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The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has recently announced a list of new intangible national cultural heritage items, one of which is the Keng Loong performance art of the Thai people in Mai Chau district, the northern province of Hoa Binh.
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Thai people in Mai Chau perform the Keng Loong dance
during a festive occasion.
'Loong' means a trough (used for pounding rice), and 'keng
loong' refers to the act of pounding rice in a trough with long wooden pestles.
Loong is used in agricultural production as well as in rituals of the Thai
ethnic community. Therefore, Keng Loong is one of the prominent folk cultural
activities in the district, deeply rooted in the lives of Thai people for a
long time.
In 2022, Hoa Binh submitted for national intangible heritage
recognition dossiers of three intangible cultural heritage items, which were
the technique of weaving skirt waistband patterns for the traditional Muong
ethnic costume, the Thuong Rang singing and Meng ceremony of the Muong ethnic
group; and the performance art of Keng Loong of the Thai ethnic group in Mai
Chau.
The inclusion of this unique folk performance in the list of
intangible national cultural heritage not only affirms the distinctive cultural
identity of the province but also provides additional motivation for Mai Chau
to preserve and enhance its value serving tourism development.
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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