The ceremony to welcome the dragon palanquin at the ceremony of Khoi communal house in An Nghia commune (Lac Son).

According to the folk legends of the Muong ethnic people and the accounts of the elderly people in the region, since ancient times Quoc Mau Hoang Ba and the gods often arrived here to teach Muong Khoi people to explore upland fields and to close the river to prevent rivers from rising water, to build water trucks, to take water to fields and how to transplant rice, and grow cotton to weave cloth. Being grateful for the merit, the teachings of Quoc Mau and the kings, the people in the area have built the communal house to worship the gods, the Imperial Citadel of Muong in Muong Khoi. 

Whenever spring comes, the people in the region arrive in Khoi communal house to perform the rituals to worship, to thank the achievements in the previous year, to wish a lucky new year with good harvest, security for the nation and peace and happiness for the people. Experiencing the ups and downs of the history, the relics of Khoi communal house has been destroyed, the festival of the ancient Khoi communal house has also been interrupted for a long time.

In order to preserve and promote the traditional cultural identity values of the Muong ethnic people to meet the needs of spiritual and cultural activities of the people in the area, the festival of Khoi communal house has been restored and held in 2 days (January 8-9, the year of Rat, 2020) at Khoi communal house in Kham Set field, Lao Thanh hamlet, An Nghia commune. In the festival, there are rituals memorizing those who have built Muong areas. They include a procession of welcoming the King Hoang Ba to the ceremony, the rituals of De Ding hoping for luck and praying for good health for the new year, the rituals of crossbow shooting in the water to gain luck in the new year, and the rituals of horse racing. 

After the solemn rituals the people are eager to participate in the exciting arts performances and sports activities with many folk games such as double-handed singing competition, Thuong Giang, Bo Meng and Xec Bua singing competitions, De Kha contest, throwing cotton ball game, Khang and Mang fighting, shooting crossbow, pushing sticks, volleyball and so on. The festival is solemnly held and it has become a great cultural event for the people of An Nghia commune and the surrounding areas.

Mr. Bui Van Chanh, the Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Lac Son district says: In order to preserve and promote the values of the traditional cultural identity of the Muong ethnic group, the People's Committee of Lac Son has coordinated with the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to gradually complete the scientific documents, proposing to rebuild the communal house and the festival of Khoi communal house in An Nghia commune. 

After a long hiatus, the festival of Khoi communal house was restored earlier this year and it will be held periodically in January every year. The restoration of the festival of Khoi communal house has an important meaning in the spiritual and belief culture of Muong Khoi people in particular and the people of Lac Son district in general. Thereby, it contributes to conserving, preserving and promoting the long-lasting cultural and historical values of the Muong ethnic people in Lac Son, arousing the traditions and the solidarity to continue implementing the objectives and tasks in the local economic, cultural and social development.

The restoration of the communal house and the festival of Khoi communal house are the pride of the people of An Nghia commune in particular and the people in Lac Son district in general. At the same time, it helps to link up the revolutionary historical sites of the War Zone in Muong Khoi, the historical - cultural relics of Coi communal house and the tourism sites in the district, helping to promote and attract tourists, as well as develop economy and culture in the area.

Related Topics

Mysterious ancient engravings in valley of My Thanh commune

Hoa Binh works hard on cultural value preservation

Muong cultural heritage museum contributes to sustainable tourism development

Efforts made to preserve Muong people’s “Bi doi” instrument

---

Hoa Binh rolls out concerted measures to promote population affairs

Hoa Binh province has shown strong performance in family planning by effectively implementing directions and plans in the field, including Directive No. 12/CT-UBND issued by the Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee on August 4, 2021 on rolling out measures to maintain the policy of each couple having two children, which is stated in community rules and the regulations of agencies, organisations, and units across the province of Hoa Binh for the 2021 – 2025 period.

Conference set key tasks for culture, sports and tourism sector

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attended a hybrid conference on December 18 to review the culture, sport, and tourism sector’s performance in 2024 and launch key tasks for 2025. Standing Deputy Secretary of the Hoa Binh provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the provincial People’s Council Bui Duc Hinh, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Van Chuong and officials from local departments and sectors also took part in the event.

Spreading the value of “The Sacred Objects of Muong land”

Hoa Binh showcases traditional Muong ethnic costumes

Hoa Binh’s Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism on December 18, hosted a conference to present the outcomes of a research study on the traditional costumes of the Muong ethnic group.

Lac Son district works hard on preserving, promoting culture identity of Muong people

Along with the activities of Project 6 - the national target programme for socio-economic development in ethnic minority-inhabited and mountainous areas for the 2021 – 2026 period, efforts to preserve and promote the traditional cultural values of ethnic minorities in Lac Son district have received additional momentum.

Hoa Binh youths move to preserve national cultural identity

In the context of globalisation and deeper integration, preserving and promoting the national cultural identity is of utmost importance. Aware of their pioneering and proactive role on all fronts, over the years, the youth organisations at all levels in Hoa Binh province have implemented various concrete and practical activities to preserve and promote the cultural identities of ethnic groups in the locality.