(HBO) - The Muong ethnic group in the northern province of Hoa Binh has over 40 major festivals yearly, and gongs are used in up to 90% of the festivals. For the Muong people in Hoa Binh, gongs are not only a kind of traditional musical instrument, but also a "sacred treasure", a spiritual story told by 12 national tones and an intangible cultural heritage with a strong vitality as they are preserved by the community.
500 Muong ethnic artisans and women perform
the gong in the Muong Ethnic Group Festival in 2023.
Muong Vang people in Lac Son district in particular and the Muong people in Hoa
Binh in general consider gongs as sacred objects, not merely musical
instruments. The sound of gongs is the soul of their culture, echoing the three
levels of the heavens, reaching the after-death world. The sound of gongs is
spiritually calling the Muong people’s ancestors. The Muong people have
absorbed that sound from the womb. When they die, the sound of gongs tells them
the way. Muong people believe that each gong has a spirit and a soul, so it is
a "sacred treasure" with profound spiritual values.
In the house of artisan Bui Ngoc Thuan, of Bung 1 hamlet, Thu Phong commune,
Cao Phong district, a set of Muong gongs is put in the most precious
place. Thuan usually uses his
gongs to teach the next generations. He said that everyone born as a Muong must know how to play Muong gongs.
At present, every commune in Cao Phong district has a Muong gong performance
team. The teams practice
traditional gongs so that they can perform at celebrations, traditional
festivals, and cultural exchanges. Old people teach young people, parents teach
their children, and senior teach beginners. In that way, the old generation
passes it on to the younger ones, and the gongs are kept in the
community.
Cao Phong district
boasts about 3,000 gongs. Hop Phong and Dung Phong are the two communes with
the largest number of gongs.
Meanwhile, Hoa Binh province still keeps more than 11,000 gongs, mostly in
the four districts of Lac Son, Tan Lac, Kim Boi, and Cao Phong, and Hoa Binh
city. To preserve a top typical cultural treasure of the Muong people in Hoa Binh,
the teaching of Muong gongs has been given much care. The province’s Department of Education and Training has actively cooperated
with the localities to have gongs lessons at schools.
The Women's Unions and Youth Unions at the grassroots level also hold classes
to teach Muong gongs. Every year, the province opens dozens of gong classes for
hamlets/communes musical groups.
Up to now, hundreds of clubs have been established across the province to
preserve and promote the values of Muong gongs. Muong gong performances have by now become an indispensable part of festivals
and celebrations in the province./.
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.
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