(HBO) - The Muong ethnic people make up more than 63% of Hoa Binh’s population. Over the years, the province has placed special emphasis on preserving and promoting the cultural values of the group’s unique cultural values.

The 2023 Khai ha festival of the Muong ethnic group
Hoa Binh has contributed to the preservation and promotion of the cultural
values of the community.
The resolution of the 17th provincial Party congress
highlights the preservation and promotion of the unique cultural identity of
ethnic groups, and the mobilisation of resources to such cause connected with
tourism development. Such efforts have so far achieved remarkable results.
The Khai ha festival of the Muong ethnic group in Hoa Binh,
the biggest and oldest traditional folk event indispensable to the community on
the occasion of the lunar new year, was held in early 2023, marking a highlight
in the province's cultural events this year. In 2022, the festival was
recognised as a national intangible cultural heritage by the Ministry of Culture,
Sports, and Tourism.
Regarding intangible cultural heritage, numerous Muong
cultural relics have been discovered within the province, such as ancient tomb
clusters in Dong Thech, Kim Truy (Kim Boi), Lo hamlet (now Muong Lo hamlet),
Luy hamlet (now Luy Ai hamlet), and Dong Bay (Tan Lac), among many other areas.
The value of Muong ethnic traditional stilt houses and
clothing has also garnered increased attention in recent times. Muong gong art,
featured prominently in the province's festivals, has been extensively invested
in and expanded. In 2016, the art was included in the list of national
intangible cultural heritage.
Additionally, the inventory of intangible cultural heritage
for the purposes of preservation and promotion has been a focus. As a result,
267 Muong heritages of this kind have been documented.
Luu Huy Linh, Deputy Director of the provincial Department
of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, said the urbanisation process, with building
urban civilised lifestyle deeply penetrating into the life of the Muong people,
has both positive and negative impacts. Many traditional cultural values are at
risk of distortion, or even disappearing from the Muong community's life.
The department has proposed the province develop a project
for preserving and promoting the cultural values of the Muong ethnic group and
the Hoa Binh Culture for 2023-2030. It also aims to promote and introduce the
region and the people of Hoa Binh, and develop unique tourism products to attract
domestic and international tourists, contributing to the province's
socio-economic development in the near future.
With an increasingly vibrant and widespread emulation movement aimed at building cultured residential areas and cultured families, Yen Thuy District has been making steady progress toward improving both the material and spiritual well-being of its people, while fostering a civilized, prosperous, beautiful, and progressive community.
Once lacking recreational spaces and community facilities, Residential Group 2 in Quynh Lam Ward (Hoa Binh City) has recently received attention for the construction of a new, spacious, and fully equipped cultural house. The project followed the model of state support combined with public contributions in both labor and funding.
The "All people unite to build cultural life" movement, which has been effectively integrated with Kim Boi district’s socio-economic development goals, is fostering a lively spirit of emulation across local residential areas, hamlets, villages, public agencies, and enterprises. In addition, through the initiative, traditional cultural values are being preserved and promoted, while community solidarity and mutual support in poverty reduction and economic development are being strengthened.
A working delegation of the Hoa Binh provincial People’s Committee led by its Permanent Vice Chairman Nguyen Van Toan on June 11 inspected the progress of a project to build the Mo Muong Cultural Heritage Conservation Space linked to tourism services in Hop Phong commune, Cao Phong district.
Born and growing in the heroic land of Muong Dong, Dinh Thi Kieu Dung, a resident in Bo town of Kim Boi district, in her childhood was nurtured by the sweet lullabies of her grandmother and mother. These melodies deeply imprinted on her soul, becoming an inseparable part of her love for her ethnic group's culture. For over 20 years, this love for her hometown has driven Dung to research, collect, and pass down the cultural values of the Muong people to future generations.
In the final days of May, the Ethnic Art Troupe of Hoa Binh Province organized performances to serve the people in remote, mountainous, and particularly disadvantaged areas within the province. These were not just ordinary artistic shows, but they were the meaningful journeys aimed at spreading cultural values, enhancing the spiritual life of the people and contributing to the preservation of ethnic minority cultural identities.