An Giang holds ceremony to receive UNESCO certificate recognizing the Festival of Lady of the Land of Sam Mountain

On the same day, the Provincial People's Committee organized the Opening Ceremony of the Ba Chua Xu Mountain Sam Festival 2025. The program is expected to have about 2,000 delegates from the Central, the Mekong Delta region and Ho Chi Minh City along with a large number of people in the province, tourists and pilgrims to attend.

Unique Festival of Lady of the Land of Sam Mountain

These are important events to honor and promote the heritage of the Sam Mountain Lady Festival of the province, while promoting the traditional cultural heritage values ​​of An Giang province to the domestic and foreign communities.

The Via Ba Chua Xu festival in Sam mountain is the largest spiritual festival in the Mekong Delta. Every year, An Giang province welcomes more than 8 million visitors, of which more than 4 million come to visit and enjoy the Via Ba festival.

The Ba Chua Xu Festival on Sam Mountain is held annually. The festival lasts from January to April of the lunar calendar, with the main ceremony starting from the 22nd to the 27th of April of the lunar calendar. At this time, visitors from all over flock to the top of Sam Mountain and the Ba Chua Xu Temple to pay homage to the procession of the Ba Chua Xu statue from Sam Mountain to the top of the mountain.

The Via Ba Chua Xu Nui Sam Festival includes spiritual rituals combined with cultural and artistic performances. For a long time, people in some provinces and cities have considered Ba Chua Xu Nui Sam as a holy mother in the goddess worship belief, always protecting and supporting the people.

The festival is a fusion of art, culture, customs and rich life of the Kinh, Khmer, Cham and Chinese communities in Chau Doc city, An Giang province in particular and residents of the Southwest region in general.

The restoration ceremony of the statue of Ba Chua Xu.

The organization of the UNESCO certificate reception ceremony and the opening of the Ba Chua Xu Sam Mountain Festival aims to honor, propagate and widely promote the heritage values ​​of An Giang to a wide range of people and tourists at home and abroad.

Raising awareness of the domestic and international community about the cultural, historical and meaningful values ​​of the Ba Chua Xu Festival in Sam Mountain. Through that, enhancing the responsibility of all levels, sectors and localities in the work of preserving and promoting the values ​​of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

Thereby, promoting the historical and cultural values ​​of the land and people of An Giang, affirming the rich cultural identity of the Kinh, Hoa, Cham, Khmer ethnic communities, introducing typical local products, promoting tourism development in the direction of sustainable development.

The journey to becoming a representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity

Recognizing the importance of the Via Ba festival, since June 2016, the leaders of An Giang province have actively prepared a dossier for the Via Ba Chua Xu Sam Mountain Festival to submit to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for inclusion in the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

In May 2020, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism submitted a document to the Prime Minister allowing the Ministry to coordinate with relevant ministries, branches and localities to develop a heritage dossier expected to be submitted to UNESCO, including the Festival of Ba Chua Xu Mountain Sam.

In June 2020, the Government Office announced Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam's opinion on the plan to compile dossiers of Vietnam's typical intangible cultural heritages to submit to UNESCO, including the Ba Chua Xu Festival at Sam Mountain.

In January 2021, the People's Committee of An Giang province issued Plan No. 46/KH-UBND on developing a national nomination dossier for the Ba Chua Xu Festival of Sam Mountain to submit to UNESCO for inclusion in the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

From May 2021 to February 2022, the dossier of the Ba Chua Xu Sam Mountain Festival was carried out in accordance with legal regulations and the People's Committee of An Giang province submitted it for appraisal from the National Cultural Heritage Council; Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

In May 2023, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism sent a document requesting the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO to review the dossier of the Ba Chua Xu Festival on Sam Mountain for the 2024 review period.

Ba Chua Xu Temple on Sam Mountain welcomes millions of visitors every year.

In July 2023, the Secretariat of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage sent Official Dispatch CLT/LHE/23/0199900015 to the Department of Cultural Heritage confirming that the dossier of the Festival of Lady Chua Xu of Sam Mountain is being appraised for consideration of registration in the 2024 review cycle at the 19th meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee of the 2003 Convention, held in Paraguay from December 2, 2024 to December 7, 2024.

From August 2023 to May 2024, the People's Committee of An Giang province will continue to supplement and complete the dossier of the Ba Chua Xu Festival on Sam Mountain at the request of the Secretariat of the 2003 Convention on the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

In December 2024, the People's Committee of An Giang province established a Working Group to protect the dossier of the Ba Chua Xu Mountain Sam Festival approved at the 19th session of the Intergovernmental Committee of the 2003 Convention.

After a process of active, urgent and responsible preparation, on December 4, 2024, in the capital Asuncion, Paraguay, within the framework of the 19th Session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage 2003, Vietnam's "Ba Chua Xu Festival of Sam Mountain" was officially recognized by UNESCO as a Representative Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The program includes 4 parts: Part I: UNESCO certificate reception ceremony; Part II: Opening of the Festival of Lady of Sam Mountain in 2025; Part III: Art program with many special performances; Part IV: Incense offering ceremony at Thoai Ngoc Hau Tomb and Lady of Sam Mountain Temple, Sam Mountain Ward.

The program is at the provincial level, the host unit is the People's Committee of An Giang province. The coordinating units include the National Commission for UNESCO in Vietnam; the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The implementing units are the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of An Giang province and the People's Committee of Chau Doc city.

The program was broadcast live on VTV; An Giang Radio and Television Station (ATV) and TV stations nationwide; low-altitude fireworks were also organized at the ceremony.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/an-giang-to-chuc-le-don-bang-unesco-ghi-danh-le-hoi-via-ba-chua-xu-nui-sam-post866133.html