On the evening of March 19, in Chau Doc City, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in coordination with the People's Committee of An Giang Province solemnly held a ceremony to receive the UNESCO certificate recognizing the intangible cultural heritage "Via Ba Chua Xu Festival of Sam Mountain" as a representative intangible heritage of humanity. At the same time, the opening of the Via Ba Chua Xu Festival of Sam Mountain in 2025.
Deputy Prime Minister Mai Van Chinh and former Vice Presidents Truong My Hoa and Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh attended the ceremony.
PHOTO: TRAN NGOC
Attending the ceremony were Deputy Prime Minister Mai Van Chinh, former Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, many leaders of the Party, State, leaders of several ministries and branches; provinces and cities in the Mekong Delta region and more than 2,000 people of An Giang province.
UNESCO inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
According to the People's Committee of An Giang province, Ba Chua Xu is a spiritual and mysterious figure. The legend of Ba Chua Xu of Sam mountain has many versions, the most popular of which is that the statue of Ba Chua Xu is near the top of Sam mountain. The villagers, with their faith, mobilized hundreds of people to bring the statue down the mountain to worship and preserve it, but could not move the statue.
Deputy Prime Minister Mai Van Chinh requested to preserve and promote the heritage value of the Festival of Lady Chua Xu of Sam Mountain.
PHOTO: TRAN NGOC
At that time, a woman told the villagers that to bring the statue down the mountain, all they needed was 9 virgin girls to carry it. Sure enough, when the girls came to carry it, the statue of Lady Xu became light and easy to move. When it reached the place where the temple is located today, the statue suddenly became so heavy that it could not be lifted. The villagers thought that she wanted to stay there, so they built a temple to worship her. That day was the 25th day of the 4th lunar month and the villagers celebrated her birthday on this day.
The performance recreates the scene of carrying the statue of Lady Chua Xu of Sam Mountain to her temple according to legend during the ceremony.
PHOTO: TRAN NGOC
More than two centuries ago, the temple of the Holy Mother of the Land was very simple, with a custodian burning incense every day. Every year, the village officials were in charge of the worship. After many renovations, the temple became more and more spacious. Gradually, the festival attracted a large number of people to come and worship and became a big festival, imbued with the culture of the southern people.
The Festival of the Holy Mother of the Land is held from the 23rd to the 27th of the fourth lunar month every year, demonstrating the identity and continuity of the Kinh community in the process of cultural exchange with the Cham, Chinese and Khmer people in An Giang.
An Giang province leaders received a certificate from UNESCO recognizing the Festival of Lady Chua Xu of Sam Mountain as a representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
PHOTO: TRAN NGOC
In 2001, this festival was selected by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as one of the typical festivals to organize a national tourism festival. By 2014, the festival was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage.
By 2022, the dossier of the Ba Chua Xu Festival in Sam Mountain, An Giang, will be approved by the Government to be submitted to UNESCO for consideration and recognition. On December 4, 2024, the festival will be officially recognized by UNESCO as a representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
Former Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung (middle) with former Standing Member of the Secretariat Le Hong Anh (left) and Mr. Le Hong Quang, Secretary of An Giang province at the ceremony.
PHOTO: TRAN NGOC
This is the 16th intangible cultural heritage of Vietnam and the 2nd intangible cultural heritage in the South (along with the art of Don Ca Tai Tu) recognized by UNESCO. In the Mekong Delta, this is the first traditional festival to receive this honor, contributing to affirming the diversity, value and identity of Vietnamese culture in the common cultural picture of humanity.
Mr. Jonathan Baker, Chief Representative of UNESCO Vietnam, highly appreciated the preservation and promotion of the value of the festival of Lady Chua Xu of Sam Mountain in Vietnam.
PHOTO: TRAN NGOC
Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Le Hong Quang, Secretary of An Giang Provincial Party Committee, said that the province will continue to implement well the heritage protection policies in accordance with the commitment to UNESCO, ensuring the originality of the system of rituals, limiting commercialization, preserving the natural landscape of Sam Mountain area; promoting propaganda activities, raising awareness of the whole society, especially the young generation, on the protection and promotion of heritage values; exploiting the potential and values of heritage in a sustainable manner, closely linked with environmental protection, preserving the original cultural space, so that each visitor coming to the festival will not only experience a special spiritual space but also feel the rich, diverse and unique Southern culture.
Preserving and promoting the heritage value of the Sam Mountain Lady Festival
Mr. Jonathan Baker, Chief Representative of UNESCO Vietnam, sent his most sincere congratulations to all those who contributed to this achievement. He "hopes that the Sam Mountain Lady Festival will continue to shine, bringing invaluable spiritual values, cultural pride and a deep sense of attachment to present and future generations".
Ba Chua Xu Temple on Sam Mountain, Chau Doc City, An Giang Province is beautiful at night.
PHOTO: TRAN NGOC
Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Mai Van Chinh requested the Party Committee, government and people of An Giang province, together with ministries and branches, to protect the cultural space of the heritage, ensure harmony between conservation and development, and preserve the sacred landscape of Sam Mountain; preserve traditional rituals, ensure originality and solemnity, so that future generations can continue and feel the sacred value of the festival; raise public awareness of the value of the heritage through education and propaganda, so that every citizen and tourist participating in the festival understands and appreciates this unique cultural identity; at the same time, develop cultural tourism in a sustainable, professional and friendly direction, build a synchronous infrastructure system, protect the environment and preserve the landscape of the heritage; promote the image of the heritage, so that each citizen becomes a cultural ambassador, spreading the value and promoting the festival to the world, especially on digital platforms.
Statue of Lady Chua Xu of Sam Mountain on the night of the ceremony to receive the UNESCO certificate recognizing the Lady Chua Xu Festival of Sam Mountain as a representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity
PHOTO: TRAN NGOC
At the ceremony, Mr. Hoang Dao Cuong, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, announced the national action program on the commitment to protect and promote the heritage value of the festival of Ba Chua Xu in Sam Mountain to concretize the actions, as well as orient the activities to preserve and promote the values of sustainable heritage in the coming time. Thereby, Mr. Thai Cong No, Quy Te Association, Sam Mountain Temple Management Board representing the people of An Giang province pledged to work with the authorities at all levels to continue to preserve and promote the heritage value.
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