(HBO) - Over their long history, the Muong ethnic group in Hoa Binh has created and preserved a rich and diverse folk culture, in which the Mo Muong is a prominent and unique one that has profound human values. Generations of Muong people have passed down Mo Muong verbally, giving vitality and popularity to this special intangible cultural heritage.
Shaman Bui Hong Bao in Tan
Lac district’s Phong Phu commune performs a Mo ritual.
Mo Muong is a rite of reciting Mo (poetry) during rituals of the Muong
people, in which the Thay mo (shaman) plays the main role. The shaman knows by
heart not only tens of thousands of lines of Mo but also traditional
rituals and customs. In Muong society, the shaman is an intellectual and a
reputable person in the community.
Mo Muong recitations are part of 23 Muong rituals, including funerals, in
which tens of thousands of Mo lines are recited throughout 12 days and
nights, which demonstrates the essence and core values of the Mo tradition.
Currently, there are many collections of Mo versions, of which three main ones
have been published.
In order to well preserve and promote the intangible cultural heritage, the
provincial Party Committee has issued many important documents in the field of
culture, which identify Mo Muong as one of the heritages that need to be
preserved and promoted.
The provincial People's Committee has established a Steering Committee for Mo
Muong Hoa Binh and built a plan to make a scientific dossier on Mo Muong which
will be submitted to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to seek
recognition of Mo as part of the national heritage, looking toward seeking
recognition as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
In 2018, the provincial People's Committee approved two projects on preserving
and promoting the typical intangible cultural values of the Muong ethnic group
in the 2018 - 2030 period and preserving and promoting the values of Mo Muong
Hoa Binh cultural heritages in 2019 - 2025 periods and the following years.
Party committees, authorities and relevant agencies have carried out
synchronously solutions to protect and promote the value of cultural heritage
in general and Mo Muong heritage in particular in a scientific manner. They
have also popularized the value of heritage, thereby raising awareness and
responsibility in jointly protecting cultural heritages among local residents.
From March 10th – 11th, the People's Committee of Cao Phong town (Cao Phong) coordinated with the Relics Management Board to organize the traditional festival of Thuong Bong Lai Temple in 2024.
As spring comes, people in Phu Nghia commune in particular and Lac Thuy district in general flock to Tien Pagoda festival to enjoy festive activities during the annual event.
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.