New direction with many prospects
Gong festival of Gia Rai ethnic group, Chu Prong district (Gia Lai). Photo: Sy Huynh/VNA
According to research by author Dinh Viet Ha (Institute of Cultural Studies, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences), effectively exploiting diverse materials of traditional culture, inheriting and creatively using the cultural heritage values of ethnic minorities is a way to preserve heritage and is also a new direction with many prospects for cultural industries, especially cinema, music, fashion, cultural tourism, etc.
Accordingly, heritages play an important role in socio-economic development, helping to form and nurture the spiritual life of ethnic minorities, contributing to the overall development of each locality, each region and the country; increasing the strength of the great national unity bloc, creating soft power for the nation. Among the 15 intangible cultural heritages of Vietnam recognized by UNESCO, there are many heritages belonging to ethnic minority communities. These are the Central Highlands Gong Cultural Space; Then practice of the Tay, Nung, Thai people; Thai Xoe art and most recently, the pottery art of the Cham people.
Tourism has contributed to promoting the socio-economic development of mountainous regions and localities. Tourists coming to these regions, along with sightseeing and enjoying cuisine, will experience the lifestyle and culture of each ethnic group and learn about local knowledge. Tourists can explore mountain farming techniques (terraced fields in Mu Cang Chai, Y Ty, Hoang Su Phi, etc.); participate in handicrafts (brocade weaving of Mong, Dao, Tay, Thai, etc.). Tourists are also consumers of the destination's typical products, bringing high economic value.
In ethnic minority areas, community tourism and homestay have been invested in to better meet the needs of tourists. Typical examples are community tourism of the Thai people in Ban Men (Thanh Nua commune, Dien Bien district, Dien Bien province) and Ban Ang (Dong Sang commune, Moc Chau district, Son La province); the Ha Nhi people in Y Ty commune (Bat Xat district, Lao Cai province); the Muong people in Ban Lac (Chieng Chau commune, Mai Chau district, Hoa Binh province); the Mong people in Cat Cat village (San Sa Ho commune, Sa Pa district, Lao Cai province); the Dao people in Nam Dam village (Quan Ba commune, Quan Ba district, Ha Giang province)... The State and local authorities have built many tourist destinations and routes such as the Northwest arc route connecting 6 Northwest provinces; "Through the Viet Bac heritage sites", the tourist route to explore the Central Highlands Gong Cultural Space... to exploit and promote the indigenous cultural values of the ethnic groups.
In cinema, works based on ethnic minority culture are still few, but there are some films that have left a special impression on the public such as "Pao's Story" (movie), "Silent in the Deep" (TV series) or "Those Children in the Mist" (documentary)... Exploiting ethnic minority culture materials in films opens up a direction to preserve and promote the value of these cultural heritages effectively. Since the film "Pao's Story", Lung Cam village (Lung Cam hamlet, Sung La commune, Dong Van district) - the filming location has become an indispensable destination in tours to Ha Giang.
Author Dinh Viet Ha clearly stated that using traditional musical materials of ethnic minorities is not a new thing. Previously, Vietnamese music had "Chieu Khan Pieu", "Before the shooting festival"... Now young musicians continue to inherit and make efforts to exploit the typical materials of ethnic minority culture to create new products. We can mention songs with themes, melodies or contexts in ethnic minority areas such as "Tinh yeu mau nang", "Nha em o khung doi", "Loi ca gui Noong" or "De Mi noi cho ma nghe"...
Exploiting ethnic minority cultural materials in music and producing music videos is a challenging but very encouraging direction, which will create a mark for artists and a unique position for Vietnamese music. Reality also shows that to have an attractive product, artists must "work harder" to exploit the quintessence of the cultural treasures of ethnic groups.
Ao dai and Tay Nguyen brocade fashion show at Pa Sy waterfall, Mang Den town, Kon Plong district. Photo: Khoa Chuong/VNA
Many fashion designers have contributed to preserving and promoting the unique beauty of traditional ethnic minority cultures through practical fashion products, especially brocade patterns. Many major fashion shows have combined performances with honoring natural heritage or ethnic culture. Notably, the 14th Vietnam International Fashion Week with the theme "Inspiration of Heritage" (Taste of Heritage) introduced more than 30 designs in the collection "Depositing the Mong people into the future". This is a collection by designer Vu Viet Ha inspired by the cultural beauty of the highlands, especially the brocade costumes of the Mong people in Sa Pa (Lao Cai), which left many impressions on viewers...
Sustainable development
At the recent Forum "Culture of Vietnamese ethnic groups - resources for the development of a prosperous and happy country", Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung affirmed that 54 ethnic groups living on the S-shaped strip of land, each ethnic group has its own cultural identity, creating unity in the diversity of Vietnamese culture. That is a characteristic but also a development law of the country's culture; creating endogenous strength, synthesizing national strength, the attractiveness of Vietnamese culture; contributing to positioning Vietnamese cultural identity in the international arena.
During his lifetime, Uncle Ho paid special attention to the culture and cultural heritage of Vietnamese ethnic groups. Generations of Vietnamese people have constantly built, nurtured, and fostered to create a national cultural strength that is increasingly rich in identity. The achievements of culture - art, and creativity have always been preserved, passed down, and formed a rich and massive treasure of tangible and intangible cultural heritage.
Minister Nguyen Van Hung stated that the exploitation and promotion of cultural resources of ethnic communities must be done in a sustainable manner, implemented step by step, with a focus and key points. The Minister requested the cultural sector to promote the role of the people as creative subjects, the intellectuals playing an important role and mobilize the participation of all relevant parties, contributing to the development of cultural resources of ethnic groups, for the common development of the country.
The ethnic community - the creative subject - needs to promote the responsibility of protecting and promoting the national cultural identity; actively participate in creative activities and teach the next generation. The people need to absorb and supplement new values suitable for development.
According to scientists and cultural researchers, the cultural heritage values of ethnic minorities are rich and abundant materials and inspirations for exploiting and developing the cultural industry. However, in the process of exploiting this potential, creative entities and producers need to pay attention to minimize negative impacts on the system of cultural heritage.
Because intangible cultural heritages such as Then singing, Khen dancing, gongs... when becoming tourism products all go through the process of "commodification" of heritage, being staged, cutting down the ritual part, separating from the space of the people, causing the community and sacredness of the heritage to be at risk of gradually being lost. Reality also shows that at some tourist destinations, the number of tourists coming to visit and experience is often very large, bringing revenue to the community and locality but also leading to overload, causing unwanted consequences for the environment and cultural lifestyle of the local community.
Ethnic people and tourists join in dancing to celebrate the Vietnamese Ethnic Culture Day (April 19) 2019. Photo (documentary): Trong Dat/VNA
Professor, Dr. Bui Quang Thanh, Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts, proposed many practical solutions to preserve and promote the cultural values of ethnic minorities. In particular, he mentioned organizing cultural exchanges between ethnic groups in ethnic communities from commune to provincial level, so that they can understand and learn from each other. Relevant units need to organize cultural activities and services, restore and exploit ethnic cultural craft villages, and widely introduce those products to regions, areas and the whole country. Most importantly, it is necessary to link the culture of ethnic minorities with tourism activities to both promote culture and contribute to local socio-economic development. Indigenous ethnic minorities need to be trained to become tour guides to introduce, promote and disseminate the most accurate cultural values of their ethnic groups.
On the other hand, the State needs to better implement the policy of honoring outstanding artisans in preserving and promoting the cultural values of ethnic minorities, considering them as "living human treasures" as defined by UNESCO (2005). Most of the artisans are now elderly, and when they leave to join their ancestors, the precious heritage will be unintentionally forgotten. Indigenous knowledge and skills of intangible cultural heritage will gradually disappear.
Creating the culture of Vietnamese ethnic groups through products imbued with their identity is a new and promising direction for the cultural industry. This is also the way to enrich the country with a worthy cultural economy; so that our national culture does not "dissolve" in the global flow.
According to VNA
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