A festival celebrating the traditional Then singing and tinh lute music of the Tay ethnic minority will open Nov. 21 in Binh Lieu, a mountainous border commune in northeastern Vietnam's Quang Ninh region, bringing together folk artists, young performers and local communities to preserve a centuries-old cultural tradition.
The 2026 Tay Then Heritage Festival, themed “Then melodies of the borderlands”, will begin at December 25 Square with performances highlighting the cultural and spiritual significance of Then and efforts to pass the tradition on to younger generations.
A musical tradition rooted in spiritual life
Then is a traditional form of ritual singing practiced by the Tay, Nung and Thai ethnic communities in northern Vietnam. Rooted in folk beliefs, Then ceremonies traditionally involve songs, music and symbolic rituals that express people's hopes for good health, peace, prosperity and harmony with nature.
In traditional ceremonies, Then practitioners serve as intermediaries between the human and spiritual worlds, performing songs that tell of symbolic journeys to seek blessings and protection for their communities.
The singing is commonly accompanied by the dan tinh, a traditional long-necked lute with a gourd-shaped resonator. Its gentle, resonant sound provides the musical foundation for Then performances and has become a distinctive symbol of Tay cultural identity.
Beyond its ceremonial role, Then has also developed into a form of folk performance that celebrates everyday life, community bonds and cultural heritage. Its melodies and stories are passed down through generations, often through direct teaching between experienced practitioners and younger learners.
In 2019, UNESCO inscribed the Practices of Then by Tay, Nung and Thai ethnic groups in Vietnam on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, recognizing the tradition's cultural importance and the need to safeguard it.
Bringing generations together through music
This year's festival will focus on the preservation and transmission of Then traditions through performances by folk artists and young people.
The opening program will unfold in three parts: “Then: From its roots”, “Passing down the sounds of Then” and “Then welcomes a new season”.
A highlight will be a large-scale community performance featuring 100 students and young people singing Then and playing the dan tinh alongside experienced practitioners.
The performance is intended to demonstrate how younger generations are learning and carrying forward a tradition that remains closely connected to the cultural identity of ethnic minority communities in Vietnam's northern borderlands.
The festival will also feature People's Artist Trieu Thuy Tien, vice president of the Lang Son provincial association for the preservation of ethnic folk songs and head of the Then singing and dan tinh club at the Lang Son Provincial Cultural Center.
She will join artists from Lang Son and Binh Lieu in a series of performances bringing together different interpretations of Then music.
Visitors invited to experience Tay cultural heritage
The celebrations will continue Nov. 22 at Binh Lieu Central Market, where visitors will have opportunities to learn about Then through workshops, exhibitions and conversations with traditional artists.
Activities will include displays of historical materials, musical instruments and traditional costumes, along with demonstrations of how the dan tinh is made.
A short introductory class, “Artists pass Then on to children”, will allow young participants to learn directly from experienced performers.
Visitors will also be able to take part in activities through a special “Then heritage festival passport”, designed to encourage hands-on cultural experiences.
The festival will feature a food area called “Flavors of Tay Binh Lieu”, offering traditional Tay dishes, as well as stalls selling local specialties under Vietnam's One Commune One Product, or OCOP, program.
Preserving heritage while supporting cultural tourism
For Tay communities in Binh Lieu, Then singing and dan tinh music are more than artistic expressions. They are part of a living cultural tradition that connects generations through shared beliefs, language, music and community practices.
By bringing traditional practitioners together with students and young performers, the festival aims to strengthen the transmission of cultural knowledge and encourage greater public participation in heritage preservation.
Local authorities also hope the event will help introduce Binh Lieu's cultural traditions to a wider audience and support plans to develop the festival into a regional cultural and tourism event in the future.
