Published:  00:00 Saturday - July 11, 2009

Local authorities in the Central Highland province of Kon Tum are joining hands to preserve 12 sets of precious gongs that are possessed by the Brau ethnic minority group in Bo Y commune.

The gongs, which are in different sizes, were discovered by local officials during a recent survey.

To celebrate the Central Highlands’ gong culture, which was recognised by UNESCO as a unique part of the world’s heritage in December 2005, an international gong festival will be organised in Gia Lai province from November 8-11.

The festival, the first of its kind in the country, is expected to attract the participation of gong art troupes from several Vietnamese ethnic groups and regional countries such as Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia and Indonesia. Various activities, including religious ceremonies accompanied by gong orchestras, contests, seminars and exhibitions will be held as parts of the event.

Vietnamese gongs consist of two main types, cong and chieng. Cong has a knob in the middle, while chieng has none. Cong makes deep bass sounds, but melodies have to be coaxed out of chieng.