Singing "Sắc bùa Phú Lễ": From intangible cultural heritage to potential tourism product

In human culture treasure of Ben Tre, there is a kind of art which has existed for a long time, to be close knit with the spiritual life of so many generations of coconut land. It has experienced many ups and downs hundred years old. There was a war period which seemed to be faded out but it revived forcefully. It is a special beauty in river culture in South and it gradually becomes a potential tourist product. There is a kind of art "Singing-sắc bùa Phú Lễ".

Intangible Cultural Heritage

Currently, there are 4 intangible cultural heritages in Ben Tre province: the job of making My Long rice paper (My Thanh commune, Giong Trom district), making Son Doc glutinous rice chupatty (Hung Nhuong , Giong Trom district), Nghinh Ong festival (Binh Dai hamlet) and "singing-sắc bùa Phú Lễ" (Ba Tri). There is not only the pride, but also the the traditional culture of local that needs to conserve and develop.

The life of Coconut land people has been close-knit with farms and rivers. From the dawn of humankind the ancestor has taught the younger generation about hardworking character. Besides, the spirit of People in Coconut land is very plentiful and they have many simple rustic folk song which are sung after hard working days to bring the happiness and show their optimism.

Singing " sắc bùa" in Coconut festival the fifth time, 2019 (baodongkhoi.vn)

When we talk about "Singing-sắc bùa", people immediately think of "Singing-sắc bùa Phú Lễ", Ba Tri District, Ben Tre Province because this place is the cradle of Hát sắc bùa art in Southwest of Vietnam. "Singing-sắc bùa Phú Lễ" is a form of folk performance, collective, chorus, with accompanying instruments and clear beat. "Singing-sắc bùa" is not only congratulating on agricultural rituals associating with spiritual factors, praying for a peaceful life, good crops but also meeting the needs of people for thier entertainment in every new year

Legend has it that singing "sắc bùa" was created in the middle of the late eighteenth century, initiated by Mr. Tran Van Hau, the son-in-law of Mr. Ho Duc Quang, from Phu Le commune, Ba Tri district. Typically, a singing "sắc bùa" team must have at least 4 members and be managed by a "boss", every member of them is not only a musician but also a singer. The musical instruments of  singing "sắc bùa" team will include: "rice" drum, two strings instrument and two kinds of cadence instruments; A song often has 2 parts, the first one is a ritual part to suppress the devil, brings good luck to the family and the second contributes to the joys of the family's career: farming, construction worker, etc.

In 1998, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Ben Tre implemented the project " Sắc Bùa Phu Le Talent Show" under the National Target Program on the conservation and promotion of Vietnam national cultural heritage. The movement to sing "Sắc bùa" Phu Le in Ben Tre is growing and gradually forming many singing teams, creating the special characteristics in the cultural treasure of Coconut Land. On January 23, 2017, "Hát sắc bùa" was officially recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Potential tourist products

Currently, "Hát sắc bùa" is still a new art form for young people as well as tourists. However, to contribute to the promotion of the culture, the traditional beauty of daily life of the land and people in Coconut Land, and it is seem as potential tourism product.

Performance of "Singing- sắc bùa Phu Le"  at Vietnam National Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism (bienphong.com.vn)

On November 22, 2019, in the program "Journey to the South of Ben Tre Coconut Land" took place at Vietnam National Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism (Dong Mo - Son Tay - Hanoi), Ben Tre introduced to domestic and foreign tourists, many interesting cultural forms: the Southern folk songs, declaiming Luc Van Tien's poem, coconut cuisine and indispensable  singing "sắc bùa". This act has attracted a lot of visitors by the very beautiful, strange, and strange melodies through the playful presentation of the artists in the country of Coconut.

Tourism is a close combination of Culture - Tourism or Tourism - Culture to prevent not to ruin a lasting beauty in the long-standing cultural heritage. Conversely, in order to preserve and promote intangible cultural values, it is necessary to synchronize many solutions which are integrated into tourism products as well as in the activities of developing social economy in locals.

Author: Tuong Vi

Translator: Phuong Thy

Source: https://dulich.bentre.gov.vn

The rustic variation in processing snakehead fish with coconut milk

Over the centuries, the Vietnamese family meal has never had a lack of braised dishes. Each region has its own dishes with different flavors. My hometown is no exception.  Being known as "Coconut land", many dishes which are combined with coconut milk always make customers feel not only charming but also fragrance and be hard for us to resist. On rainy days, there are a lot of fish in the paddy rice fields, and I remember my grandfather often used to make braised dishes from perch, catfish, snakehead fish. My most impressed memory has been snakehead fish cooked in coconut milk.

I call this dish is a version of the countryside because my grandfather said that to cook this dish to become delicious, it must be made from natural snakehead fish. In this way the meat will have a natural sweetness and firmness. Furthermore, the coconut milk from old ripening coconut is true version with many attractive steps. Cooking is an art because of choosing ingredients to cooking techniques and we still have to put our mind, sincerity into each dish, the customers will feel the taste and never forget.

Braised snakehead fish with coconut milk (photo: Tuong Vi)

It is quick and easy for us to make this braised snakehead fish. First, clean snakehead fish, cut the fish into slices and then marinate the fish about 30 minutes with spices such as salt, sugar, pepper, fish sauce, red onions and a little coconut water to create an eye-catching color when we finished. When the pot heats up, we add cooking oil and minced garlic and minced lemongrass for being fragrant, and cook the marinated fish mixture. Next, we use a bamboo chopstick to up side down the slices of fish and wait until the meat is solid again to add coconut milk. At this time, the snakehead fish pot must be boiled over a low fire and until the mixture in the pot is almost dry, we turn off the stove, sprinkle with pepper and scallions on top. We really like to eat hot rice with it when we hear how to cook it.

Snakehead fish with coconut milk is extremely delicious attractive because of the color, good mixture and it aroma. This dish when served with rice must be used with raw vegetables such as lettuce, basil, perilla, cucumber. On the rainy days, when the whole family sits around a hot tray of rice, served with snakehead fish with coconut milk dotted with the above raw vegetables, this is not only a simple rural version but also a childhood memory of many people of coconut land.

Snakehead fish is known as a sweet, warm, non-toxic and has goad effect to blood, tendons, bones. Braised snakehead fish with coconut milk is made from very simple ingredients, easy to seek and not too picky to cook method but to process a good meal, true taste of coconut land, it requires people to cook carefully and meticulously.

Nowadays, when traveling to Ben Tre, domestic and foreign tourists can easily enjoy braised snakehead fish with coconut milk served with white rice at restaurants, hotels, and homestays. The sweet, grease, irresistible aroma of this dish will surely make visitors remember forever, it is the rustic countryside version, an idyllic beauty in culinary culture of Coconut land.

Author: Tuong Vi

Translator: Phuong Thy

Source: https://dulich.bentre.gov.vn