My most impressed area in Thai Nguyen Museum

Most students do not like learning history because theyoften consider history like such a boring subject; and, so do I.However, my thinking has changed a lot since I went to visit theMuseum of Cultures of Viet Nam' s Ethnic Groups two weeks ago.Everything is so great and I like the museum very much. Specifically, Iam very impressed by the beauty of an area in the second room inthe museum. 

         This area is located near the centre of the secondroom and it includes some portraits of ethnicity, the statue of a Taywoman playing "Tinh", the statue of women dancing " Xoe", 4 pictures,and a box of adornments of the different ethnicities.

          The first things catching my eyes are the beautiful portraitsof ethnicity. There are 7 portraits of women who are of the Giay, Tay, Thai,Lu, Nung Lin, Lao, Bo ethnicities; a portrait of a man who is of the Luethnicity and a portrait of a child who is Lao. They standnear each other just like they are talking about something. This reminds usof the solidarity between each ethnicity.

          Looking at them, we can easily recognize the distinct differences and similarities between the costumes of each ethnicity.There are some differences of colours, details, jewelries, andaccessories. However, they have the same meanings expressed on eachcostume. For example, they all show the symple beauty of TAY-THAIethnicity groups, especially of the women. They also highlight thecloseness between people and nature like mountains, forests, andplants through natural details: flowers, leaves, birds and so on. Thereforethe particular factors in the costumes of TAY_THAI ethicity groups aredisplayed and the skillful art of Tay- Thai ethnicity are stronglyexpressed.

          Another thing impressive to me is the collection ofadornments which is put in a retangle box at the right corner of thecentre. There are some silver ear-rings, rings, bracelets, necklacesand the key chains. Silver is often chosen to make jewelry because ofits usefulness. Silver is very good for people's health andbeauty because it makes people stronger and more beautful. Silver isalso believed to have the ability to drive away ghosts and protect thehuman's peaceful life in the customs of the TAY-THAI ethnicity.

          Besides some portraits of ethnicity and the collection ofadornment of Tay-Thai ethnicity, we can see the statue of the womanplaying " Tinh", the statue of the women dancing " Xoe" and fourpictures of some festivals of Tay-Thai ethnicity which also make astrong impression in my mind. They remind me of some particularactivities in some special festivals of TAY-THAI ethnicity like "Throw Con", " Ky Lan Dance", "Long Tong Festival", " Playing Tinh" and" Xoe dance "          " Throwing CON " may be well-known to many people. "CON "is believed to be a round thing, but it is a small bag made of 4angles. Green, red, yellow and black are often chosen to make "CON".Each " CON" contains a half of rice and a half of "Muong" seek, whichis about 250-300 grams. In addition, each " CON" has a rope which is70 cm in length. This rope is made with flax inside surrounded by agreen, red, yellow, black cover. When it flies, it is sparke with a5-colour-rope. People often  play " throwing CON " in some festivalslike New Years, and Spring. They are good occasions for everyone,especially for males and females to meet and make friends with eachother. However, not only young people but also people of all agescan play " throw CON ". The atmosphere while playing CON is veryexciting because everybory cheers and claps their hands. Its meaning isto pray for a happy life, a lucky harvest, a perfect combinationsbetween negatives and positives.

           Besides " throwing CON" is the " KY LAN" dance in " LONGTONG " festival. " LONG TONG" means going down to a field and begininga new crop. LONG TONG festival is held at villages in January everyyear and it includes 2 main parts: ceremony and festival. The firstpart is ceremony. It is held in a serious atmosphere, which displaysthe respecfulness of all people to gods through some offerings like thefried pork, and salty trays everyone brings to festival very early in themorning. Then "THAY MO" means the shaoman reads the composition andpraises for a happy new year. The second part is the festival takenplace with many funny games like " throwing con", dancing, singing,tugging.

          A very important performance during " LONG TONG festival"  is"KY LAN DANCE ". Before the festival part, a KY LAN group comes to visit allof the houses in the village to give best wishes to people and the hostsgive them LUCKY money. Then, a " KY LAN group " comes to festival andperfomes beautiful perfomances like : martial art, and dancing.

          Because of the interesting atmosphere and meaningful ideas,this festival has been kept over hundreds of generation in the Tay-Thaiethnicity. 

         Looking at the statue of women playing " TINH ". "TINH" is aparticular instrument of TAY, THAI, and NUNG ethnicities and it is used inTHEN rituals." TINH" is played in all important occasions like at the NewYear, at a new house, or at a wedding. The sound of TINH is a symbol of Tay folksongs and it lives together with people forever with the meaning likea song of moutains and forests.Nowadays, many performances of women playing "TINH" attend someimportant music liveshow on some offical channel of Viet Namtelecommunication. And they are enjoyed by the audiences very much.

          The last thing may be the most attractive thing in thisarea. It is the statue of 4 women dancing " Xoe". " Xoe" is atraditional dance of Tay-Thai ethnicity. It can not be lacked of insome important occassions and festivals like new house, new year,wedding. This special dance displays the solidarity and the love ofall people: the solidarity between citizen and soldier, the lovefor people, love for nature and love for the country. It alsodescribes the life and the struggle of people to gain the living.Moreover, it is believed to be the symbol for the intense living of the Tay-Thaiethnicity. And, it expresses the dream of a peaceful, prosperous andhappy life. Up till now, this nice dance is one of the particularculture of THAI , which contributes to build variety in Vietnamese'sculture. 

          In conclusion, this area is really very wonderful to me.It not only helps extend my knowledge about the costumes of Tay-Thaiethnicity and some interesting activities in some traditionalfestivals, but also makes me love the special culture of Tay-Thaiethnicity. I recognize that history has never been as boring as weused to think. If you have time, come to visit the Museum of theculture of Viet Nam Ethnics Groups at Thai Nguyen City so as to visitthe beauty of each region in our country. I am sure you will beinterested in Viet Nam's history because of how wonderful it is!