(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./.
In the evening of March 28th, in Hoa Binh, the Department of Grassroots Culture (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) coordinated with the provincial Departments of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the city to organize a mobile propaganda contest to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Dien Bien Phu Victory (May 7th, 1954 - May 7th, 2024) with the theme "Returning to Dien Bien”. There ứa the attendance of Mr. Nguyen Van Toan, the Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; the representatives of the leaders from a number of departments, branches and numerous veterans and Hoa Binh people.
In responding to the movement of "All people stay united to build cultural lifestyle”, over the years, Kim Boi district has conducted many practical and effective activities to promote solidarity and mutual support among the local community in sustainable poverty reduction and building cultural lifestyle and a healthy cultural environment, and maintaining national cultural identity.
Hoa Binh Pedagogical College has just held the closing ceremony of the training class and issued the certificate of the language of Muong ethnic people to the oficials, civil servants and public employees of courses I and II in 2023.
Hoa Binh is an ancient land home to limestone mountains running along the southeast direction and in parallel with Truong Son Mountain Range in the West, forming many basins and valleys with a rich diversity of fauna and flora. Humans came to reside here in the pre-historic period, creating the world-famous Hoa Binh Civilisation.
The Dao ethnic minority group in Hoa Binh province has preserved many unique cultural identities, especially rituals and belief. In particular, Nhay (dance) festival is the most important ritual with a long history, vividly reflecting the religious life of the local Dao people.