(HBO) – Mo Muong is a kind of heritage holding the special cultural essence of the Muong ethnic people. To seek the world heritage title for Mo Muong, it needs to be assessed in comparison with the Muong ethnic culture and similar heritage types in the world so as to highlight its unique values.
A Mo shaman practices a ritual in a house of
Muong people.
Mo Muong is a form of folk belief consisting of
three main factors: the environment for practices, Mo lyrics, and Mo artisans.
Recently, an international workshop on Mo Muong
and similar rituals of beliefs in the world has been held in Hoa Binh province
by the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Musicology
Institute under the Vietnam National Academy of Music. It helped supplement
scientific information about Mo Muong and created a chance for the community
possessing this heritage to directly take part in the compilation of a dossier
seeking the UNESCO recognition of Mo Muong as part of world intangible cultural
heritage in need of urgent safeguarding.
Dr Do Quang Trong, Deputy Director of the Thanh
Hoa provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and Dr Nguyen Van
Hai, Director of Thanh Hoa’s centre for history studies and cultural heritage
preservation, said Mo Muong is sacred folk rituals of the Muong ethnic minority
in funerals or ceremonies praying for good things.
It is associated with the human life cycle, they
said, elaborating that a Mo shaman prays for blessing for a newborn; expels
evil spirits from a sick person; performs rituals in weddings, ancestor worship
ceremonies, or new house celebrations; and serves as a bridge seeing off the
soul of the deceased to the afterlife.
About special values of Mo Muong, researcher and
Meritorious Artisan Bui Van Noi said the first outstanding value is its epic
characteristic with content related to the history of the Muong ethnic group
and humankind. The heritage also bears spiritual and custom values, teaches
people lessons about industriousness, along with values in terms of philosophy,
performing arts, and demonstration language.
Prof. and Dr Wolfgang Mastnak from Germany’s
University of Music and Performing Arts Munich held that Mo Muong matches many
UNESCO criteria for intangible cultural heritage such as its compatibility with
human rights and mutual respect for culture; being considered an indispensable
part of the cultural life by the community practicing it; and being deeply
rooted in the community and continuously passed down to future generations and
recreated.
Mo Muong reflects cultural diversity in the world
and also the creativity of humankind, he added.
However, amid the wave of modern cultures, Mo
Muong is facing the risk of disintegration, requiring all-round solutions to
preserve and bring it into play.
MA Vu Thanh Lich, Deputy Director of the Ninh Binh
provincial Department of Culture and Sports, and Dr Nguyen Thi Thanh Van from
the Hanoi University of Culture pointed out the need for concerted and strong
engagement from relevant parties, including local administrations, cultural
authorities, the community possessing the heritage, researchers, and relevant
organisations and individuals to uphold and promote the values of Mo Muong in
the Muong ethnic community./.
Once a vibrant part of the daily life for the Muong ethnic group in Hoa Binh province, traditional Muong singing styles such as "thuong rang bo meng” and "hat dup giao duyen” had faded over time. Today, local authorities and communities are working to restore and celebrate this cultural art form, recognising its value in preserving the group’s heritage.
Gau Tao Festival, one of the most important traditional festivals of the Mong ethnic minority group in Mai Chau district was held at the Pa Co stadium in Pa Co commune on January 11.
The ancient stone engravings dating back thousands of years in Suoi Co valley in My Thanh commune, Lac Son district, used to astonished domestic archaeologists. What their meaning is and what message they convey are the questions to which scientists are seeking answers.
Preserving and promoting unique cultural identities of ethnic communities in Hoa Binh province is considered a crucial task amid in the international integration trend.
More than just a cultural and historical attraction, the Muong Cultural Heritage Museum is playing a vital role in fostering sustainable tourism in the Northwestern region of Vietnam, particularly in Hoa Binh province. It stands as a model for the emerging trend of "responsible tourism," cleverly blending the preservation of cultural heritage with community economic development, raising awareness of Muong ethnic cultural values while promoting green tourism and sustainable growth.
The provincial Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism on December 24 organised a conference to report on the results of collecting, researching, restoring, and preserving "Bi doi”, a musical instrument of the airophonic family and a traditional instrument of the Muong ethnic people in Da Bac district.
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