(HBO) – Despite changes in their modern life, an increasing number of Muong ethnic women seek their ways back to their old days by wearing traditional dresses to celebrate lunar New Year (Tet) instead of modern outfits.
Muong Dong ethnic women in
Kim Boi district in traditional costumes prepare a tray of their signature
dishes.
In an interview with
reporters from the Hoa Binh Newspaper, Bui Thi Hao from Chanh hamlet in Vinh
Dong commune said with delight that in her village, elderlies wear Muong costumes
every day while younger women prefer Muong dresses for the occasions of
festivals, ceremonies, and weddings.
According to her, all
women in her village own at least one traditional dress and a silver chain belt,
passed down as a special keepsake among women in their families for
generations.
A traditional Muong dress
consists of a white shirt and long black skirt. The outfit, which is suitable
for different body sizes, keeps its wearer comfortable in the cool weather in spring
but is still elegant enough. Nowadays, the shirt has more colours than just
white due to local women’s preferences.
Life is changing. Muong
people’s stilt houses have been replaced with cement ones, and parts of their
language and traditions modified. However, their costume embodies a strong
power to survive and even thrive in the modern life./.
Mo is a term referring to a profession and cultural heritage which integrates folk beliefs with folk culture and arts. Practiced at funerals and religious rituals by the Muong ethnic people, it aims to provide spiritual comfort during significant life events such as illness and death.
Hoa Binh leaves a strong impression on visitors due to the diversity in the lifestyle and cultural identities of its ethnic groups. The province is home to six main ethnic groups, with a total population of nearly 900,000. The largest group is Muong, making up 63.3% of the population, followed by Kinh with 27.73%, Thai 3.9%, Tay 2.7%, Dao 1.7%, Mong 0.52%, and other ethnic groups 1.18%. Along with the long history of the nation’s formation and defence, the province’s ethnic groups have always been united, hardworking, and determined to strive for socio-economic development. At the same time, each ethnic group displays its own unique and distinct cultural identity, contributing to a diverse, rich, and attractive cultural tapestry.
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.
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