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The sound of music: A Huynh holds one of a hundred stone bars from an ancient lithophone he found by a spring near his house. — VNA/VNS Photo Cao Nguyen |
KON TUM — Kon Tum Province's Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has set up a council to examine a lithophone, an ancient musical instrument, which has been found for the first time in the Central Highlands' northern part.
The lithophone was found last month by A Huynh, 28, a Jrai man from Chot Village in Sa Thay District, when he was building a small hydro-power plant on Ya Lan Spring.
He first found a few pieces of stone that gave off clear, pleasant sounds when he hit them. Huynh, who has basic knowledge of music, then searched for others and managed to find around 100 of them and has since arranged them in musical order.
The date of the instrument, the first ever to be discovered in the province, has yet to be determined but investigations are on and an official announcement is expected on Friday.
The first lithophones in Viet Nam were found by French ethnologist Georges Condominas in 1949 in Central Highlands province of Dac Lac.
The country has more than ten sets of ancient lithophones found from various provinces around the country. The Central Highlands' southern provinces have about five sets — VNS