Embassy marks anniversary of Vietnam-Qatar relations

The embassy of Vietnam hosted a musical performance by Sac Viet, an emerging band, as part of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Qatar-Vietnam diplomatic relations.
The performance at Bait Al Sulaiti on Thursday had the presence of Vietnamese ambassador Tran Duc Hung, Qatar’s Department of Culture and Arts director Maryam al-Hammadi and other dignitaries.
Addressing the audience he said: “The music performance is part of a series of cultural events that the embassy of Vietnam in Qatar has organised to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with Qatar.
“For this year alone, a wide variety of cultural activities including art performances, movie screening, and cuisine festival have been organised for people-to-people exchanges between Vietnam and Qatar. Tonight, the band Sac Viet will introduce the traditional music of Vietnam, which is an indispensable part of our culture to the public of Qatar, foreign friends and Vietnamese community.”
The Vietnamese band gave a captivating performance true to the beautiful scenery and nature of their home country, using traditional musical instruments, mostly made out of bamboo. Most of the songs focused on the Vietnamese rural tradition such as the harvest season, the joy of villagers and other related issues.
Cao Dinh Phan, first secretary at the Vietnamese embassy and in charge of culture affairs, explained how some of the music instruments work. He said: “K’long put is a unique music instrument created by the ethnic minority in Central Highlands of Vietnam. The player does not need to touch the instrument directly. They just need to keep their hand near the top of the bamboo tube and clap. This will cause air currents to make a sound. K’long put is often played in the fields during the rice season. It is believed that the bamboo tubes of K’long put has close relations within the seed tubes. These tubes are also a place the soul of the “rice mother” stays.
“Hat Xam singing is a unique folk performance art form, created more than 700 years ago. Vietnam’s Chau Van Ceremony has been included in the list of 33 intangible cultural heritages of Vietnam and recognised as a World Heritage Site.”
Khalid al-Salim, director of the Music Affairs Centre at Qatar’s Ministry of Culture, stressed that the performance was highly entertaining and expressed the harmony of people with their surroundings, with unique musical instruments created from the materials available in nature. “It is a positive thing that we see that various embassies in Qatar are keen to spread their culture and besides this performance of Vietnam, the Centre has hosted other different Asian and Arab countries to showcase their music and culture.”
He stressed that such events help achieve mutual understanding, and to bring them together to maintain peaceful coexistence while embracing their differences.