05 July 2007

Mekong River, Regional Culture Featured at U.S. Festival

Northern Ireland, Virginia share spotlight at annual event in Washington

 

Six-year-old Joseph Fochtman from Williamsburg, Virginia, practices the drum with a member of the Bahnar Rongao Gong and Drum Ensemble at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington June 28. (Janine Sides/State Dept.)

Six-year-old Joseph Fochtman practices the drum at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington June 28. (Janine Sides/State Dept.)

By Samuel Hood Burke
Staff Writer

Washington — Music and crafts of the Mekong River region are sharing the spotlight at the annual Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the National Mall in Washington.

For nearly four decades, among some of the United States’ most recognized landmarks, institutions and museums, a celebration of folk culture from around the world takes place in tents and stages on the grounds of the National Mall. The festival is organized by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.

The folklife of more than 60 nations has been explored in the past, but in 2007, the 41st year of the festival, the rich cultures of the Mekong River region and Northern Ireland are featured with musical performances, craft demonstrations, exhibitions and tastes of traditional foods. Also a theme at the 2007 festival are exhibits that trace the West African, Native American and English roots of the culture of the state of Virginia.

 

The Bahnar Rongao Gong and Drum Ensemble performs at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, June 28. The Vietnamese ensemble encouraged the audience to participate in the ritual dance incorporating slow-moving traditional beats. (Janine Sides/State Dept.)

The Bahnar Rongao Gong and Drum Ensemble performs at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. (Janine Sides/State Dept.)

Two million Americans trace their heritage to the Mekong River region. The river is the 10th longest in the world and, because it runs through Vietnam, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and the Chinese province of Yunnan, it is considered a cradle of culture.

The Gong and Drum Ensemble from Vietnam encouraged the audience to come onto the stage to participate in the ritual dance incorporating slow-moving traditional beats.

La Thi Thuy, a spokeswoman for the ensemble, said the ceremonial dance is customary in the Mekong River region to celebrate new harvests, weddings or a new home. Visitors to the folklife festival are observing and taking part in a tradition that “connects members of the village” and gives a “very special sense of community,” she said.

At the family tent set up with activities for children to learn about Mekong River craft traditions and mural painting, children learned to write characters from the Mekong River language and Naxi calligraphy of the Yunnan province.

Also featured at the festival in the Mekong River tents were performances of Vietnamese opera, Thai shadow puppetry, Cambodian classical dance and Chinese gourd flute music.

The festival ends July 8.

(This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://www.america.gov)