Hroi people love the mix of different pieces of music without preserving Cham features.
Thao has alone ridden his bicycle to villages for the past eleven years, asking the elderly about traditional cultures, including a folk melody, a proverb, an epic, or a dance.
What he collected has been saved in his laptop and then classified. Many stories and songs were spread orally. Thao, therefore, has had to go many places to compare what is collected, making it as accurate as possible.
“When I pass away, I hope you will continue to preserve Cham culture for the next generations,” Doang Mang Teo, who devoted his life to Cham Hroi culture, talked to him.
And Thao has been making every effort to make the dream come true.
| 
