(HBO) – Phu Nghia commune in Lac Thuy district has 15 residential areas with 2,464 households. It is home to seven ethnic groups. There are two national relic sites in the commune: the banknote printing factory and the complex of Tien Pagoda caves, which attract millions of visitors each years. The locality boasts 13 active belief establishments.

 Lion dance performed at the annual festival of Tien Pagoda in Lac Thuy district’s Phu Nghia commune, which features belief practising activities to preserve and promote ethnic racial cultural values.

According to Mau Dang Ung, Vice Chairman of the communal People's Committee, three out of the 13 active belief establishments are under the management of the district’s relic sites management board. They are Trinh, Mau (Mother Goddess) and Trung (Middle) Temples. Some festivals take place in the locality every year, including the Thuong communal house festival from the 8th to the 10th day of the 11th lunar month; the Trung communal house festival from the 18th to the 20th day of the 11th lunar month and the Doi Quan communal house festival from the 9th to the 10th day of the first lunar month. The biggest is the festival held at the Tien Pagoda relic site, which lasts from the 4th day of the first lunar month to the end of the third lunar month. 

 

To raise awareness of the Party's guidelines, the State's policies and laws as well as to ensure citizens' right to freedom of belief and religion, the communal Party Committee, People's Committee and Fatherland Front Committee have directed agencies and mass organisations to pay attention to the management of belief and religious activities. 

Most local people have followed the worship of Mother Goddesses and the village gods for a long time, together with the worship of ancestors and family lineage, so belief practicing activities take place every month and every year. 

Many communal house festivals still maintain their identity, offering opportunities to educate people about the nation's fine traditions. However, as a large part of the young generation work far away and only return for belief practicing activities during festivals, most of these cultural activities are performed by the elderly, leading to a risk of fading cultural values. 

To facilitate people’s belief practising activities, the local Party committee and authorities have regularly coordinated with agencies at all levels to train and improve the skills for people who take part in the management of these establishments. Attention has been paid to opening classes to teach young people to beat gongs, perform lion dances and sing Muong folk songs to preserve and promote the cultural values of the nation. 

Communication campaigns have been launched so that people strictly comply with the legal regulations on belief practising activities, build the great national solidarity, actively contribute to thwarting plots by hostile forces and preventing negative elements from taking advantage of beliefs to cause division in the great national solidarity bloc and take actions against the Party and State./.