Two sets of stone musical instruments from Khánh Sơn, approximately 2,500 to 3,000 years old, produce vibrant sounds that reflect the unique characteristics of the Central Highlands.
The stone musical instruments were officially recognized as national treasures by the Prime Minister in January. The artifacts are made from rhyolite porphyry, a type of natural stone predominantly found in the Khánh Sơn mountains (Khánh Hòa Province) extending to Bắc Ái (Ninh Thuận Province). The stone bars are gray-black and sturdy. When struck, they emit a sound that resonates clearly and beautifully, akin to the tones of bronze and steel.
The treasure has been roughly carved from cylindrical stone bars with a rugged appearance, featuring large, deep chisel marks and minimal refinement. Consequently, the surface of each bar’s head shows smooth wear, with diameters ranging from approximately 4.8 cm to 12.6 cm, which is where the striking occurs.
Khánh Sơn stone musical instruments. (Photo: Cultural Heritage Department).
The treasure’s dossier from the Cultural Heritage Department proves that this is a unique original artifact with a distinctive form.
The Khánh Sơn stone musical instruments were discovered by the family of Bo Bo Ren, an ethnic Raglai, at Dốc Gạo Mountain, Trung Hạp Commune (now Tô Hạp Town, Khánh Sơn District) around 1947 while they were farming. Based on the material, color, patina layers, and crafting techniques, the artifacts have been dated to approximately 2,500 to 3,000 years ago.
After an assessment, recognizing their rarity, the authorities encouraged Bo Bo Ren’s family to donate the stone instruments to the state in March 1979 for research, preservation, and public exhibition.
In 1980, the Archaeology Department of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Social Sciences, the Vietnam National History Museum, and the Vietnam Institute of Music Research conducted two surveys at the summit of Dốc Gạo Mountain, discovering over 500 pieces of stone fragments similar to the Khánh Sơn musical instruments, including several bars still in the process of being crafted and some that were broken. This indicates that the national treasure was made on-site and not transported from elsewhere.
At the end of March 2023, the artifact “returned” to the Khánh Hòa Provincial Museum after over 40 years of preservation at the Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts in Ho Chi Minh City.
Close-up of a Khánh Sơn stone instrument. (Photo: Cultural Heritage Department).
The treasure consists of two sets, each with six bars. In set A, the heaviest bar weighs 9 grams, while the lightest weighs 5 grams. In set B, the heaviest and lightest bars weigh 28.1 grams and 10.5 grams, respectively. The lengths of the 12 bars range from 45.6 cm to 113 cm.
Due to the material’s structure, the sound of the stone instruments is lively, both joyful and serene. When performed by artisans, listeners experience sounds reminiscent of birds singing echoing in the forest, sometimes resembling the sounds of cascading waterfalls.
According to the Cultural Heritage Department, the two sets of Khánh Sơn stone instruments can play familiar folk melodies of the ethnic groups in the Central Highlands and are also used to perform contemporary pieces in the Central Highlands style that meet modern requirements. As of 1980, over 50 compositions had been created, experimented with, and staged for the Khánh Sơn stone instruments and others. Most are solo, duet, or trio performances accompanied by traditional orchestras, with some pieces supporting solo or choral singing, or combining stone instruments with dance.
Professor and musician Lưu Hữu Phước, former director of the Vietnam Institute of Music Research, stated in December 1979: “The audience has been convinced that these rough, rugged, and mossy stone slabs are indeed ancient musical instruments that once accompanied the songs and dances of our ancestors.”
Historically, these treasures were used by the Raglai people to drive away wild animals and protect their crops. Later, during significant festivals such as burial ceremonies and rice harvest celebrations, the stone instruments were always the first to be played, regarded as a means of connecting humans with the earth and sky. The treasure dossier concludes: “This is a set of stone instruments of great value from a musicological perspective, dating back thousands of years, and is a characteristic artifact associated with the cultural life of the mountainous ethnic groups in Khánh Hòa Province.”
The performance “Instruments, Sing Along with Us” by artisan Bo Bo Hùng featuring the Khánh Sơn stone instruments, performed with the local artistic troupe in 2018.
Since 2020, Khánh Sơn District has surveyed and restored three systems of water stone instruments, maintaining the original design of the Raglai people. Each system consists of nine to 15 large, resonant stone bars arranged along natural water flows at three locations: Dốc Gạo Village (Tô Hạp Town), Ba Cụm Nam Commune, and Thành Sơn Commune. For performances, the district has crafted 10 sets, each containing 14 bars that can be used for solo and ensemble performances. Additionally, classes for teaching stone instruments have been established to pass on the cultural beauty created by our ancestors to future generations.
