Efforts to preserve Muong land’s patterns

12/27/2021 - 11:12:01 AM

(HBĐT) - Although her parents are Muong people, Mrs. Dinh Thuy Ha was born and grew up in Hoa Binh city. She can only speak a little Muong language. Even through her teenage years, she has never been worn a Muong dress.

Muong women dress traditional costume.

Ha participated in many big events, including performances of Muong gongs and Muong costumes on the occasion of the province's 130th founding anniversary, the Muong Culture Festival, and the Culture and Tourism Week of Hoa Binh province in 2019, and the Hoa Binh Culture and Tourism Festival in Hanoi with the performance of Muong gongs by 100 artisans.

She was determined to learn more Muong language, and bought a traditional costume of Muong women. The costume of the Muong ethnic people in general and Muong women in particular are quite simple, not brilliant, but they boast unique characteristics.

In the past, the costume of Muong women was usually a white or light-coloured shirt, and a strapless skirt made of dark fabric or dyed indigo black. The most prominent part of a skirt is its waistband, which is divided into three parts. The decorative art pattern on the waistband creates a contrast to the black and white on the shirt.

Muong cultural researchers have listed 37 pattern motifs on skirt waistband, including 25 animal pattern motifs. Particularly, many of patterns on the Muong skirt waistband are also popular motifs on Dong Son bronze drums. This shows that the patterns have both artistic and historical values, relating to a period of the civilisation of ancient Vietnamese. This is the most unique art product of the Muong ethnic group.

Short shirts, bibs, belts, and head scarfs are indispensable to form a complete costume of Muong women. Accessories are a set of silver straps wrapped around the abdomen and hips, silver necklaces or those made of silver-coloured materials.

Today, the trend of Muong women's costumes is slightly stylized. Muong women use brightly coloured bibs, belts, and head scarfs. The skirt waistbands are sewn with a buckle. Basically, the costume still retains the traditional pattern of the Muong ethnic people.

Although it is not brilliant, but the costume can help exalt the beauty and curves of women's body as well as the Muong culture. Therefore, more and more women equip themselves with traditional costumes./.

3.6 Billion VND Allocated to Preserve Traditional Cultural Values of Ethnic Minorities in Lạc Sơn District

As part of Project 6 under the national target program for socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas in 2024, Lạc Sơn District, Hoa Binh province focuses on diverse and practical activities to promote the project's goal: "Preserving and promoting the beautiful traditional cultural values of ethnic groups in conjunction with tourism development."

Mobilizing the power to preserve and promote the cultural heritage values

After 3 years of implementing Resolution No. 04-NQ/TU, dated October 11, 2021 of the Provincial Party Standing Committee on preserving and promoting the cultural heritage values of Hoa Binh province's ethnic groups in the period of 2021 – 2025 with the orientation to 2030 (NQ04), it has mobilized the participation of the entire political system, the people from all walks of life and there have been positive changes. So far, out of the 10 targets of NQ04, 3 targets have been met and exceeded the plan set for 2025. Typically, 70% of the intangible cultural heritage (ICH) of ethnic groups in the province is on the list of the national ICH items and they have been protected and restored, exceeding 20% of the proposed Resolution.