(baosonla.gov.vn) - Son La province is home to 12 ethnic groups living together, each with its own long-standing, rich, and unique culture. To preserve and promote the cultural values of these ethnic groups, the province has focused on inventorying cultural heritage, assessing its current state, and outlining solutions to effectively preserve and promote these heritages.
Dam Duong is a folk art form of the Muong people that has been inventoried as a cultural heritage.
Annually, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism issues a plan for the inventory and documentation of intangible cultural heritage. Training courses are organized to guide members of the provincial intangible cultural heritage inventory committee on inventory work, field research methods, questionnaire surveys, data compilation, and form completion for information gathering and documentation of heritage.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in coordination with local authorities, conducted an inventory of intangible cultural heritage of nine ethnic minority groups (Thai, Mong, Muong, Dao, Kho Mu, Xinh Mun, Khang, La Ha, and Lao), according to the seven types of intangible cultural heritage stipulated by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, including: spoken and written language; folk literature; folk performing arts; social customs; traditional festivals; traditional crafts; and folk knowledge. 1,517 inventory forms and 143 lists were compiled detailing the types of heritage still being preserved, the place names of the heritage sites, and the artisans practicing the heritage. In addition, documentation was recorded, video and audio were taken, and surveys were conducted through questionnaires.
Comrade Pham Hong Thu, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, informed: Through the inventory work, the current state of preservation and promotion of intangible cultural heritage of ethnic groups in localities has been assessed. At the same time, the aspirations and wishes of the people regarding the protection and promotion of their cultural heritage have been understood, combined with direct communication to the people about the value of the heritage they possess, so that they feel proud of their heritage and participate in its preservation and promotion.
To date, our province has one heritage item, "Thai Xoe Dance Art," inscribed by UNESCO as a representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity; and 17 heritage items listed in the national catalog by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, including: Thai Xoe Dance Art; Ancient Thai script; Het Cha Ceremony of the White Thai people in Ang village, Dong Sang commune, Moc Chau district; Mong ethnic flute art; clan worship ceremony and decorative art on Mong costumes; Dao ethnic coming-of-age ceremony; decorative art on Dao costumes; Pang A ritual of the La Ha ethnic group; Mo Muong ritual; Xe Pang A ritual of the Khang people; Xip Xi Tet ritual of the White Thai people in Phu Yen and Quynh Nhai districts...
In addition, our province has coordinated with the provinces of Hoa Binh, Thanh Hoa, Ninh Binh, Phu Tho, Dak Lak, Hanoi city and the Institute of Music to prepare a dossier on the "Mo Muong" cultural heritage to submit to UNESCO for recognition as an intangible cultural heritage in need of urgent protection. The heritage items have been published in the National List and recognized by UNESCO, contributing to the preservation, promotion and honoring of the value of the intangible cultural heritage of ethnic groups.
However, during the inventory process, the results only reached the stage of identifying heritage, counting, recording initial information, and compiling an inventory list. This is due to insufficient funding for cultural heritage inventory work. Inventoryors face language barriers, limited knowledge, fieldwork skills, and the ability to identify and understand heritage, leading to low-quality inventory reports. Furthermore, the custodians of intangible cultural heritage are not yet aware of the value of the heritage they possess, hindering the recording and collection process.
To overcome these limitations, in the coming time, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism will continue to advise the Provincial People's Committee on building a team of inventoryers with the necessary qualifications and practical capabilities. Policies will be implemented to encourage individuals and artisans to transmit and preserve cultural heritage at risk of disappearing. Policies will be in place to provide timely incentives and encouragement for veteran artisans. Furthermore, communication efforts will be strengthened to raise community awareness and contribute to preserving heritage values.
Source: Son La Newspaper