The People’s Committee of Hoa Binh held a meeting on November 9 to discuss the progress of the building of a national dossier on Mo Muong cultural heritage to submit to the UNESCO to seek the inclusion in the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.
The meeting was chair by Nguyen Van Toan, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee and Standing Vice Chairman of the Steering Committee on the building of the national dossier on Mo Muong. It also drew leaders of the Music Institute under the Vietnam National Academy of Music (VNAM), the advisory agency of the project, and representatives from relevant agencies.
Nguyen Van Toan, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, addresses the meeting.
Mo Muong is a job and also a performance practiced at funerals, religious festivals, and life cycle rituals by the Muong ethnic minority group. Mo Muong has a long life, spanning centuries, as it has always helped to nurture the characteristics and the souls of the Muong people. It is the essence of labour, production, cultural behaviour and the philosophy of the Muong people, reflecting their love of life and home villages.
According to a report by the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, so far all stép related to the building of the Mo Muong dossier have been implemented, including the formation of a steering committee, a committee for dossier building, along with the holding of surveys and seminars on Mo Muong, and meetings to discuss the plan and methods of building the national dossier on Mo Muong.
At the same time, the province has reviewed the inventory of Mo Muong heritage and collected commitments from the heritage-holding community. Ideas from researchers and heritage practitioners as well as culture management officials on the heritage have also been gathered, thus providing more information on the heritage for the building of a national dossier on the Mo Muong heritage. The province has also collected and recorded audio and video about Mo Muong cultural heritage, while organising international scientific conferences, compiling scientific documents, and conducting post-production documentary films about the heritage.
Participants at the meeting clarified steps to build the national dossier on Mo Muong to submit to the UNESCO, and analysed advantages and difficulties during the process.
Addressing the event, Nguyen Van Toan, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, underlined that the compiling of the dossier requires the cooperation with other provinces and sees many difficulties. However, with the joint efforts of departments, sectors and agencies, so far the dossier has been basically completed and is being perfected.
Right after the meeting, sectors and agencies with assigned tasks should strengthen their collaboration to promptly complete and accept the dossier and submit it to relevant authorities in line with regulations, he asked.
Hoa Binh province has carried out multiple programmes and initiatives to revive its cultural heritage which has gradually fallen into oblivion through the ebbs and flows of history.
The most prominent and defining feature in the prehistoric era of Hoa Binh is the Hoa Binh Culture. The Culture was first discovered in Hoa Binh. The significant prehistoric culture represents not only Vietnam but also Southeast Asia and southern China. Through excavations of cave sites in the limestone regions of Hoa Binh, French archaeologist M. Colani introduced the world to a "Stone Age in Hoa Binh province – Northern Vietnam" in 1927. On January 30, 1932, the First Congress of Far Eastern Prehistorians, held in Hanoi, officially recognised the Hoa Binh Culture.
Known as the "Land of Epic History”, Hoa Binh province, the gateway to Vietnam’s northwest, boasts a strategic location and a unique cultural tapestry woven by its ethnic minority communities.
The People's Committee of Luong Son District recently held a ceremony to receive the certificate recognizing Sau Communal House in Thanh Cao Commune as a provincial-level historical and cultural site.
Recognising the importance of cultural heritage preservation in protecting and promoting the value system of Vietnamese culture, and serving socio-economic development in the new period, Party committees and local administrations in Hoa Binh province have identified it as a key task in the cultural development strategy. The province has been making efforts in mobilising resources, creating consensus among people and engaging ethnic communities in preserving and promoting cultural identity.
Hoa Binh province has captured growing attention both domestically and internationally for its distinctive cultural heritage and rich history. Most notably, it has been renowned for its famous Hoa Binh culture, considered the cradle of ancient Vietnamese civilisation. Looking ahead to significant milestones in 2025 and the 140th anniversary of province establishment in 2026, Hoa Binh Newspaper presents a comprehensive overview of the province's development across economic, social, cultural, tourism, and security domains.
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