HA NOI — A chau van (spiritual singing) club has been established in the capital in a bid to preserve the traditional art form.

Chau van is performed in praise of the Mother Goddesses and junior deities.

Chau van is accompanied by flutes, castanets, drums and dan nguyet (the moon-shaped zither).

Hundreds of chau van singers attended the opening ceremony at Luu Phai Temple, Thanh Tri District, that was organised by the Centre for the Study of Religion and Culture.

Ngo Duc Thinh, the centre's director, was appointed club chairman on Wednesday.

Club members will conduct research into the ancient art form and collect chau van songs and documents, which they will promote domestically and abroad, Thinh said.

Also at the club's launch, five veteran chau van artists, aged 80-90, were formally recognised as Folk Artists by the Viet Nam Folk Arts Association.

"The artists are very old. They are familiar with songs that have fallen into obscurity. We desperately need to preserve the heritage of chau van," he said.

– VNS