The opening ceremony of the 2024-2025 academic year at Da Hop Inter-Level School in Huu Nghi ward, Hoa Binh city, featured a special gong performance by students.
The school has established a Muong gong team, where students learn how to play gongs and other musical instruments of the Muong ethnic group under the instruction of Meritorious Artisan Bui Tien Xo from Vinh Tien commune, Kim Boi district.
This is just one of the many schools in Hoa Binh province making dedicated efforts, each with its own approach, to preserve and promote traditional cultural traits.
A performance by students from Mai Chau B Boarding Secondary and High School for Ethnic Minority Groups at 2024 Cultural and Sports Competition for Boarding and Semi-Boarding Schools for Ethnic Minorities in Hoa Binh province.
In early October, the provincial Department of Education and Training held the 2024 Cultural and Sports Competition for Boarding and Semi-Boarding Schools for Ethnic Minority Groups, attracting the participation of 24 schools with nearly 400 students competing in the cultural category. This event truly provided a platform for students to improve their understanding of cultural heritage.
Over the past years, apart from providing knowledge and moral education for students, the department has consistently focused on fostering their patriotism. Special emphasis has been placed on educating them about preserving and promoting the cultural identities of local ethnic groups.
Department Deputy Director Nguyen Quang Minh said such educational activities are tailored to the psychological and developmental characteristics of students as well as schools’ conditions. They are integrated into major lessons and extracurricular activities. Some schools have also stablished spaces showcasing.
Phong Phu commune, Tan Lac district of Hoa Binh province, is widely regarded as the cultural heartland of the Muong ethnic group. Among its many traditional communities, Luy Ai hamlet (formerly Ai hamlet) stands out as a rare location where the customs and way of life of the Muong Bi people remain largely intact.
The Truong Kha temple festival, a distinctive cultural event held every three years in Vu Ban township, Lac Son district, returned recently with vibrant rituals and folk traditions of the Muong people. Located next to the Buoi River in the Muong Trao fields, the Truong Kha Temple is dedicated to the three Kun Dol deities, revered for teaching farming techniques, irrigation, weaving, and protecting the harvest.
The demand for spaces serving community activities of residents in various areas across Hoa Binh city has been satisfied as local cultural houses now feature modern, spacious facilities thanks to the effective implementation of Resolution No. 49/NQ-HDND issued on December 28, 2021 by the city People's Council, which approved the plan for reorganising, converting, and allocating land for the construction, repair, and expansion of cultural houses in Hoa Binh’s villages and residential areas until 2025.
At the end of May, the Hoa Binh Provincial Ethnic Arts Troupe organized a series of performances for residents in Region 2 and Region 3 communes across the province. Bringing art to ethnic communities in remote, isolated, and especially disadvantaged areas has become a meaningful activity. These are not merely artistic performances but also journeys to disseminate cultural values, enrich spiritual life, and contribute to preserving the cultural identity of ethnic minorities.