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Dinh Trai (first, left) |
Every late afternoon, as it is raining in Play Min valley – a small village at the mountainous commune of An Toan, district of An Lao where a community of 58 Bana ethnic households settle down – a small house on stilts of Dinh Trai craftman opens to welcome the Bana ethnic local people. They come to listen him playing P’ren musical instrument.
In front of the audience, most of whom are young people, Dinh Trai starts to play a prelude, and then a flood of musical sound comes from the 6-string familiar instrument. The sound echoes like winds through forests sometimes or K’nia streems, rhythm of Xoang dancers’ steps. The sound is so ardent that it comes into people’s heart.
Dinh Trai can play not only P’ren but also gongs – a treasure that his family has conserved over 4 generations.
To him, sound of gongs is very attractive and can penetrate into people’s hearts. When he teaches young villagers to play gongs, he usually hang the instruments besides a fire. “Playing gongs by the fire make the sound of music more beautiful,” said Dinh Trai. In rainy season, they often practice the gong playing until midnight.
Dinh Trai now feel no worry any more this year because the young villagers can play his family’s set of precious gongs.
“Fortunately, the 11-gong set was still undamaged after raids in 1968,” reflects Dinh Trai as villagers go to fields. Thus, every evening, Play Min village wallows in the sound of gongs from the simple house of Dinh Trai.
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