With his love for traditional musical instruments, at the age of over 60, artisan Hoang Van Vien, Gieng Xa hamlet, Cu Yen commune (Luong Son), still maintains his passion and enthusiasm. He actively participates in performing folk songs and dances, and teaches Muong gongs to younger generations with a desire to preserve and promote traditional cultural values.
Artisan Hoang Van Vien, Gieng Xa hamlet, Cu Yen commune (Luong Son), cleans his Muong gongs.
A Muong ethnic member, Vien started learning to play Muong gongs in 1981 and since then, he has always been enthusiastic and passionate about the Muong ethnic culture, regularly participating in cultural programmes. He is often invited to folk performances on major holidays and competitions in the district and province.
To preserve the beauty of the traditional culture, he has taught many others in his village on how to play Muong gongs. Vien shared that Muong gongs are the soul of the ethnic group’s music. "We place into it the optimistic spirit and life philosophies of our people. With gongs, we can play solo, in chorus and use them in love songs, folk songs and dances... I want to preserve and pass them on to younger generations so that the ethnic cultural identity is not lost.”
Over the recent years, Cu Yen has strengthened the management, preservation and promotion of Muong ethnic cultural values, including language, customs, beliefs, cuisine, and costumes. It has encouraged all people to participate in building and developing an advanced culture imbued with national identity. Currently, the commune has two Muong gong teams with three sets of gongs and 36 pieces.
Bui Dinh Luan, Vice Chairman of the commune People's Committee, said that in order to preserve and further promote the cultural identity of the Muong ethnic group, the committee regularly organises cultural exchange activities; commends units that care about preserving ethnic cultural traditions; and promotes the role of village elders in teaching the beauty of ethnic culture to the younger generations.
As a land deeply intertwined with human history and Vietnam’s millennia-long journey of nation-building and defence, Hoa Binh is often revered for its epic tales and legends.
Residents of Hoa Binh boast a rich cultural identity, reflected in their unique language, traditional attire, customs, and folk melodies – described as "sweet as honey, clear as a mountain stream.”
Lac Son district’s Vu ban town held the 2025 Truong Kha temple festival on April 12–13 (the 15th–16th days of the third lunar month). Since its revival in 2019, the festival has been organised every three years, preserving valuable intangible heritage while meeting the community’s cultural and spiritual needs.
The clothing of women reflects the culture of the Muong, Thai, Tay, Dao, and Mong ethnic groups in the northern province of Hoa Binh.
Gongs hold a special place in the cultural and spiritual life of the Muong ethnic people in Hoa Binh province. More than musical instruments, they are an indispensable part of community rituals and collective memory, echoing through generations as a spiritual thread linking the past, present, and future.
Preserving and promoting the cultural values of the Muong ethnic group has become an urgent task in the current context, as many traditional values face the risk of fading away. This effort requires not only protecting the cultural identity but also eliminating outdated customs and developing a modern cultural lifestyle, contributing to sustainable values for the Muong community in Hoa Binh province.
The Muong ethnic culture, deeply rooted in Vietnam’s mountainous north, continues to be preserved and revitalised by dedicated individuals and communities determined to safeguard their ancestral identity.
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