Vietnam Tourism Information: Vietnam traditonal music show - Ca Tru

Vietnam Tourism Information: Vietnam traditonal music show - Ca Tru: C a Tru is a Vietnamese religious music genre which belongs to tradition in northern Vietnam; mother hand ca tru is also such as a sung gen...

Vietnam traditonal music show - Ca Tru

Ca Tru is a Vietnamese religious music genre which belongs to tradition in northern Vietnam; mother hand ca tru is also such as a sung genre of chamber music. Already in the 15th century ca tru was played for ceremonies and early 20thcentury ca tru was cracked down on the village communal houses where it was performed, quickening its demise. The musical knowledge had to remove to the big city and it was played for entertainment “hat chơi”, in singing houses and private homes. By the 1950s the genre had become associated with disrepute (opium, girl serve wine and misunderstandings about ca tru singers). From the late 1950s to the late 1980s, ca tru performances were rare, and a lot of the musical knowledge was lost. Despite renewed public interest and a spate of recent revitalization initiatives, there are still few regular performance contexts.

The few remaining competent ca tru musicians are mostly very elderly. In the countryside, the ceremonial part of the ca tru repertoire, “hat cua dinh”, was still cherished for festivals and ancestral work-ship ceremonies. In September 2009, ca tru was inscribed in the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Urgent Need of Safeguarding. Giao Phường Ca Tru Thang Long is a voluntary, non-profit group of ca tru musicians founded in 2006. The group is based in Hanoi. It has about 15 members, most of them aged between 10 and early 30s. Giao Phường Ca Tru Thang Long was set up by two elderly master musicians, Nguyen Thi Chuc and Nguyen Phu Đệ, with Phạm Thị Huệ - who is a teacher of traditional Vietnamese music at the National Academy of Music in Hanoi. The term “Giao Phường” refers to the old system of “guilds” that supported ca tru artists up until the early twentieth century. These days, groups like Giao Phường Ca Tru Thang Long are the most common way for young people to learn ca tru. For this reason, the work of Giao Phường Ca Tru Thăng Long is very important in keeping ca tru alive for future generations to explore and enjoy. Giao Phường Ca Tru Thăng Long has grown to be one of the most active of ca tru clubs in North Vietnam, especially in teaching the genre to young people, performing publicly, increasing audience engagement, and generally raising the profile of the genre. Nowadays, you can find Ca Tru in some clubs in Hanoi but if you want to enjoy with the special music "Ca Tru" you should order with a travel agent to organized the show for you. I hope in the future the Vietnam Tourism Administration can organized a show for tourists public as "water puppet show", let us share the special music with friendly foreigners who want to know about Vietnamese Culture. 

You can contact with Myvietnamtravel to organize the traditional music "Ca Tru" when you are in Hanoi. Please visit website: http://www.myvietnamtravel.net or info@myvietnamtravel.net to get more information.

Vietnam Traditional craft - Promoting traditional craft villages

A conference to promote and seek markets for craft village products was jointly held on October by the Vietnam Craft Village Association (VCVA) and the Dong Nai Provincial Department of Industry and Trade.


Vietnam now has nearly 3,000 craft villages producing a wide range of handicrafts including pottery, lacquerware, and wood and stone carvings.

The VCVA said Vietnamese handicrafts are exported to 160 countries around the world, earning a total revenue of US$3 billion so far in 2011.

Many craft villages also attract a large number of tourists, which contributes significantly to local socioeconomic development.

Participants at the conference agreed that craft villages now face fierce competition from industrial products, unstable markets, and a lack of skilled workers and capital for further investment.

Residents of craft villages should restructure the village, do more market research and work closely their customers to adapt their product designs and iron out snags in production.

The State should also create preferential policies to support craft villages such as holding training courses for local people.

Things to eat in Hanoi - Green Sticky Rice from Vong village

Autumn is high time for many people stoppong at the gate of Da Loc village in Xuan Thuy street to buy "com" (Green sticky rice). 'Com' in Vong village has been famous for many years. It is serviced with special banana (banana having freckles). Skillful hands of women also stir-fry it with sugar to make 'Com' sweet soup. It is difficult to find a good 'Com' in any other regions that has the same taste. it gives inspiration to artists from Hanoi and all over Vietnam.

Green sticky rice wrap in Lotus leaf

The ideal rice to make 'Com' should be young, green and milky. If it gets older, 'Com' will be hard and not delicious. the popular time for making 'Com' falls in August of lunar year. 'Com' is also available in May, however gourmets like to enjoy 'Com' in August. Rice should be processed as soon as possible after harvesting to get the best "Com" are the same as making rice. Bundles of rice are put into a threshing machine. Wash rice in water and throw away the floating grains. Formarly, people often produced "Com" by manual methods. Nowadays, it is made with machine. Clean rice is stir fried in a pan on high heat until dry and having fragrance. Leave it to cool then pound in a mortar to unhusk it. After 4 -5 times pounding and removeing the husk and bran, we have 'Com'. "we should wrap 'Com' in lotus leaves to keep it fresh and tasty'. said Mr. Binh - his family has made 'Come' for many generations in Hau hamlet.

Green Sticky rice cover with bamboo

Although the method of making 'Com' it is not the same as before 'Com' still exists in the hearts of Trang An people (Hanoians) during the renewal are. People who live far away from home usually remember Hanoi Autumn as well as 'Com' of Vong village. It is something that cannot be missed in Mid-Autumn Festival. Hanoians wish that no matter how modern the Capital City becomes, Vong village's 'Com' still exists.