Preserving Muong ethnic culture and "Hoa Binh Culture"

The Khai Ha Festival of the Muong ethnic group in Hoa Binh province has been recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage. (Photo: TRONG DAT)

Currently, many cultural values of the Muong ethnic group and the “Hoa Binh Culture” are seriously being lost. Faced with this situation, Hoa Binh province has been resolutely implementing many measures to preserve and promote cultural values effectively.

The cultural values of the Muong ethnic group are invaluable assets that unite the Vietnamese ethnic community. The Muong people in Hoa Binh have created unique cultural values from customs, practices, beliefs, cuisine, folk songs, proverbs, festivals, folk knowledge, Mo Muong... And "Hoa Binh Culture" has an important position in the Stone Age in Vietnam, as well as in the world ; it is an extremely precious asset of humanity.

However, over time, along with the increasingly developing market economy , the Muong ethnic identity and the "Hoa Binh Culture" are gradually fading away. More than ever, the preservation, maintenance and promotion of Muong ethnic cultural values is urgent. Currently, in many rural areas, the precious values of Muong ethnic culture and the "Hoa Binh Culture" have been lost.

Faced with that situation, Hoa Binh province has been making efforts to preserve and promote the intangible and tangible cultural values of the Muong people and the "Hoa Binh Culture" in the area.

Comrade Nguyen Phi Long, Secretary of the Hoa Binh Provincial Party Committee emphasized: “Implementing the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress; Conclusion of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong at the National Cultural Conference in November 2021; Resolution of the 17th Hoa Binh Provincial Party Congress emphasized the preservation and promotion of the value of cultural heritage of ethnic groups... The province considers this an extremely urgent task, although the province still has difficulties in terms of resources, the province is still determined to implement it.

On November 24, 2023, Hoa Binh province issued the Project on Preserving and Promoting the Cultural Values of the Muong Ethnic Group and the "Hoa Binh Culture" for the period 2023-2030 to continue researching, preserving, and promoting the values of cultural heritages and fine traditions of the Muong people; contributing to promoting and introducing the land and people of Hoa Binh, building unique tourism products to attract domestic and international tourists, promoting the socio-economic development of the province in the coming time".

Since 2019, Quyet Thang High School, Lac Son district has established the "Club to preserve Muong ethnic cultural identity". Since then, the school has focused on implementing the model of educating students on the awareness of preserving, maintaining and promoting Muong ethnic cultural identity through club activities.

The club focuses on six main areas: folk songs, costumes, musical instruments, cuisine, games, and folk culture. In addition, the club organizes Muong script lessons for members of the folk song and folk culture groups. Through many practical and useful activities, the club has helped students love and understand more about the cultural identity of the Muong ethnic group.

Up to now, the club has attracted more than 300 members, restoring gong performances, traditional musical instrument ensembles, folk songs, traditional games... to perform on holidays, Tet, cultural festivals of villages, communes, schools and localities.

Muong gong performance at the Muong ethnic group's Opening Festival in Hoa Binh in 2023. (Photo: TRONG DAT)

In Bo town, Kim Boi district, we met Ms. Dinh Thi Kieu Dung - who has been opening free classes to teach Muong folk songs to the younger generation for 20 years. She confided: “For almost my entire working life, I have been attached to my homeland, the Muong. In addition to my passion for ethnic culture, I feel the need to contribute a small part of my responsibility to preserve, conserve and promote the identity and values of the Muong ethnic culture that our ancestors left behind. I have opened classes to teach Muong culture to children since 2004 until now, so that when they grow up, they will be proud to be children of the Muong land and will love their people, their homeland and their country more deeply…”.

To preserve, conserve and promote the cultural values of the Muong ethnic group and the "Hoa Binh Culture", Hoa Binh province supports artisans to participate in preserving and promoting the values of cultural heritage; encourages scientists to participate in research; encourages Muong ethnic children who are studying in the cultural field to work in cultural agencies at all levels...

Comrade Nguyen Phi Long said that the province will mobilize resources to invest, manage, protect, exploit and promote the values, traditional cultural heritage, archaeological cultural heritage associated with sustainable tourism development, contributing to promoting socio-economic development, improving the material and spiritual life of the people; invest resources and facilities for research, collection, preservation and promotion of cultural heritages of the Muong ethnic group and the "Hoa Binh Culture".

In the coming time, the province will promote and introduce the heritage value widely domestically and internationally; focus on restoring and embellishing the landscape of the national relic Hang Xom Trai, Tan Lap commune and Mai Da Lang Vanh, Yen Phu commune, Lac Son district - typical relics of "Hoa Binh Culture" in Hoa Binh province to build a dossier to submit to the Prime Minister for ranking as a special national relic, and then submit to UNESCO for inclusion in the list of cultural heritage of humanity.

Relevant departments and branches in the province will carry out specific tasks to build a Muong ethnic cultural space conservation area associated with tourism development in Tan Lac district, including: Preserving Muong ethnic cultural space, performance stage area, Muong cuisine, Khai Ha festival area, ancient Muong village area, tourist attractions, resorts, etc.

Comrade Nguyen Van Toan, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Hoa Binh province, said that the province is selecting five Muong ethnic community tourism sites to invest in and support the restoration of traditional Muong stilt houses to preserve the cultural space for visitors.

At the same time, the province completed the scientific dossier of Mo Muong cultural heritage to submit to the Prime Minister and to UNESCO for inclusion in the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in need of urgent protection.

The province organizes inventory, collection, documentation, restoration and promotion of the intangible cultural heritage of the Muong ethnic group in terms of social customs and beliefs, traditional festivals, folk performing arts, traditional crafts, folk knowledge, language, writing and folk literature.

In which, choosing to establish a profile of five intangible cultural heritages of the Muong people proposed to be included in the list of national intangible cultural heritages.

The province focuses on restoring typical traditional festivals and folk games associated with building unique and attractive tourism products. The province restores and promotes unique traditional festivals, traditional costumes, traditional stilt houses, folk songs, Muong gong and Mo Muong art, and good customs and practices of the Muong ethnic group in Hoa Binh. Currently, the province is introducing the Muong writing into teaching at some schools in the area.

The above synchronous solutions will bring practical effects in exploiting the value of Muong ethnic cultural heritage and "Hoa Binh Culture", both arousing pride and becoming a driving force to promote socio-economic development of Hoa Binh province in the coming time; contributing to gradually shifting the economic structure, labor structure, and occupations in rural areas, increasing income, sustainably reducing poverty for people, especially Muong ethnic people in mountainous, remote and isolated areas, and creating valuable cultural products to serve sustainable tourism development.

People

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