Through generations, Mo prayers have been passed down orally in the community. Only when they are collected, translated and published in the form of books do they exist separately from people.

Most of Mo prayers nowadays are called Mo Muong. They are the collections of verses recited in traditional funeral rituals of Muong people. They are divided into "cat Mo” or "roong Mo”, similar to chapters in literature. Each Mo chapter has its own theme and purposes for each item in a funeral ritual. The chapters may tell folk epics, customs or knowledge.

Each Muong community has its own Mo version but overall, they are basically similar to one another. The existence of various Mo versions has helped expand the heritage’s coverage in the spiritual life of Muong ethnics.

A number of Mo versions have been collected in Hoa Binh province, and three of them have very big content and been published. Collector Bui Thien said it takes up to 23 consecutive days to fully perform Mo with 115 "roong Mo” and more than 44,000 lines of verse.

The study publicised in three volumes of Bui Noi features over 22,000 lines of Mo verse. Another book published in 2010 by the Hoa Binh provincial People’s Committee introduced more than 22,500 lines.

In 1997, the National Culture Publishing House re-printed the book "Mo (Su thi va Than thoai) Dan toc Muong” (Mo (Epics and Myths) of the Muong ethnic group), compiled under the chair of Vuong Anh. The Muong language section of this book has 22,989 lines of Mo verse which are the typical Mo version of Muong ethnics in Thanh Hoa province.

In 2011, the Folk Literature and Arts Association of Vietnam and the Labour Publishing House published the book "Mo tha kha lenh ploi”, collected and translated by Dinh Van An and Dinh Xuan Hanh. The Muong language section of this book includes 10,193 lines of Mo verse of Muong people in Son La province.

Mo Muong is classified into "Mo nghi le” (or ritual Mo), "Mo Tliew” (or story-telling Mo) and "Mo Nhom” (in the Viet-Muong language group, "nhom” means watch or visit).

Ritual Mo is performed at religious rituals.

"Mo Tliew” is in fact a story-telling ritual. This is a very special Mo genre that tells epics such as "De Dat De Nuoc” (Bearing Earth, Bearing Water), "San Muong khong lo” (Hunting the giant Muong), "Con chu keo loi” (Chopping down the chu tree), "De gao” (Bearing rice), and "Lam nha san” (Building stilt houses). These are folk epics the Muong ethnic group created a long time ago. They reflects the daily life, including working activities and the fight against wild animals and the nature, of people in the prehistoric time when humans moved their residence from caves to valleys and plain areas and began cultivating water rice and splitting social classes.

Meanwhile, Mo Nhom guides listeners through history and geographical areas by describing the landscape and specialties in certain Muong communities. Some examples of this type are Mo Nhom Muong Bi, Nhom Khu Dol and Nhom Muong Thang.

 What does Mo Muong contain?

 Mo Muong bears a set of values expressed in diverse ways, including:

 Folk literature: which is the Mo prayers, legend stories and epics, which reflect the history and explain things and phenomena in life, as well as customs, beliefs and language of Muong people.

 The outlook on life: Conceptions on life of Muong people, the geography in areas that Muong people are living in.

 The worldview: the Muong’s conception on the universe, which is believed to have three levels and five worlds, and the nature…etc

 Folk knowledge: production experience, calendar, classification of plants, experience in dealing with nature.

 Space for Mo performance: the traditional funeral of Muong people and the system of rites, cultural symbol, burial house, and tomb …etc , for the funeral where Mo is performed. Folk costume and music … etc.

 Folk beliefs: the worship of ancestors, the progenitor of Mo, or ritual for living persons, the worship for lucky and peace, worship of plants, sacrifice rites (as seen in Mo buffalo, Mo cow or Mo chicken)…

 The educational value of Mo Muong remains relevant in the life today. It is an oral textbook.

 The value of cultural protection: Thanks to Mo Muong, through nearly 100 years under the domination of French colonialists, foreign faiths have been difficult to penetrate into the Muong community. At present, if Mo Muong is lost, the Muong people and their culture will lose the ability to defend against foreign culture.

 In short, Mo Muong is the Muong folk encyclopaedia that has been orally handed down through many generations.

 Despite many research projects, the decryption of Mo Muong remains limited compared to the great volume and expansive content of Mo Muong.

 The work is expected to be continued in the future./.

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