It is not even the end of the sixth lunar month, but I have already heard elderly men in my neighborhood enthusiastically asking one another how the upcoming Autumn offering ceremony will be organized at the village communal house, and whether the heads of the clans have made plans to meet yet. It may seem strange that amid the bustle of city life, these elderly men are passionately talking about village affairs. The village communal house is not far away either, just a few dozen meters from my house. “The city also began with villages. Preserving the roots of the village means preserving its culture for future generations. You young people should remember that,” they would tell me whenever I asked.

Born in 1987, Pa Co man Nguyen Xuan Bay from Ra Looc village - A Soc hamlet, Hong Bac commune (now A Luoi 2 commune) came to traditional music with a pure, instinctive love. “I learned by myself, I felt for myself, and I listened the rhythms that echoed from village festivals, through the hands and breaths of the elders, then practiced on my own,” Bay shared.

Going through many generations, the traditional drum-making craft of the Co Tu people has gradually faded, remaining only in the memories of a few elders. In Doi Village, Khe Tre Commune, artisan and village elder Vuong Van Cua is one of the last people still preserving the ancient secrets of making traditional Co Tu drums.

The Co Tu people in hamlet 5, Nam Dong commune (merged from Huong Xuan, Thuong Nhat and Huong Son communes) still call Village Elder Tran Dinh Lua (72 years old) the “living treasure” of their village. To this day, he is one of the few remaining people who preserve the sacred sound of the gong that has been intertwined with generations of the Co Tu people.

For the Pa Co people in Ra Looc – A Soc Hamlet, A Luoi 2 Commune (a merger of Hong Bac, Quang Nham, A Ngo, and A Luoi township), village elder Nguyen Van Trinh is like an ancient tree.