Ha
Thi
Cau
(also
known
as
Ha
Thi
Nam)
was
born
in
1917
to
a
family
in
Y
Yen
District
in
Nam
Dinh
Province
that
has
seen
Xam
singing
for
three
generations.
Xam
singing
is
a
type
of
Vietnamese
folk
music
which
was
popular
in
the
North
of
Vietnam
and
generally
performed
by
blind
artists
who
wandered
from
town
to
town
to
earn
their
living
by
singing.
The
melodies
of
Xam
are
borrowed
from
different
types
of
Vietnamese
folk
music
and
themes
of
Xam
songs
are
often
drawn
from
popular
stories,
poems
and
legends
of
Vietnam.
In
singing
Xam,
the
artists
often
play
a
monochord
instrument
or
Erhu
as
a
self-accompaniment.
Sometimes
they
form
a
band
in
which
one
artist
sings
while
others
play
traditional
instruments.
As
a
child,
Ha
Thi
Cau
moved
with
her
family
to
Quang
Phuc
Town
in
Yen
Phong
Commune
of
Yen
Mo
District
in
Ninh
Binh
Province,
and
wandered
the
countryside
markets
and
Hanoi
with
her
parents
performing
Xam
to
earn
a
living.
Losing
her
father
at
a
young
age,
she
and
her
mother
joined
the
Xam
troupe
of
Master
Chanh
Truong
Mau,
who
owned
six
troupes
at
that
time.
She
married
Chanh
Truong
Mau
later,
to
become
his
eighteenth
wife
and
had
seven
children,
four
of
whom
died
of
smallpox.
Since
1977,
she
took
part
in
many
national
cultural
festivals
and
won
various
awards
as
she
was
the
only
doyenne
in
Vietnam
who
was
able
to
perform
most
of
the
Xam
melodies.
She
was
in
charge
of
organizing
a
cultural
program
to
celebrate
the
success
of
the
Fifth
National
Party
Conference
in
1981.
Ha
Thi
Cau
received
a
commendation
from
Voice
of
Vietnam
in
1998
and
the
special
award
‘Ninh
Binh
Cheo
Artisan’
at
the
Cheo
Festival
that
year.
In
2004,
she
was
given
the
title
‘Vietnamese
Folklorist’
by
the
Association
of
Vietnamese
Folklorists
and
the
title
‘Outstanding
Artist
of
Vietnam’
by
the
government.
She
also
received
the
Dao
Tan
Award
in
2008
for
her
valuable
contribution
in
preserving
Xam
singing.
According
to
Prof.
Hoang
Chuong,
director
of
the
Center
for
Preservation
and
Promotion
of
National
Culture,
it
was
not
easy
to
book
the
singer,
who
often
did
not
have
the
strength
to
last
through
an
entire
performance.
At
her
last
performance
in
January
2012
at
the
Xam
Ha
Thanh
Club,
she
replayed
the
song
that
brought
her
fame--‘Theo
Dang
Tron
Doi’
(Following
the
Party
to
Eternity).
Her
life
story
has
been
made
into
a
documentary
called
‘Xam
Do’
(Red
Xam),
directed
by
Luong
Dinh
Dung.
Due
to
her
severe
ailment,
she
was
not
able
to
recognize
many
people
since
the
beginning
of
2013.
Many
of
her
students
came
to
visit
her,
but
could
not
talk
to
her
anymore.
According
to
Director
Dung,
towards
the
end
she
only
opened
her
eyes
for
a
very
short
time,
saying
something
softly
which
could
not
be
heard,
and
then
lapsed
into
unconsciousness.
In
spite
of
effort
of
many
doctors,
she
passed
away
at
12.30pm
on
March
3
at
her
home.
Even
though
she
was
a
renowned
artist,
she
still
led
a
frugal
life
till
her
last
day,
living
with
her
daughter’s
family.
Director
Dung
commented
that
she
had
led
a
frugal
yet
devoted
life.
Living
on
mercies
of
others
since
young,
she
had
never
stopped
loving
Xam
singing
and
her
task
of
teaching
Xam
to
the
younger
generations,
said
Dung.
Even
on
the
last
day
of
her
life,
she
still
worried
about
who
would
continue
her
task
of
teaching
Xam
melodies.
Since
her
death
on
March
3,
her
students
and
relatives
have
continued
to
pay
there
respects
to
her
and
escorted
her
to
the
graveyard
in
Yen
Mo
District
of
Ninh
Binh
Province.
