The Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak in collaboration with Song Thuong Garden Co., Ltd. held a press conference on December 14 to introduce a musical play titled "Khat vong Dam San” (Dam San's aspiration).
A scene in the first chapter of the play. (Photo: baodaklak.vn)
Dak Lak is known for its epics about the social development history of the Central Highlands region, including the Great Epic of Sir Dam San. The Great Epic of Sir Dam San is a famous seven-chapter epic of the Ede ethnic minority people in the Central Highlands. The epic, which was collected by French ethnologist Sabatier in Dak Lak and published in Ede – French bilingual in Paris in 1927, is about the heroic chieftain Dam San.
In Vietnamese literature, the Dam San epic is one of the typical literature works created from the romantic imagination of the Ede people in the Central Highlands in ancient times, helping readers travel to the heroic past in the early days of the tribal alliance.
The epic was recognised as a national intangible culture heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2014.
The five-chapter play project 'Khat vong Dam San' proposed by the Song Thuong Garden Co., Ltd., was approved by the provincial People's Committee on April 14, 2021. Its author and general director is musician Nguyen Cuong.
The project aims to build a great work in Vietnamese music, contributing to efforts to restore and preserve the Ede ethnic culture in the Central Highlands.
Speaking at the press conference, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee H’Yim Kdoh expressed her hope that the play will contribute to restoring and preserving the cultural and historical value of the Ede ethnic minority group through the music stage.