Ariya singing art listed as national intangible cultural heritage

On July 20, Mr. Nguyen Van Hoa, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Khanh Hoa province, said that the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism has just issued a Decision to certify the art of Ariya singing of the Cham people in Khanh Hoa province (formerly Ninh Thuan) to be included in the list of national intangible cultural heritage.

Ariya is a type of literature of the Cham people, composed in the form of poetry in the Akhar Thrah script used for singing and reciting and passed down through many generations by memory, in the form of handwritten text in Cham script. Ariya also provides valuable resources for research on the history, language, literature, art, beliefs, religion, society, love and education of the Cham people in Ninh Thuan (now Khanh Hoa province).

Ancient Cham documents. PHOTO: THIEN NHAN

In the Cham villages of old Ninh Thuan, only a few families of dignitaries and artisans still preserve Ariya handwritten manuscripts, written on many different types of paper, which is evidence of the existence and development of a culture rich in identity. However, many manuscripts are now worn out and damaged over time, so conservation measures are needed.

The Cham people in the old Ninh Thuan province currently have about 19,239 households with 85,343 people (accounting for 11% of the province's population), living mainly in the districts of Ninh Phuoc, Thuan Nam, Ninh Hai, Ninh Son and Thuan Bac.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nghe-thuat-hat-ngam-ariya-vao-danh-muc-di-san-van-hoa-phi-vat-the-quoc-gia-185250720213852839.htm