(HBO) - Over the past years, to carry out Directive 41-CT/TW, issued by the 11th-tenure Party Central Committee’s Secretariat on February 5, 2015, on enhancing the Party’s leadership over the management and organisation of festivals, the culture, sports and tourism sector of Hoa Binh province has worked hard to uphold and bring into play traditional cultural values.
A tutelary god palanquin procession in the Khai ha
(going to the field) festival in the Muong Bi area of Tan Lac district.
Deputy Director of the provincial Department of
Culture, Sports and Tourism Luu Huy Linh said thanks to the attention of provincial
leaders and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as well as efforts of local
authorities, the preservation and promotion of intangible cultural heritage
values have been stepped up.
There are hundreds of spring festivals across
Hoa Binh at present, including over 40 festivals of local ethnic minorities restored
recently such as the Khai ha Muong Bi Festival in Tan Lac district, the Xen Ban
and Xen Muong festivals of the Thai ethnic group in Mai Chau district, the Gau
Tao Festival of Mong people in Mai Chau, and the Long Tong Festival of Tay
people in Da Bac district.
Under the provincial administration’s
directions, local relic sites have been restored and upgraded. Nineteen of the
68 relic sites in the province have been rated so far while the management,
protection, and promotion of values of these places have been associated with
the organisation of festivals.
Party committees, authorities and organisations
from the provincial to grassroots levels have taken action to enhance their
leadership over the management and organisation of festivals. The target is to
organise local festivals in a solemn, economical, and effective manner that is
in line with fine customs and traditional cultural values so as to meet
people’s cultural and spiritual demand. They expect that by doing so, festivals
in Hoa Binh will attract more visitors, thus better preserving and bringing
into play cultural identities of ethnic minority groups in the province./.
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.