Ooc po festival with sli, luong of the Nung Phan Sling people in Hoa Binh - Dong Hy - Thai Nguyen

Sli songs, Luon songs of the Nung Phan Slinh people, sli call and answer songs make up a large number. They are intimate songs, are the throbbing beats, are the heart songs of young men and women in the age of promise and longing for love. There are countless wishes, oaths, passionate words filled with faith and hope sung with all the passionate souls of youth.

Every spring, when peach and plum blossoms bloom white and pink all over the mountainsides and on the roads leading to the village, Nung boys and girls eagerly go out to play. In spring, boys can go out to play all month long.

January is spring, I go out, February is spring, I wander, Walking for a few days, adding a few months, Walking for a few days, adding a few years.

Just walk from place to place

Maybe you are interested!

(Footprint).

On the way to the spring festival, groups of young Nung men and women met and competed in singing. They sang, they sang songs to get to know each other, to express their love discreetly and delicately. Singing sli in response is a typical love song of the Nung people, the lyrics are melodious, rich in imagery with profound and subtle meanings.

Today we are lucky to meet each other. Let's talk about good things together.

(Sli response)

Almost at the beginning of greetings, singers sing these lines, and then the words of love are sung. But the dream of building happiness is not said "out loud" right away, but at first they also probe each other's feelings:

Nam: Has anyone picked the young cabbage in the garden yet?

Female: Vegetables in the vegetable garden. Anyone who can eat them will eat them.

The two people asked about the mustard greens, but in fact, what they wanted to ask was far beyond that. The young man's intention was clear: "Rau cai non" meant that the girl was still young and didn't know if she had a lover yet. The girl's answer was also very clear, both suggestive and challenging, "Whoever can eat it will eat it." The love song was full of affection, asking discreetly but still enough for the listener to understand what he wanted to say. It was similar to the folk song of the Kinh people in the Northern Delta:

Now plum asks peach

Has anyone been in the rose garden yet? Plum asked, Peach answered.

The rose garden has a path but no one has entered yet.

(Folk song)

But sometimes they still wonder, afraid that maybe that person already has a place, the girl may not believe it right away and ask:

- I came here to talk to you.

Are you afraid someone will misunderstand?

The young man was equally worried:

- I'm as pretty as a calico cat. Will we be able to get there?

The wishes and desires of Nung men and women in love are the desire to be paired and to enjoy happiness. No matter how difficult life is, whether it is happy or miserable, they are still happy.

Nam: I wish we could all share the same chopsticks. Whether happy or sad, I'm still happy.

Female: The shirt has no buttons yet.

No one has drunk the yellow sticky rice wine yet.

Each word of poetry, each image carries great meaning, the grass flower or the bird all carry the meaning of connection and gathering. The young man's words were received and responded to in full. It is true that:

Talk a lot and you will understand each other. Our wishes are the same.

(Sli response)

Living in love with full of dreams, longing for happiness but along with it there are also many worries. Nowadays, although superstition and backward customs no longer have much influence on the happiness of couples, family factors still have some influence. Love has blossomed, two souls have found a common voice, the boy is thinking about getting married but the girl is still worried because the road ahead has many challenges and difficulties waiting for them. Difficulties due to the long distance, family, society...

Nam: A year and twelve months have passed, bees and butterflies know how to happily mingle.

Female: Like animals on earth, trust each other's words and eyes.

Nam: Hearing you say that, I believe myself. Is the proposal okay?

Female: Looking down at the flowing water, what can a dragon do in the middle of the abyss?

Despite the difficulties and obstacles, they realized that the important thing that helped them overcome everything was trust and determination. The boy and girl did it.

that and they deserve their happiness. Together they bring their love boat to the shore of happiness.

Nam: Let's go down the raft together to the shore. Wherever the water is shallow, we will stay there .

Female: If our hearts are true

Parents do not agree, I still come back to you

The passionate lyrics are also intense when the boys and girls affirm and praise their love.

Nam: I love you through the years Like wild birds drinking water from a fairy stream

Female: I love you through the years like a wild bird drinks water from a thousand streams.

Nam: She looks so beautiful and pretty. The delicious fruit makes me remember it forever.

Female: Bamboo shoots appear in the green forest. Golden rice flowers appear in the fertile fields.

The poetic words are eloquent and have profound meanings. The images imbued with the nature of the mountains: “Thousand streams”, “green forests”, “bamboo shoots”… have been deeply engraved in the poem with extremely passionate love. It seems that the young man wants to use the time “those years” with the plural “those ” to affirm the vitality of his love. The world of love is a mysterious but magical world, and those who have entered that world will receive happiness when they find their true love. With that feeling, the girl in the song sli concluded with colorful lyrics praising the beautiful image of the couple with eloquent and evocative images.

How deep and sincere must love be to be able to sing such touching songs. In that colorful world of love, the emotions of the heart are so great and intense.

I love you, I am happy Like high mountains covered with clouds Mountains covered with clouds and mist Clouds cover mountains covered.

(Glide: Flat)

Words of love, the feelings in my mind have become a vow of fidelity

…Let me write a few lines A few lines to confirm the news The writing is written over time The writing is as big as sesame seeds The face of the letters is as big as rice grains .

(Glide: U Phung)

The handwriting is as clear as rice grains or sesame seeds, meaning a clear oath that will last forever. "The handwriting endures over time."

Through sli singing and luan singing, the young man is loved and admired by the girls. The girl with the sli singing voice is loved by the young man. From the connection of their souls, they consider further things.

I hope people speak frankly and honestly so that the elderly can become in-laws.

(Sli response)

The antiphonal singing and sli and luong songs sung during spring festivals, harvest festivals, weddings or while working in the fields are good occasions for young men and women to choose a life partner.

Folk melodies in general and sli and luon in particular are colorful mirrors reflecting the rich moods of young men and women on the path to finding happiness. Each verse when sung expresses the deepest and most delicate feelings of couples.

2.1.3 Mountainous rural painting

* Natural picture

With concise and simple words, the folk artist has created a vivid and colorful picture of the mountainous countryside. Beautiful nature is the mother who nourishes and protects people, so the vibrant nature in sli, luon is the result of inspiration and praise.

Nature appears first of all as majestic beauty, strength and great power.

Morning sun rises in the East Afternoon sun sets in the West Morning in the East, afternoon down the mountain Late afternoon sun in the West

The moon in the sky is so beautiful…

(sli Zebra Flute)

Natural images: The moon and the sun appear quite a lot in sli and luon lyrics, they are described in human perception of natural laws, according to the change of time. The sun brings light and life to all species, its movement is the movement of life, of humans. Perhaps that is also the reason why in people's songs, especially in love songs of couples, the image of the moon and the sun appears as an excuse to open a conversation.

…The moon rising in the sky is so beautiful, my dear, tell me so I can come too.

Take a boat across the river to the West. (Sli Sao Van)

Or:

High mountains low mountains mountains away from mountains In the afternoon the setting sun comes

The afternoon sun shines down on the garden…

(Sli: Xá Sùng)

The drawings are simple but have a very high quality of shaping, nature seems to have shape, has mass, a gloomy and overlapping mountain and forest scene "High mountains, low mountains, mountains from mountains" with many mysteries, dangers but that is a great friend, close to the mountain people. Looking at the forest, talking about the forest, talking about the mountain is talking about beauty and usefulness.

The bushy land should be used for farming. Go up the mountain to make swidden land. You can grow swidden land in two areas. You can grow swidden land in two areas.

(Glide: Lay Loc) All over the mountains and forests grow mixed trees,

Everywhere in the mountains and forests grow ironwood trees. Let me take my knife and chop them down.

Let me bring the knife to you...

(Sli: Urgent)

- The tree's roots are as big as a big tree. The tree's roots are as big as the roots of a ironwood tree.

(Toad)

Human life depends a lot on the mountains and forests. Right from birth, humans have lived in the heart of the great forest. The great forest has nurtured the soul of each person. That is why the mountains and forests have become a source of inspiration for the Nung Phan slinh people to enthusiastically sing the sli and luong sounds. The mountains and forests are no longer strange. They are the roads, the villages, close to people, and a part of life.

Yesterday, the day before yesterday I looked forward to the Ten Mountains and Nine Passes on the top of the cave Ten Mountains and Nine Passes through the cave I went far away before returning

I went far away to enter the village. When I got home, I saw a hedge. When I got home, I saw a hedge.

(Slow)

In that mountainous scene, the lives of all species are peaceful and people are happy. The image of the Phoenix is always a symbol of happiness and prosperity for people. In the sli song of the Nung people, the image of the Phoenix flying everywhere is the joy and happiness for the village to have a prosperous life.

Nam: Monkeys sit in their caves eating fruit.

The fish in the abyss hears the water flowing. Woman: The star in the sky is getting brighter and brighter.

Phoenixes fly everywhere.

The picture of nature and mountains has brought life to life with so much affection. The affection between people and people, the affection between people and nature.

However, nature in sli, luon not only has strong strokes when talking about richness and grandeur, but also strokes with fresh, lush and full of life colors. Those are soft, poetic, and fresh strokes. In the folk songs of the Nung Phan Slinh people in Hoa Binh, nature is often mentioned as the scenery of spring, of January. Each poem, song is a beautiful flower full of fragrance and color.

Year after year, spring flowers bloom again. February is guava flower season.

March is the season of immense flowers. April is the season of flowers carried by the wind. May is the season of flowers floating on the water. June is the season of flowers blooming in the valley. July is the season of flowers blooming in the fields. August is the season of rice flowers in the fields.

September flowers bloom on the road…

(Glide: Dooc)

In the smooth curves, the colorful flowers show their fragrance, flowers bloom not only in spring, each season reflects the unique colors and scents of flowers in the green mountains and forests. The scenery of the mountains and forests of Viet Bac always has the presence of beautiful flowers, which is an indispensable part of human life.

January spring plum blossoms are beautiful Plum blossoms in the garden all bloom Plum blossoms in the garden are blooming white Trees tall and short are all bright in one color

Tall and short trees are all shining brightly.

(Gong)

The white petals are in full bloom, creating a bright light. Spread across the village, on the hillsides and mountainside, plum trees are in bloom, a very common image in spring in the mountain villages. The simple descriptive words are not expressed in elaborate and elaborate ways but still have a strong evocative power, the reader can imagine a poetic spring picture, like entering a fairyland.

Spring is the season of all things budding and blooming, the season of life: "In January, spring buds are about to bloom"

“January is a good new year”. “January is spring, let's go out”

Good luck will come, people believe that good things will come in spring. It is the season of spring festivals, the season of love, the season of dreams about life for family and village.

Speaking of spring, nature in the Nung people's descriptions is quite richly depicted through the affectionate dialogues of couples. It could be the image of the clear sunlight of the early morning:

The morning sun is clear and sunny.

Or the wind in the moonlit night

Cool breeze and clear moon come in through the window Cool breeze from the front door.

It can be said that the nature in the sli, luong of the Nung Phan Slinh people is a vivid picture of nature. The vividness is not due to the richness of colors but also due to the strokes of moving images. It is true that "The colors of natural images in sli, luong are always bright, fresh, youthful, and full of vitality" [03; 321].

Each mountain people was born and raised in the cradle of nature, so they have a long-standing attachment to nature, so their souls are easily in harmony with nature. Nature is their loyal and loving friend. Through the picture of nature, we can partly see the unique cultural features and the beauty in the souls of the Nung Phan Slinh people.

* Labor picture

Like many other folk melodies, sli, luon of the Nung Phan Slinh people arose, existed and developed in the living and working environment.

of the Nung Phan Slinh community, so there is a close relationship between sli, luong and working life. That is why the vivid and rich picture of labor is reflected vividly and colorfully by sli, luong.

Those labor songs clearly reflect the agricultural culture of the mountainous region with the work of slash-and-burn farming, wet rice farming, etc. The songs speak of experiences in production labor, lessons that have been accumulated for generations and are still passed down to future generations.

Two fields were cleared, two fields were cleared, The lower field was planted with sticky rice, The upper field was planted with rice.

Rice fields are flooded.

(Surf: Ram Beach).

The difficulties in rice cultivation that farmers need to pay attention to and are also their worries are “poisonous fields and water” that have been mentioned by the people. These are bad fields, acidic soil, the rice will not grow well, the rice will be cut down, and the red-leaf rice cannot be harvested.

Experience in growing plants is sometimes very simple but has great meaning. In growing oranges, choosing the time to plant is very important for the growth of the tree:

(The boss was furious and said: "When the evening comes, plant oranges.")

In the picture of the labor of the mountain people, the image of people with familiar labor jobs appears. That could be dyeing fabric:

Cut off the top and put it in a bowl. Cut off the top and pollinate it. Dye the fabric with indigo leaves. Dye it very dark.

(Surf: Boils).

Right on the fields, in the middle of labor, the sound of the sli resounded with a gentle, deep melody.

…To the day of the spring equinox, the beginning of summer comes and the next February

Together we worry about planting rice. Months and years pass quickly. The guy pulls up the rice seedlings, the girl plants. One plants on the left, the other on the right. Don't let the plant in front crowd the plant behind. Don't let the plant behind crowd the plant in front. Step up on the rock and put down your hat. Step up on the rock and put down your hat.

Tomorrow, far away, I will always remember

Even though we don't live together, we still have the same time, so that I will always miss you.

(Sli: Mud)

The center of the labor picture is the image of people. People appear in the background of nature with familiar labor jobs in emotional life. That is the joy, the happiness of love, of life. Readers can easily imagine the labor subject working diligently, the rhythmic movements have been described beautifully: "The guy pulls rice seedlings, the girl plants"; "The person plants on the left, the person on the right". They are building a prosperous, happy life. From there, they contribute to building a prosperous village, an indispensable part in the picture of the mountainous countryside that sli, luon has drawn.

…Looking out in many directions, seeing the vast village, seeing the fertile fields, I just came here to sing and confide.

(Glide: Khay Pac)