(HBO) – The People’s Committee of Cao Phong district on August 18 organised a workshop on Mo Muong, unique cultural heritage of the Muong ethnic group in Hoa Binh province. The event brought together representatives from the People’s Committee and 50 artisans from three Mo Muong clubs in Cao Phong, Tan Lac, and Lac Son districts.
Bui Van Dong, a Mo practitioner in Thach Yen commune, Cao Phong district, performs Mo Muong at the workshop.
Mo Muong is a job and also a performance practiced at funerals, religious
festivals, and life cycle rituals by the Muong ethnic group. The art consists
of Mo prayers and performances, by Mo practitioners, or Mo artisans.
Cao Phong is home to 37 Mo artisans, and eight learners and assistants, all of
them members the Mo Muong Thang Club.
Currently, most of the Mo artisans are old, thus hindering their efforts in
teaching and preserving the art. Therefore, the workshop was intended to seek ways to preserve and promote
intangible cultural heritage values of Mo Muong in the new situation.
Participants also looked into how to raise the sense of responsibility among
the artisans for the research, popularisation and practice of Mo Muong.
They shared the view that Mo Muong Thanh in particular and Mo clubs in general
should offer regular training to young Mo practitioners, and organise
activities encouraging people to join preservation efforts. They also proposed
all-level authorities issue more specific policies in support of the
preservation and promotion of the unique cultural heritage.
As a land deeply intertwined with human history and Vietnam’s millennia-long journey of nation-building and defence, Hoa Binh is often revered for its epic tales and legends.
Residents of Hoa Binh boast a rich cultural identity, reflected in their unique language, traditional attire, customs, and folk melodies – described as "sweet as honey, clear as a mountain stream.”
Lac Son district’s Vu ban town held the 2025 Truong Kha temple festival on April 12–13 (the 15th–16th days of the third lunar month). Since its revival in 2019, the festival has been organised every three years, preserving valuable intangible heritage while meeting the community’s cultural and spiritual needs.
The clothing of women reflects the culture of the Muong, Thai, Tay, Dao, and Mong ethnic groups in the northern province of Hoa Binh.
Gongs hold a special place in the cultural and spiritual life of the Muong ethnic people in Hoa Binh province. More than musical instruments, they are an indispensable part of community rituals and collective memory, echoing through generations as a spiritual thread linking the past, present, and future.
Preserving and promoting the cultural values of the Muong ethnic group has become an urgent task in the current context, as many traditional values face the risk of fading away. This effort requires not only protecting the cultural identity but also eliminating outdated customs and developing a modern cultural lifestyle, contributing to sustainable values for the Muong community in Hoa Binh province.
The Muong ethnic culture, deeply rooted in Vietnam’s mountainous north, continues to be preserved and revitalised by dedicated individuals and communities determined to safeguard their ancestral identity.
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