INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY

IU-VNU- HCMC

REPORT

Subject: Vietnamese History and Culture

Topic: Dong Son drum

Name: Nguyen Tuyet Nhi

Student ID: BABAIU21475
Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Vo Van Sen

1
Table of Contents
I. Overview of Dong Son Culture...........................................................................................................2
II. Overview of Bronze drum....................................................................................................................4
History:...................................................................................................................................................5
Uses:........................................................................................................................................................5
Types:.....................................................................................................................................................6
III. The symbols of material cultural life are depicted on bronze drums..............................................8
a. Daily life..............................................................................................................................................8
b. Costume...............................................................................................................................................9
c. Religious concepts.............................................................................................................................10
d. Architecture.......................................................................................................................................10
e. Music.................................................................................................................................................11
IV. Lessons learned from meaning and culture through motifs on Dong Son bronze drums............11

I. Overview of Dong Son Culture.

The Collection of Antiquities of Dong Son Culture of Thanh Hoa Provincial

Museum (2019) writes: "Dong Son culture (about 7th century BC to 1st-2nd
century AD), is an archaeological culture of the metal age in Vietnam. Thanh Hoa
was the first place to discover Dong Son cultural relics in 1924 in Dong Son
village on the banks of the Ma River (now in Ham Rong ward, Thanh Hoa city). In
1934 Austrian archaeologist R.HeineGeldern proposed to name this culture the
Dongshan culture."

In addition, according to Hoang Thi Chien (2007), "In the cultural period of Dong
Son, the ancient Vietnamese of Thanh made tools to produce weapons, household
utensils, and musical instruments,.. extremely unique and flawless bronze. Dong
Son Thanh Hoa is not only rich in types, diverse in designs and sizes, but also has
high artistic value." She also added: " In the collection of Dong Son cultural

2
artifacts, the collection of copper axes is very rich, diverse in types, designs as well
as features of use. This collection comes in many varieties, but the most typical are
round-heeled blade axes, boat-shaped axes (some also called crescent moon-
shaped axes)." Ms. Hoang Thi Chien also said: "The production toolkit of rice
farmers is full of all kinds: Butterfly plow, axe, chisel, spade, hoe, sickle, pick... In
particular, the butterfly-shaped plow collection is a typical artifact of Dong Son
culture in Thanh Hoa. Collection of wing-shaped plows, collection of sickles,
picking, collection of animal statues, along with the patterns of CowU, rice
cotton ... decorations on copper drums, copper axes, and copper axes have reflected
the outstanding development in agricultural cultivation of Dong Son cultural
residents, bringing Dong Son society into the civilized period."

Moreover, in the history of the Vietnamese ethnic group, Mr. Cheng Nang Chung
(2019) also said: "The achievements of archaeological research in this period have
a great significance to establish the appearance of the Pre-Dong Son cultures in
different regions. These cultures developed and blended together to gradually
move towards a common culture, united in diversity: Dongshan Culture". He
added: "Archaeologists have also delved into many issues of Dongshan culture
such as metallurgy, economic activity, material and spiritual life, unique relics
such as Dong Son bronze drums, weapons, bronze jewelry." And he added: "This
period also had many important archaeological finds in the ground. Typically, the
discovery of more than two dozen Dong Son drums on the hills along the Red
River in Lao Cai city, or as the site at Dong Xa (Hung Yen), a Dong Son tomb
with hollowed-out tree trunks discovered randomly during the process of people
digging ditches for irrigation. These are contributions to the awareness of a
Dongshan cultural center in the far north."

Through the above studies, it can be seen that Dong Son culture has appeared since
about 800 years BC, once existed in some northern and northern provinces of
Vietnam such as Phu Tho, Yen Bai, Hoa Binh, Hanoi, Nam Dinh, NinhBinh, Ha
Nam, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh with the center of the temple area, and the
three major and main rivers of the Tonkin Delta which are the Red River, The Ma
River and the Lam River. This is the locally named culture where the markers were
first discovered near the Ma River area, Thanh Hoa.Over 80 years of discovery and
research, This culture is considered as the material basis for the birth of Van Lang
– Au Lac state, an early state of the Hung Kings era and going deeper than cultures

3
such as metallurgy, bronze, bronze decoration, spiritual material life culture and
especially Dong Son bronze drum.
Carving art in Dong Son art:
According to Tran Thanh Hien, "Dong Son art is a visual art that reaches the
pinnacle of posing. Dong Son ancient people have created a variety of artifacts,
ranging from tools, weapons, household appliances, to music, jewelry and art
statues. Dong Son bronze drum - an ancient instrument -is the most unique
representative work of this period. With exquisite carving techniques that are
traditional flowers of the nation. There is beauty in shape, the proportion of
decorative patterns is highly stylized, rich in genre."

In addition, according to Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Vien (2018) said: "The
HungVuong era as we know corresponds to major cultures: Phung Nguyen, Dong
Da, Go Mun, Dong Son, Hung Vuong era art is present in the collections of
artifacts of this period: stone, bronze, ceramic collection with thousands of
different types, diverse with extremely sophisticated shaping, shaping or carving
techniques, culminating in Dong Son fine art.". Thereby showing that the art of
carving in Dong Son art is a type that can be said to be extremely elaborate and
skillful with objects created in abundance and diversity with artifacts such as tools,
utensils, household appliances, musical instruments, jewelry, art statues... etc.
Among them, Dong Son drum is the most typical work with the uniqueness of the
ancient music of this period. The drum is skillfully sculpted with many
sophisticated and unique features with the quintessence of national traditions. With
the images sculpted in each object extremely sophisticated and delicate, making
those objects more vivid and eye-catching. The totality of carving art in the
Dongshan dynasty has made this type of form more colorful, meaningful and
imprinted for this period.

II. Overview of Bronze drum.

Bronze drums are historic objects that can be found in several Southeast Asian and
southern Chinese cultures. The lost-wax casting technique was used to cast the
bronze drums. The drums served as cult artifacts as well as musical instruments.

4
They feature geometric designs, depictions of daily life and combat, as well as
images of animals, birds, and vessels.
History:
The earliest written records describing the drum appeared in the Shi Ben, a
Chinese book dated from the 3rd century BC. The Hou Hanshu, a late Han dynasty
book dated to the 5th century AD, describes how the Han dynasty general Ma
Yuan collected bronze drums from northern Vietnam to melt down and recast into
bronze horses.

Bronze drums are venerated in Vietnamese folk religion. Thần Đồng Cổ (bronze
drum god) along with excavated bronze drums were worshipped in several temples
such as the Đồng Cổ Temple in Thanh Hóa and the Cao Sơn Temple in Hanoi. The
14th century book Việt Điện U Linh Tập mentioned the Bronze drum cult as early
as in 1020.

In 1902, a collection of 165 large bronze drums was published by Austrian

archaeologist Franz Heger, who subdivided them into a classification of four types.
Chinese archaeologists classify them into the heavier Yue drums, including the
Đông Sơn drums, and the Dian drums, which has eight subtypes.

In China, during the Great Leap Forward campaign from 1958 to 1960, people
were mobilized to collect all metal materials, including ancient bronze wares, were
melted down to producing steel in backyard furnaces. Many ancient bronze drums
were destroyed as the result

Uses:
- In the burial ceremony of major officials such as muong officials and summer
days of Muong people, Hoa Binh province.
- During the "thunder god" sacrifice ceremony of the Le people, in Hainan Island,
China.
- The drums were played with orchestra during the feudal dynasty of the Hau Le
dynasty, in the book "Outline".

5
- The bronze drum was used in the military during the Tran Dynasty according to
an article by Tran Phu, the Yuan dynasty's ambassador to Dai Viet.
- Drums turned into burial objects after the dead as in the tomb of Tang
DongShan, Thanh Hoa province
In general, we see that the main function of the drum is still the function of an
instrument. The bronze drum also symbolizes the power of the chieftains of old.
Often the Kings would reward the chiefs with bronze drums. That would
demonstrate the State's authority over autonomous regions, relative freedom.

Types:

Đông Sơn drum (Heger I)

Đông Sơn drums were produced from about 600 BC
until the third century CE by the Đông Sơn culture
centered in the Red River Delta. They were classified
into five groups by the Vietnamese scholar Pham
Huy Thong. One iconic pattern found on the top of
all Đông Sơn drums is a "star" image, with various
number of spikes radiating out from a center, its
meaning is unknown at present. The majority of
drums found have a 12-pointed star image, while Cổ Loa, Ngọc Lũ, Sông Đà,
Thượng Lâm feature a 14-angled star. The Hoàng Hạ drum has a 16-pointed star
and Bình Đà drum has a 6-pointed star. Đông Sơn drums are also found in the
islands of Indonesia and were discovered as far as in Java and New Guinea and is
seen as proof of trade connections between these regions.
Dian drum

Dian was a kingdom in Yunnan, southwest China,

that existed from the third to the second century
BC. The Dian people were skilled metalworkers
who cast massive bronze artifacts using both the
piece mould method and the lost wax method.
Large bronze drums packed with cowrie shells

6
were played during the ritual burials of Dian nobility. The drums' tops were taken
off and swapped out with bronze lids, and now the bronze drums occasionally
serve as a kind of ritual vessel that holds votive items. Shizhaishan type drums are
Heger I drums that were discovered in Yunnan in significant numbers, including
those found in Shizhaishan (1975) and Shaguo (1983).
Wanjiaba drum

In 1976, Chinese archaeologists discovered a Type I drum in

Wanjiaba ( 万 家 坝 ), Chuxiong prefecture, Yunnan. They
usually feature simple or no decorations. By 1990, Chinese
archaeologists had identified 29 Wanjiaba-type bronze drums,
of which 26 were found in Yunnan, one in Vietnam, and two
in Thailand. As a result, Chinese scholars began to discard Heger's classification to
support the view that southern China, not Vietnam had yielded the earliest bronze
drums, and that Wanjiaba was the birthplace of the bronze drum.[10] This claim
has fueled objections from Vietnamese archaeologists who classify Wanjiaba
drums, also found in Vietnam, to belong in the late Heger I period.
Heger II (Li-Lao drum)

Franz Heger classifies the Li-Lao drums,

which are called after the Li people of
Hainan, as type II to separate them from
the Dian-Dong Son drums (Heger I). Li-
Lao drums have been discovered in the
Muong highlands, the Red River Delta,
Guangdong, and Guangxi. [11] The Li-
Lao drums are distinguished by their
substantial sizes, wide diameters, and
frog-like designs. However, compared to
their predecessor, Li-Lao drum decorations are significantly less elaborate and
stunning. There are still some Muong communities that use the drums.
Heger III (Karen drums)

7
Karen drums a decorated with 12-pointed stars and two pairs of frogs on the
tympanum surface. They are found in Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar and
Yunnan. They are still being used by the Karenni people as rain drums.

Heger IV
Tân Độ drum, a Heger III type drum, found in Hà Tây, Vietnam Heger IV drums
are found in China and Vietnam, they are sometimes decorated by Earthly
Branches animals and other Chinese elements.

Pejeng drum
Pejeng drums are Bronze Age kettledrums being made across the archipelago of
Indonesia between the 1st and 2nd century AD. Examples include Moko drums in
the island of Alor. Some scholars identify the design and decorations have their
likely origin in the Đông Sơn culture of Vietnam. In Bali, the Moon of Pejeng is
the largest drum of this type.

III. The symbols of material cultural life are depicted on bronze drums
a. Daily life
Mr. Tran Phu wrote: "Dong Son bronze drum has been beautiful in terms of
creating and even more unique in terms of shaping in the symbolic decoration of
cosmic concepts, customs of human life. All the universe, heaven and earth, rivers
and mountains, all species... can only be confirmed by human intelligence and
unifying a theme that is the life of the inhabitants of rice farming during the Hung
Kings.". He added: "In the blank decorations of Dong Son, the few people are
pounding rice with simple lines distilled from the reality of life.
Mr. Tran Van Dat researched: "Patterns such as sun, stilt houses, rice pounders,
flying storks, performing deer, boats and drummers, dancing, responding are very
common, can be found easily on many bronze drums in circular rims on the face,
mourning and sometimes on That shows that Dong Son copper drum is considered
a product of developed agricultural civilization and also a typical economic sector.
Dongshan is known to be a place very proficient in water farming, and researchers
have also shown that in dongshan's time, grains were increasingly popular. Motifs

8
such as rice pounders, pensioners, drummers, flying storks, dancers and responders
are seen at the scene, the body of the drum and the circles on the face, which
clearly depicts the cultural life of Dong Son people about a country picture in the
prosperous period of agriculture as well as rice agriculture with the image of
people doing seasonal rice, above which are the wings of the birds flying, the song
welcomes the end of the season, they sing together, pound the rice, welcome the
new grain and sing together in the moonlight, thereby showing the civilized culture
of the Dong Son people. Bronze statues, toad statues, cattle and water snakes have
shown the image of rice agriculture at this period extremely developed, excess
production, conditional or well-off houses will have large and copper granaries in
their homes.

In addition, fishing and hunting also developed during this period. Patterns such as
boats, race boats, warships, fish bones, snakes and fishes, show that fishing at that
time was equally important. People know how to exploit forests to make boats as a
means of transportation as well as living tools such as hooks, tridents, hooks,
axes ... used to catch fish, snails and also used to fight foreign invaders. In
particular, the boat motif is also considered by researchers to be a big development,
because people know how to expand relations with neighboring countries and
tribes by sea to exchange trade. In addition, motifs such as the patterns of deer,
peacock, herringbird, crocodile, hound, raft, flying bird, bean bird have also clearly
shown the hunting craft of Dong Son people so that they can have more food to
survive or exchange with other tribes.

9
b. Costume

The clothes depicted on the drum are of such types: short double-bodied shirt, long
double-bodied shirt, skirt, loincloth,... They wore a variety of hats, braided
different hairstyles of men and dancers showing that growing lychee,
complementing, growing strawberries and weaving fabrics were popular and
popular, they produced silk, made flags on festival days, loincloths covered their
bodies, flags. On the drum body, there is also a figure holding the canvas high,
with his right hand holding a triangular thread frame.

c. Religious concepts
Mr. Tran Quoc Vuong's research: "The sun symbol occupies a central role on the
bronze drum associated with the sun-worshipping form of the inhabitants of Dong
Son.". He added: "The form of sun worship not only signifies the relationship of
man (the cultivator) with nature, but also the social relationship (obedience)
between the inhabitants and the chieftain (king): The ancient 'kings' identified
themselves with the sun."
Due to the period of being closely associated with rice farming, loving animal
beliefs, the engraving of the star in the center of the drum is symbolized by the
people to worship the sun god representing the supreme symbol of nature, sun, fire,
water, earth, wind and mountains are mystical phenomena that help them have a
peaceful and happy life. Because the sun is believed to be a source of energy,

10
providing light and life for people and plants so that they can work, grow crops and
raise livestock. That leads to gratitude and devotion sent through the motif on the
bronze drum. Not only expressing their religious concept through worshipping the
god of nature, dongshan people also express their gratitude. Remembering
ancestors through human motifs dressed in bird feathers, because according to the
ancient concept, birds are human ancestors. Thereby, we see that the people of
Dongshan are inherently agricultural, so they follow the belief of prosperity and
the belief of Shen Nong,.. so the motifs on the bronze drum not only represent the
culture of living life, but also a culture of spiritual beliefs, many researchers have
pointed out that it is also worship ceremonies such as: roaring inauguration,
seasonal prayer, soul reception and funeral, celebration of new rice,..
d. Architecture
According to archaeologists on the bronze drum appeared stilt houses with curved
domes and round domes, 2 pillars at the head, two ends and in the middle, with
ladders to the floor. According to our synthesis and analysis, researchers believe
that houses with curved roofs are people's houses and like curved roof houses,
dongshan people at this time talked about architecture very developed when
distinguishing between houses and churches by engraving house pattern with 2
different roof motifs. Just as the curved roof is a house, with a round roof with a
person standing in the middle, the sides of the door have slabs that researchers
consider this to be a church because it is believed to be related to ancient worship
beliefs.
e. Music
With the development of dance, the musical art is equally developed when the
brass drum is also considered a musical instrument. According to the pattern
engraved on copper drums, researchers suggested that at that time the most
commonly used music was hoarse and drums. Although there is much controversy
about whether drums are instruments or not. But either way, many researchers are
learning about how to try using brass drums in music. Whether the drum handle in
the house or on the boat is used to keep the beat, this meaning is drawn from the
pattern of the person holding the drum on the boat. Another interpretation of the
researcher is that for acting, drums are placed on the floor and someone sits or
stands on the floor holding a stick. Regardless of the usage, it can be seen that
Dong Son people are very developed in art forms and are preserved through
sophisticated motifs and patterns on copper drums.

11
IV. Lessons learned from meaning and culture through motifs on Dong Son
bronze drums
The bronze drum is the message that makes the most concentrated symbol of
achievements in economic, cultural and social activities at that time. Dong Son
drums were discovered throughout the territory of Vietnam. Dong Son drum is a
product of the developed agricultural civilization, is an extremely precious artifact,
one of the deep pride of Vietnamese culture.Today, hundreds of copper drums are
discovered and kept and displayed solemnly in national and local museums. From
there we can draw lessons such as "Drinking water"; "Eating fruit remembers the
planter" to let the next generations know and understand the glorious traditions of
his fathers, preserving and preserving these cultural values is a way of appreciating
the past, appreciating the things his father did in history. It is also a way to orient
today's generation to understand cultural values, thereby cultivating and nurturing
the love of the homeland, the country, and national pride, which is especially
important in today's period of international integration. Through that, we want to
actively promote the preservation and promotion of the values of cultural heritages
in general and the typical traditional cultural heritage of the Vietnamese nation in
particular. In order to strengthen solidarity, arouse pride in the traditional struggle
for water building and water retention of the Vietnamese people.

Reference:
https://nghiencuulichsu.com/2014/10/02/trong-dong-dong-son-va-nen-nong-
nghiep-co-dai/
https://vannghethainguyen.vn/2018/06/30/hoa-van-tren-trong-dong-dong-son/
https://vnexpress.net/giai-ma-hoa-tiet-trong-dong-dong-son-4264988.html
https://nghiencuulichsu.com/2015/06/03/may-y-kien-ve-trong-dong-va-tam-thuc-
viet-co/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronze_drum
http://baotanglichsu.vn/vi/Articles/3101/16677/trong-djong-djong-son-hien-vat-
tieu-bieu-cua-van-minh-viet-nam-thoi-dung-nuoc.html

12
13