HÀ NỘI — Drums serve as the rhythmic and structural heartbeat of traditional Vietnamese musical ensembles, theatre and court performances. Although familiar, they carry a world of stories about culture, history, arts and crafts that are told to audiences at the One Drum, A Single Drumbeat, A Thousand Years of Civilisation programme in Hà Nội.

Held at the Temple of Literature, the event is part of the second Thăng Long-Hà Nội Festival, which is being celebrated across the city until September 20. The programme brings people from renowned drum-making localities nationwide to gather and enchant visitors.

The drum makers display their artistic instruments from Đọi Tam Village in Ninh Bình Province, Lâm Yên Village in Đà Nẵng, Bình An Village in Tây Ninh and localities in the Central Highlands known for their great bronze drums.

 

Dr Lê Xuân Kiêu, director of the Temple of Literature's Centre for Cultural and Scientific Activities, said: "Through exhibitions, performances and interactive experiences, the programme aims to help the public better appreciate the role of artisans and the community in preserving and passing down craft knowledge across generations.

"In the Temple of Literature, the sound and performance of the drum create a meaningful connection between tangible heritage and intangible cultural values, as well as between tradition and contemporary life."

In addition to the drums, tales about the instrument are also told through artefacts, documents and images along with crafting toolkits.

Visitors will have the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of a variety of Vietnamese drums. They can also explore their cultural and artistic values as well as the raw materials, professional experience and unique craftsmanship that enables craft villages to create products found nowhere else.

Artisan and Chairman of the Đọi Tam Drums Production and Trading Association Phạm Trí Trong said that for a complete drum, craftspeople must work on three main processes: preparing buffalo hide, constructing the wooden frame and then combining them into the final instrument.

 

Every stage of the process demands meticulous care, as even the smallest mistake can compromise the drum's durability and sound quality.

Traditionally, drumheads use buffalo hide and bodies are built from aged jackfruit wood, which is known for resisting warps and cracks. Craftsmen carefully calculate stave counts based on size, selecting curved, flexible wood for a tight fit. Natural lacquer is then sealed into the joints to strengthen the drum's overall structure.

“The drum sound is really familiar to the Vietnamese people. They are heard in national festivals, village gatherings, spiritual rituals and schools. Whether it is used, all are intimately connected to the community's daily life," said Trong.

"In our craft, there are things that cannot simply be learned from books. One must accumulate experience firsthand. We pass down the techniques exactly as our predecessors did, driven by the desire not only to sustain the trade, but also to preserve the soul of the Đội Tam drum and the essence of Vietnamese culture."

 

Artisan and collector Đặng Minh Tâm noted that each drum embodies a unique story reflecting the local way of life, culture and the skilled craftsmanship of its maker.

Drums from the Central Highlands are crafted using a distinctive method. The drum body is typically carved from a single solid log, hollowed out immediately after the tree is felled.

Craftsmen use burning cogon grass inside the cavity to achieve the desired wall thickness, a process that also helps protect the wood from termites and shapes the instrument's timbre.

The programme will run until September 19 at the Temple of Literature at 58 Quốc Tử Giám Street, Hà Nội. — VNS