Every Life composes a song of its Own
- Jeff Veach -
Life on the Mekong Delta is nothing short of inspiring; or even mesmerizing to say the least.
Yes, what would a city girl like me know about life on the outskirts? Right.
It opens a whole lot of insights into the daily scenes that take place in this area; wading through the waterways and pushing past the gigantic leaves from the large trees standing there since even before man came into the picture, silently guarding the secrets they know and events that only they have witnessed firsthand.
There is much more to that whole picture than just the water passages and the trees definitely, for the people of the Mekong Delta are just the best keeper of secrets which have been slowly unveiled over generations as they continue to keep outsiders charmed and intrigued by their fascinating lives.
In fact, their lives have fascinated many that they have even put it into a song to just express the sentiments of the people living in the delta, cleverly told through the descriptive lyrics accompanied by harmonious melodies.
That is the song of the Red River Delta; which has dominated the cultural scene and set the background for the Vietnamese performing arts.
The Red River Delta song is a popular folk song; describing the lives of the people here in the delta often performed in a satirical musical theatre way.
There would often be a group of semi-amateur musicians accompanying the singers as they sing in duet; with a male lead singer and a female counterpart singing in a conversational kind of way, as though in an actual dialogue of questions and answers, just in a more melodious way.
This would be the folk love song of the Red River Delta; or Quan Ho which was said to be a performing art/music originating from this very delta itself.
It is a form of alternate singing of Cheo; a theatrical and musical opera involving actors and traditional music instruments on stage.
The Cheo would be similar to the Chinese opera; which could have played a major role in influencing the origins of its existence.
Cheo is said to originate from the northern part of Vietnam, and it is not hard to see the reason behind the theory due to the north borders with China.
Cheo is a performing art popular among the peasant folks of the northern region.
A very graceful musician; I was just mesmerized by the flawless way her fingers play the instrument, though she did not seem to even need to look at her fingers, at all, most of the time.
*Applause*
To truly get to the depths of a local culture is not just by taking sightseeing trips and capturing the photos, but taking in the moments and most of all, to understand that part of the culture through the eyes of the locals.
Or in this case, the sweet melodies they sing.
All about the life on the Mekong Delta; or the Red River Delta, as they say.
Watch the following videos, which are excerpts of their performances of the local folk singers, on life in the delta.
(songs are in Vietnamese, of course)
*Author's Note:
This is not a sponsored/promotional post, and solely based on author's personal expenses, opinions and preferences and do not represent the general public.
Experiences vary from one individual to another.
You do not have to agree with me.
You do not have to agree with me.
This is based on my personal experience and is told in a subjective manner, entirely from my perspective.
Photos/Videos all belong to me and are copyrighted.
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