Young Co Tu creators keep cultural identity alive in digital era
DNO - In the digital age, many young people in Da Nang’s mountainous areas are actively becoming "fire keepers" for the Co Tu ethnic identity by promoting and spreading traditional culture through social media platforms.
“Lang Co Tu”
On weekends, many are surprised at seeing Colau Cao, a 27-year-old Literature teacher at the Dong Giang Ethnic Boarding Secondary School, working hard on his "side job".
With only a smartphone, Colau Cao travels across the villages, capturing beautiful moments of Co Tu culture and people, and then uploading them to his social media channel “Lang Co Tu” (Co Tu Village).
Colau Cao said that he has chosen his own approach in his journey to preserve and spread his homeland’s cultural identity. Bringing Co Tu culture to social networking platforms helps viewers have a new, complete and attractive perspective on the life and traditions of the Co Tu people in western Quang Nam (former).
To ensure authenticity, he carefully researches and verifies information from people and village elders who are knowledgeable about traditional customs.
In addition, he spends a lot of time filming, producing and explaining each scene to convey the depth of Co Tu culture to viewers. His videos have gained wide attention, with hundreds of thousands of likes and shares.
Colau Cao plans to integrate Co Tu culture into regular classes, and extracurricular experiential activities at school so that pupils can directly experience and be more proud of the beauty of their ethnic traditional culture.
Spreading community values
Along with Colau Cao, more young people have actively been involved in turning to digital media to promote their culture, including Alang Brac (Ben Hien Commune), Alang Thi Cong (Song Kon Commune), Alang Hoang (Song Vang Commune), and Alang Bac (Hung Son Commune).
Leveraging the power of social networks, young Co Tu creators frequently share stories about daily life, especially traditional culture associated with indigenous values of the mountainous region.
Among them, TikToker Alang Brac has gone viral for his creative and captivating storytelling about Co Tu villages, attracting millions of viewers nationwide.
Notably, musician Zoram Huu Danh (also known as Danh Zoram) has brought Co Tu culture into music through songs like “Mung Guol Moi” (Celebrating the New Communal House), combining traditional and modern elements to renew national identity in the digital art space.
“As a Co Tu, I always consider preserving and spreading traditional culture as the pride and responsibility of the young generation. In the digital age, if used wisely, social media can be an effective bridge to bring the image of people, customs, language and music of Co Tu people closer to the public at home and abroad" said Danh Zoram.