Saigon Times Group is a leading Vietnamese media organization with prestigious business and consumer publications. After three decades of development, we have built a good reputation through our publications on economy, business and markets for Vietnamese and foreign readers.
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Saigon Times Group is a leading Vietnamese media organization with prestigious business and consumer publications. After three decades of development, we have built a good reputation through our publications on economy, business and markets for Vietnamese and foreign readers.
Basic
Free
Free access to daily domestic news, podcasts and videos
Premium
$5 $1 /month (VND 23,900)
MonthlyAnnual
Unlimited access to domestic news, podcasts, videos and magazine articles on current social / economic / trade / investment issues, commodity / financial/securities markets, M&A activity, FDI, local and foreign business communities and more.
Your payment method will then be automatically charged ₫ 899.000 every 365 days thereafter.
Your subscription will continue until you cancel.
You can cancel by using My account. Under My account, select "Unsubscribe" and then follow the instructions to cancel.
You can notify us of your intent to cancel at any time during your billing period. Cancellations take effect at the end of your current billing period.
Drum-making tradition passed down through generations
Doi Tam drums are famous for their exceptional quality and distinctive sound. To complete a single drum, artisans must go through numerous intricate steps requiring high skills. PHOTOS: NGUYEN HONG SON
Doi Tam Village in Duy Tien Town, Ha Nam Province, is one of Vietnam’s cradles of traditional drum-making. Situated at the northwestern foot of Mount Doi, this village is renowned not only for its exquisite drum craftsmanship but also for its unique cultural preservation.
Legend has it that in 987, two brothers, Nguyen Duc Nang and Nguyen Duc Ban, crafted a large drum to welcome King Le Dai Hanh for a plowing ceremony. From that point on, drum-making was passed down through generations, and the two brothers were honored as the founders of this craft. The ancient communal house in the center of the village still worships them today.
After more than a thousand years, the Doi Tam drum-making craft village continues to thrive with remarkable resilience. Currently, about 500 villagers are involved in drum-making, which includes five recognized artisans and around 30 skilled craftsmen. Many families rely on drum-making as their primary livelihood, contributing to a more stable and prosperous life than before.
Doi Tam drums are famous for their exceptional quality and distinctive sound. To complete a single drum, artisans must go through numerous intricate steps requiring high skills. PHOTOS: NGUYEN HONG SONThe first step involves selecting old, heartwood-rich jackfruit wood, then splitting it into “splints” and assembling them into the desired drum shape according to customer specifications
The stages of forming the drum body are meticulously performed to ensure a perfectly round shape with tightly fitting wooden pieces
Next, old buffalo hide is chosen, brought back, smoothed, and dried before being stretched over the drumheadOne of the most challenging steps is called “bưng trống”—stretching the buffalo hide onto the drumhead. This work not only demands technical skills but also keen hearing to ensure the correct pitch when finished.
All stages are performed manually and meticulously by skilled artisans
Removing the binding ropesThe decoration process, including smoothing, painting and applying patterns, completes a drum that holds both acoustic and aesthetic value, all done by hand
Despite enduring many ups and downs, residents in Doi Tam Village have persistently preserved and promoted their ancestral craft, contributing to the conservation of national cultural identity and affirming the brand of Vietnamese drums in the market
