(HBĐT) - Although her parents are Muong people, Mrs. Dinh Thuy Ha was born and grew up in Hoa Binh city. She can only speak a little Muong language. Even through her teenage years, she has never been worn a Muong dress.
Muong women dress traditional costume.
Ha participated in many big events,
including performances of Muong gongs and Muong costumes on the occasion of the
province's 130th founding anniversary, the Muong Culture Festival, and the
Culture and Tourism Week of Hoa Binh province in 2019, and the Hoa Binh Culture
and Tourism Festival in Hanoi with the performance of Muong gongs by 100
artisans.
She was determined to learn more Muong language,
and bought a traditional costume of Muong women. The costume of the Muong ethnic people in
general and Muong women in particular are quite simple, not brilliant, but they
boast unique characteristics.
In the past, the costume of Muong women was
usually a white or light-coloured shirt, and a strapless skirt made of dark
fabric or dyed indigo black. The most prominent part of a skirt is its
waistband, which is divided into three parts. The decorative art pattern on the
waistband creates a contrast to the black and white on the shirt.
Muong cultural researchers have listed 37
pattern motifs on skirt waistband, including 25 animal pattern motifs. Particularly, many of patterns on the Muong
skirt waistband are also popular motifs on Dong Son bronze drums. This shows
that the patterns have both artistic and historical values, relating to a
period of the civilisation of ancient Vietnamese. This is the most unique art
product of the Muong ethnic group.
Short shirts, bibs, belts, and head scarfs are
indispensable to form a complete costume of Muong women. Accessories are a set
of silver straps wrapped around the abdomen and hips, silver necklaces or those
made of silver-coloured materials.
Today, the trend of Muong women's costumes is
slightly stylized. Muong women use brightly coloured bibs, belts, and head
scarfs. The skirt waistbands are sewn with a buckle. Basically, the costume
still retains the traditional pattern of the Muong ethnic people.
Although it is not brilliant, but the costume
can help exalt the beauty and curves of women's body as well as the Muong
culture. Therefore, more and more women equip themselves with traditional
costumes./.
As a land deeply intertwined with human history and Vietnam’s millennia-long journey of nation-building and defence, Hoa Binh is often revered for its epic tales and legends.
Residents of Hoa Binh boast a rich cultural identity, reflected in their unique language, traditional attire, customs, and folk melodies – described as "sweet as honey, clear as a mountain stream.”
Lac Son district’s Vu ban town held the 2025 Truong Kha temple festival on April 12–13 (the 15th–16th days of the third lunar month). Since its revival in 2019, the festival has been organised every three years, preserving valuable intangible heritage while meeting the community’s cultural and spiritual needs.
The clothing of women reflects the culture of the Muong, Thai, Tay, Dao, and Mong ethnic groups in the northern province of Hoa Binh.
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.
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