Beating the drum for Ha Noi

by Nguyen Le Hung

Drumming up support: Musician Nguyen Cuong plays a traditional Vietnamese bronze drum. A new project aims to cast 100 drums in time to celebrate 1,000 years since Ha Noi's foundation. — VNS Photo Nguyen Le Hung

According to the plan, the musical instruments will be replicas of four traditional types of Vietnamese bronze drums. Twenty-five of each type are going to be made solely by a group of craftsmen from the central province of Thanh Hoa. This province is where the first bronze drums, the famous Dong Son, were made between 600 and 300 BC.

Duong Trung Quoc, chairman of the association and project manager, explained: "The number 100 originates from the legend of Lac Long Quan and Au Co, ancestors of the Vietnamese nation. Mother Au Co laid 100 eggs from which came 100 sons and daughters. Half of them went up the mountains, the others went down to the coastal areas."

The craftsmen who will construct the drums have studied the ancient procedure of casting the instruments. A special "mother drum" will be made based on the design of the original Ngoc Lu drums and will be given to the city of Ha Noi. This drum will have the images of 1,000 dragons on it. Each dragon will represent a year in the history of Ha Noi. One big and 276 small dragons will be on the head of the drum, while the other 723 smaller dragons will grace its body.

A religious ritual, which involved praying to the God of Drums for wealth and peace for the nation, kicked off the project last December in Thanh Hoa.

So far, the group of Thanh Hoa craftsmen has completed making 26 of the handmade drums. According to the Vietnamese culture law, it's not legal to make exact replicas of historic artefacts, so the artists have to use the original design only as an inspiration.

Many activities have already been scheduled around the event, such as a 10-day exhibition that will showcases all 100 objects in Van Mieu Quoc Tu Giam (Temple of Literature) in Ha Noi on the occasion of the National Day, September 2.

The musical performance, "Lac Hong Drumroll", will feature 100 drums and 1,000 singers. The performance is being arranged by famed musician Nguyen Cuong. "While folk music is a symbol of our nation's loving and forgiving nature, our strength is projected through the bronze drums. I feel excited every time I hear it," he said.

After this year's celebrations and performances, each of the 63 provinces and cities in the country will receive one bronze drum. The remaining drums will be given to companies that have registered for a drum and donated to the project. The last drum to be cast in the Temple of Literature will be auctioned off immediately after it finished. All proceeds will go to charities to help poor children who are suffering from Agent Orange.

The project is entirely funded by sponsors and donations. Last month, one drum was auctioned off for VND780,000,000 (US$41,000).

"I wish the sound of the bronze drums in "Lac Hong Drumrolls" will echo forever with the pride of a thousand years of history of Thang Long-Ha Noi", said Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung. — VNS