HBO – Mo is used by Muong ethnic people to practice a variety of rituals in daily life. There are 23 Mo-related rituals in four main groups, namely the rituals praying for happiness and prosperity, the rituals to summon souls, the rituals to eliminate devils and pray for peace and health, and funeral rituals. Therefore, Mo rituals go closely with one person from birth, marriage, peace, health, to death.
Officials
from the Hoa Binh Provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism (DoCST) are
reviewing Tui Khot (ritual bags) of thay mo, or sorcerers in Kim Boi district.
In the
Hoa Binh Culture in local Muong Hoa Binh ethnic area, Mo has been formed,
thrived and is on path to becoming a national intangible cultural heritage.
Mo
Muong holds unique human value. Mo reproduces the mankind’s history in the
legends of earth, water, fire, Cun Can’s marriage (Cun Can was the head of a
Muong ethnic area), reflecting the development of mankind’s society, and their
creativity in their lives. Mo Muong also tells lessons about community life and
society, such as the recitations about using Chu Dong tree to build house,
setting fire on the house of the Muong ethnic people’s God King Dit Dang,
taking care of animals, flower garden in Coi Mountain. They are lessons about
solidarity, ingratitude, sufferings in wrong love affairs. Mo Muong has a
long-lasting life because it comprises all folk cultural values of the ethnic
Muong people, including fork literature, folk singing, folk rituals telling
about people’s knowledge and behavior.
Mo
Muong is the essence of experience in labour, production, cultural behavior and
philosophy of life, reflecting the love of life, people and hometown. It shows
the courage and personality of the Muong ethnic people and
land of
Muong Hoa Binh.
Mo Muong reflects the characteristics, the soul and moral principles of the
Muong ethnic minority people. Over the past time, generations of Muong people
have preserved, passed down and promoted Mo Muong values in a sustainable
manner, giving vitality and inspiring capability of the intangible cultural
heritage.
According
to statistics of the DoCST, the province is home to 241 eligible sorcerers. They are the "living archive”
holding especially important values in exploring and summarizing the unique
cultural values of Mo Muong.
Bui Van
Keng, a sorcerer in Cuoi Ha commune,
Kim Boi district said the number of sorcerersreduced sharply, Mo rituals did, too. Most of the sorcerers are old. They have difficulties in passing down the
rituals because young people cannot learn or don’t have passion to learn. He
expressed his hope that authorities will collect documents on
Muong
Mo,
keep them in record to pass down to the next generations.
In
order to protect and promote the Muong ethnic culture in general and Mo Muong
in particular, in early 2017, Muong ethnic letters were announced. The DoCST
developed projects to select contents of Mo Muong cultural heritage to include
in teaching programmes at schools, and to preserve Mo Muong values.
Compilation
of books on Mo Muong is also underway, using the new letters. Relevant bodies
prepare resumes, propose legal framework to preserve the values of the Mo Muong
cultural heritage./.
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.