Opening of the Muong ethnic Khai Ha festival in 2025

On the morning of February 5, 2025 (January 8, At Ty year), at Phong Phu Commune Stadium (Tan Lac district), Hoa Binh province held the opening ceremony of the 2025 Muong ethnic group festival.

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Comrade Nguyen Phi Long - Alternate member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Hoa Binh Provincial Party Committee beats the drum at the Opening Festival of the Muong ethnic group in Hoa Binh province

Attending the opening ceremony were comrade Nguyen Phi Long, alternate member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee; comrade Bui Duc Hinh, Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; comrade Nguyen Van Quang, former Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, former Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; comrade Tran Dang Ninh, former Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, former Chairman of the Provincial People's Council; leaders and former leaders of the province through the periods, comrades members of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, Standing Committee of the Provincial People's Council, leaders of the Provincial People's Committee, the Provincial Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee, the Provincial National Assembly Delegation; leaders of departments, branches, unions, districts and cities in the province; delegates from neighboring provinces, central agencies located in the province, and a large number of people and tourists.

Khai Ha Festival of the Muong ethnic group in Hoa Binh province, also known as Going to the fields, Opening the forest festival - the largest traditional folk festival of the Muong people in Hoa Binh, associated with wet rice agriculture, bearing many imprints of the civilization of the ancient Vietnamese. This is a folk festival, a community activity, associated with the legend of the National Mother Hoang Ba - the mother of Duc Thanh Tan, who contributed to building the Muong land. The festival is the beginning of a new year, an occasion for the Muong people to pay respect to the gods; a place for people to pray for peace in the village, bountiful crops, and the growth of all things.

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The procession of the palanquin of the National Mother Hoang Ba from the Temple of Luy Ai hamlet

to the Phong Phu communal stadium, where the festival is held

The 2025 Muong Ethnic Opening Festival includes the Ceremony and the Festival with many outstanding activities. The opening ceremony of the Festival is the incense offering ceremony at the Luy Ai Temple, Phong Phu Commune (Tan Lac) and the procession of the National Mother Hoang Ba. This is the third year that the Muong Ethnic Opening Festival in Hoa Binh province has been organized at the provincial level.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the festival, Mr. Bui Duc Hinh, Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee emphasized: The Khai Ha Festival of the Muong ethnic group in Hoa Binh, also known as the Going to the Fields Festival, the Forest Opening Festival, is the largest traditional festival of the Muong people in Hoa Binh. The festival is closely associated with wet rice agriculture, bearing many imprints of ancient Vietnamese civilization. This is an indispensable cultural and religious activity of the Muong people in Hoa Binh, especially the four large Muong regions: Bi, Vang, Thang, Dong. The festival is meant to respect the gods, commemorate those who have contributed to opening the land, establishing the Muong and pray for all things to grow, flourish, have a bountiful harvest, a prosperous and happy life. With such profound meanings and values, the Khai Ha Festival of the Muong ethnic group in Hoa Binh province has been recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Next, Comrade Nguyen Phi Long, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, beat the drum to open the 2025 Muong Ethnic Group Opening Festival. This was followed by a special art program with a performance of Muong gongs by 600 artisans. The program highlighted the outstanding values of Muong ethnic culture in Hoa Binh province. This year's festival has 16 exhibition booths designed to replicate the stilt houses and daily activities of the Muong people.

According to the Plan, the Muong ethnic group's Khai Ha Festival will take place for 2 days from February 4-5, 2025 (ie January 7-8, At Ty year) with many cultural, artistic, sports and folk games activities with rich and diverse content bearing the cultural identity of the Muong people of Hoa Binh in general and the characteristics of the 4 Muong regions in particular: Muong ethnic costume performance contest, art exchange, ethnic sports competitions, folk games, antiphonal singing contest, weaving contest and demonstration of some handicrafts of the Muong people. At the Festival, there are also booths displaying agricultural products, handicrafts, OCOP products, culture, tourism... of localities in the province.

The annual Muong ethnic group's Khai Ha Festival in Hoa Binh province is an activity to implement the Project on Preserving and Promoting the Cultural Values of the Muong Ethnic Group and "Hoa Binh Culture" in the period of 2023 - 2030 in Hoa Binh province to propagate and promote the culture, people, and beautiful natural landscapes of Hoa Binh to develop tourism.

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