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.
Gongs hold a special place in the cultural and spiritual life of the Muong ethnic people in Hoa Binh province. More than musical instruments, they are an indispensable part of community rituals and collective memory, echoing through generations as a spiritual thread linking the past, present, and future.
Preserving and promoting the cultural values of the Muong ethnic group has become an urgent task in the current context, as many traditional values face the risk of fading away. This effort requires not only protecting the cultural identity but also eliminating outdated customs and developing a modern cultural lifestyle, contributing to sustainable values for the Muong community in Hoa Binh province.
The Muong ethnic culture, deeply rooted in Vietnam’s mountainous north, continues to be preserved and revitalised by dedicated individuals and communities determined to safeguard their ancestral identity.
The Muong group is one of the largest ethnic minorities in Vietnam, primarily found in Hoa Binh province. The Muong people in Hoa Binh boast a rich and diverse cultural treasure that reflects the unique identity of this ethnic group. Accounting for over 63% of the province's population, they have created and preserved numerous distinctive cultural values, contributing to their unique identity. Their cultural heritage is an invaluable asset, at the heart of their national identity, and represents a vibrant spiritual life that must be preserved and promoted in today’s modern world.
For generations, the ethnic communities of Hoa Binh province, particularly the Muong people, have preserved vibrant festivals deeply intertwined with the region’s geography, nature, and social traditions. These celebrations enrich Hoa Binh’s spiritual life and cultural identity, reflecting both folk beliefs and the intermingling of ethnic customs. Many of these festivals have endured the test of time, passed down through generations and continuing to thrive today. Among them, the Khai Ha (Going Down to the Field) festival stands out as one of the most significant events of the Muong ethnic group.
Muong calendar, known as sach doi, is an ancient folk knowledge system developed through observations of the movement of the pleiades star. This unique calendar consists of 12 bamboo sticks, each representing a lunar month. Specific days within each month are marked with distinct symbols, guiding locals in determining auspicious and inauspicious days for important activities.
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