Mong cultural characteristics through Gau Tao festival

Gau Tao is a large festival with cultural depth, distilling the quintessence of the spiritual life of the Mong community; demonstrating solidarity through collective activities.

Mong cultural characteristics through Gau Tao festival photo 1

Gau Tao Festival, Phong Tho district in 2024, held in Dao San commune.

In the bustling musical space of flutes and panpipes, strong young men are in charge of butchering buffaloes and cooking feasts. The girls, with their cheeks flushed in the dry sun, skillfully work with needles and threads, embroidering dresses with unique Mong ethnic patterns, or dressing up in traditional dances, their eyes sparkling with charm. The bustling, joyful atmosphere takes place around the pole - a sacred symbol erected in the center of the Gau Tao festival.

Mong cultural characteristics through Gau Tao festival photo 2

People of all ethnic groups come together to celebrate.

In 2020, the Gau Tao Festival was recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage. Lai Chau Provincial Party Committee also issued Resolution No. 04-NQ/TU dated February 17, 2021 on preserving and promoting the traditional cultural identity of ethnic groups associated with tourism development in the 2021-2025 period, with a vision to 2030. Accordingly, the Gau Tao Festival was upgraded to be organized at the district level from 2023.

In Phong Tho district, the Gau Tao Festival has been developed into a unique local cultural event, held annually on the occasion of the New Year, with the participation of communes with a large population of Mong people. The Gau Tao Festival opens up opportunities for cultural exchange between ethnic groups and localities in the district, multiplying the cultural values of the Mong people in Phong Tho in particular and the Vietnamese Mong community in general; at the same time, it is an opportunity to promote local tourism to domestic and international visitors.

The Gau Tao Festival in Phong Tho district in 2024 has the participation of 8 delegations from 7 communes including: Hoang Then, Dao San, Pa Vay Su, Tung Qua Lin, Mu Sang, Lan Nhi Thang, Sin Suoi Ho and Sung Phai commune of Lai Chau city, where 77% of Mong ethnic people live. The festival takes place on February 17 and 18, with many rich contents, imbued with Mong ethnic cultural identity.

The content is organized into competitions between teams, representing the Mong community in each commune, such as: performing arts competition; assembling Mong panpipes, embroidering brocade patterns; cultural space display competition, thang co cooking competition, traditional food display... The festival activities have contributed to uniting the Mong ethnic community, as well as strengthening solidarity and cultural exchange between the Mong people and other ethnic groups in the region.