Cuc Phuong - the vast and mysterious wilderness. This is also where the Muong community has been attached for thousands of years. Under the forest canopy, the Muong people not only find a livelihood but also create a unique system of cultural values. One of the cultural achievements that we still know today is the Mo Muong villages.
Mo Muong performance at the training class, fostering and teaching intangible culture of Nho Quan district in 2023. Photo: Minh Quang
Listen to the Mo master tell stories about his professionFor many people, the story of Mo Muong has long been tinged with legend. In their minds, the Mo masters are like messengers of the spiritual world, possessing infinite power, with many magical spells... And the writer brought the question with much worry and curiosity to meet Mo master Dinh Van Tan, Bai Ca village, Cuc Phuong commune (Nho Quan) to get the answer.
Mo Dinh Van Tan said: He started practicing in 1987, at first only going to the soul, worshiping the land and from 2009, he officially became a Mo. At first, he went with his master, an uncle in the family, later he was taught the Mo cuong by his uncle. Although Mo Tan comes from a family of the No line (a family with many generations of Mo practitioners), however, the practice of Mo was interrupted in the past. According to Mo Tan's explanation, even though he comes from the Mo line, not everyone becomes a Mo. It also depends on each person's nature, intelligence and most importantly, when learning the profession, can he overcome the "challenges" set by the teacher or not.
According to Mr. Tan, his family and Mo lineage originated from Hoa Binh, different from the Mo lineage that originated from Thanh Hoa. The process of learning Mo is also quite difficult, mainly through oral transmission. Learning Mo is not done indoors because the home is considered an unclean place. Mo learners must learn outdoors and at night, when everyone has gone to sleep, the space is quiet, the most suitable time is when "the rooster does not crow, the dog does not bark". At that time, the learner is just absorbed, with the presence of "superiors" so that if the learner makes a mistake, the "superiors" will correct it. The Mo versions are extremely long, a Mo master "when going to Mo" must perform a very long ceremony, for example, Mo len (Mo len troi) takes place continuously for 18 hours, not everyone is healthy enough to practice.
In addition, a Mo master must not only know the Mo cuongs and Mo ruongs (which can be understood as the lessons and chapters in the Mo script) but also have "spiritual objects" when performing the ceremony such as: small bells, deer horns, tiger fangs, yin and yang coins, mugwort (used for the wearer to ward off evil spirits)... Before entering the ritual (ceremony), the Mo practitioner must use leaf water to bathe and cleanse himself, purify the space where the ceremony is held, and wear a red hat, red shirt, and have all the spiritual objects when performing the ceremony.
According to Master Tan, the Mo profession is a charity profession. If money is too important, the Mo practitioner will bring "karma" and affect many generations of descendants. That is why the masters choose people very carefully and put them through many challenges before passing on the profession. However, the Mo profession sometimes has many ups and downs. In previous years, when the recognition of Muong Mo was still limited, many people considered Mo practitioners as shamans and people spreading superstition, so the Mo profession was not respected by the community.
Nowadays, under the light of science, the Mo Muong versions are being studied and re-evaluated as an intellectual achievement of the Muong people, and Mo followers are relieved of the psychological pressure of being discriminated against. Many of Mr. Tan's Mo brothers not only know the Mo ma and Mo via versions, but also know herbal remedies, have experience in going to the forest, and know how to calculate the seasonal calendar by observing the weather... What Mr. Tan worries about is that, although Mo Muong has been "re-recognized", if there are no timely and effective conservation measures, those who know Mo will soon be gone.
Mo Muong Virtual Solution
Today, in the life of the Muong ethnic community in Cuc Phuong, the practice of Mo religion still exists, especially Mo in funerals (or Mo ma). This ritual plays an important role in the spiritual life of the people. In addition, there are many forms of Mo such as: Mo le, Mo via, Mo exorcism... However, due to the way of performing the ceremony, due to the limited perception of the people, many people mistakenly think that Mo masters are the same as shamans and monks.
Through scientific research, the magical elements of Mo Muong are gradually "de-mystified", Mo Muong is recognized as a cultural knowledge achievement, a "folk encyclopedia"... Mo masters, in ancient times, were intellectuals in the Muong ethnic community, and Mo villages are a form of "preserving" knowledge passed on to the next generation.
Author Truong Dinh Tuong, Editor of the book "Folklore of Ninh Binh" presents the understanding: Mo is one of the funeral customs but is actually a form of traditional cultural activity (spiritual culture) of the Muong people.
Ms. Vu Thanh Lich, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture and Sports, from the perspective of a cultural manager, stated: "Mo Muong is an extremely valuable spiritual cultural heritage of the Muong people, contributing to recreating the history of heaven and earth from the beginning of time to the appearance of humans and the process of fighting against forces to build and protect the Muong village. These are also life lessons with advice for descendants to work hard, appreciate each other, live cleanly and be good people. Therefore, preserving and promoting the value of Mo Muong is very important in today's life".
Mo Muong - cultural heritage that needs to be protected
According to statistics from the Department of Culture and Sports, in the two localities of Nho Quan district and Tam Diep city where many Muong people live, there are currently only 8 Mo masters (as of July 2022) distributed in 4 communes: Cuc Phuong, Ky Phu, Phu Long and Thach Binh of Nho Quan district. Among them, the number of Mo masters who can perform all Mo rituals is very small. With the need for Mo funerals in the community still very high, but the number of Mo masters is small, some of them are old and weak, have not practiced the profession for a long time... so they are not enough to meet the need for Mo funerals in the community, people have to ask for help from Mo masters from Hoa Binh and Thanh Hoa.
It is worth noting that the current Mo masters in Ninh Binh are all old, but there are very few successors. The small number, the narrowing performance space, combined with the fact that Mo Muong is mainly taught through oral transmission, observation, participation and practice (following the master to perform the ceremony) makes the preservation of Mo Muong even more difficult, Mo Muong faces the risk of extinction. From the results of the research on the current situation and inventory of Mo Muong heritage in Ninh Binh, the Department of Culture and Sports has proposed that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism include Mo Muong Ninh Binh cultural heritage in the list of national intangible cultural heritage.
Ms. Vu Thanh Lich, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture and Sports, in her speech at the Scientific Conference on Mo Muong in Hoa Binh in 2023, emphasized: Mo Muong is not only an important ritual in the spiritual life of the Muong people, but also a great creation of humans, which contains almost all the values that make up traditional Muong culture (history, literature, society, art, beliefs, activities...).
However, over time, the practice, preservation and promotion of the unique cultural values of Mo Muong in Ninh Binh are gradually being narrowed and the risk of fading away is always present in all aspects, from the performance space, the Mo team, Mo content, Mo teaching... Therefore, it is necessary to have timely studies to propose appropriate solutions, focusing on increasing the extensive participation of the community in the activities of preserving and promoting the values of Mo Muong cultural heritage in Ninh Binh today.
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