(HBO) - The gongs in Muong land resounded, delighting thousands of people present at the stadium of Tan Lac district’s Phong Phu commune on the morning of the eighth day of the first lunar month. The Muong gong performance by 500 artisans and actists from four major Muong regions of Bi, Vang, Thang and Dong was the highlight in the art programme to celebrate the Khai ha (going down to the field) festival of the Muong ethnic group in Hoa Binh province in 2023.
Artists in Phu Cuong
commune (Tan Lac) practice before entering the official competitions at Khai ha
(going down to the field) festival in 2023.
This year, the most important traditional festival, a
national intangible cultural heritage, of the Muong people in Hoa Binh was held
at the provincial level for the first time, attracting the participation of all
the four Muong regions. Many activities were held in honour of the unique
values of the Muong ethnic culture in general, and the group’s traditional
music in particular.
According to meritorious artist Bui Ngoc Thuan in Thu Phong
commune (Cao Phong), through the traditional musical genres, the soul of the
Muong ethnic group is expressed intact in contemporary life. like other Muong
regions, Muong Thang, his hometown, in recent years has actively preserved the
ethnic cultural identity with the determination to maintain and promote
traditional cultural values. Through many practical activities such as cultural
and artistic exchanges, organisation of inter-generational clubs, he said he
was pleased to see that the soul of the Muong ethnic culture has been preserved
and honoured. That is the solid spiritual foundation for generations of Hoa
Binh people to continue to build a new cultural life in their beautiful
homeland.
Khai Ha festival is a long-standing traditional folk festival with the largest scale of Muong people in Hoa Binh province. In 2022, Khai Ha fesstival the Muong minority in Hoa Binh province was recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. In 2023 and 2024, the festival was held on the provincial scale, getting together 4 major Muong regions (Bi, Vang, Thang, Dong) to participate, and it has been an opportunity for the quintessence of Muong ethnic culture to converge and shine.
With a great passion for national art, outstanding artisan Nguyen Manh Tuan in Voi area, Ba Hang Doi town in Lac Thuy district, has developed and promoted a Muong ethnic cultural space with over 2,000 artifacts which are familiar in the daily life in the Muong ethnic people.
Along with the process of integration and development, traditional cultural identities of the Muong ethnic community in general, and Muong ethnic people in Tan Lac district in particular, are at risk of falling into oblivion. Therefore, many clubs have been established in the locality to preserve and promote the beauty of the ethnic group’s cultural identities.
Held every three years, the swing festival in Muong Voi, Vu Ban town in Lac Son district is "one-of-a-kind". From the 5th to the 7th day of the first lunar month in the Year of the Dragon, thousands of residents and tourists flocked to the locality to experience the unique cultural festival.
Many festivals take place in the first lunar month of the year in Lac Son district, attracting a large number of both home and foreign visitors to come and experience the locality’s unique cultural values.
The People's Committee of Lac Thuy district on February 29 held a ceremony to receive a certificate recognising Co Lao Temple as a provincial historical relic. Within the framework of the ceremony, leaders of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Lac Thuy district, delegates, and locals offered incense at Co Lao temple.