(HBO) – Over the past years, the preservation and promotion of cultural heritage values of local ethnic groups in Lac Son district, northern mountainous of Hoa Binh province, have received great attention.
Members of folk singing clubs in Ngoc Son, An Nghia communes, Lac Son district, in an exchange programme.
With a population of more than 14,000 with Muong ethnic group accounting for 91%, the locals have a diverse cultural life and identity.
The district counts 18,000 Muong’s stilt houses, 58 sport clubs, 252 art groups, one Mo Muong club, seven folk singing clubs, and three singing and poem clubs. Up to 189 out of its 252 communes and streets have developed village conventions.
Nguyen The Hung, head of the Cultural, Information office of the district, said there are many difficulties in the preservation and promotion works of cultural heritages such as large area; lack of artisans who have deep insight understandings about traditional culture, while the work of popularisation and mobilising people to preserve and promote intangible cultural values is still limited.
The People's Committee of Lac Son district has directed authorities to put in the list 196 relics and scenic sites. This is potential for the development of culture, tourism and socio-economic development of the locality.
Notably, many relics and scenic sites have been restored and embellished to meet the cultural and spiritual needs of the people, such as the Coi communal house in Vu Binh commune, Khoi communal house in An Nghia commune, Khenh communal house in Van Son commune, and Tay Tien revolutionary historical site in Thuong Coc commune.
Besides, the district has restored traditional festivals to attract tourists to the locality such as Elephant festival, Thuong temple festival, Truong Kha temple festival in Vu Ban town; Khoi communal house festival in An Nghia commune; Bang communal house festival in Ngoc Lau commune; Khenh communal house festival in Van Son commune; Khu Dung cave festival in Nhan Nghia commune; Coi communal house festival in Vu Binh commune; and going to the field festival in Yen Phu commune.
In order to strengthen the preservation and promotion of traditional culture of local ethnic groups, the district will focus on communications work among the locals from all walks of life about conserving and developing the traditional heritage values, especially Mo Muong and folk singings.
In the time ahead, the district will also open classes to educate cultural heritage to more people while bringing folk singing and music into school curriculum, festivals and exchange programmes./.
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.