Mo Muong's journey to become intangible cultural heritage of humanity: Part 2 – Conservation, promotion of Mo Muong cultural values

5/30/2024 - 2:30:55 PM

Facing the risk of fading away due to aging artisans and dwindling performance space, the cultural heritage values of Mo Muong have been at the heart of Hoa Binh’s concerted preservation and promotion efforts.

Artisans from various districts exchange experiences at a gathering of Mo Muong Clubs in Cao Phong district.

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. Through generations, Mo prayers have been passed down verbally in the community. Each Muong community has its own version of Mo, but they are all fairly similar.

Mo Muong clubs - Vitality in Muong regions

Meritorious Artisan Bui Ngoc Thuan, who heads the Mo Muong Thang club in Cao Phong district, said the club officially launched in late 2021, with 25 members, consisting of artisans from nine communes. After three years of operation, it now has 46 members, including 16 young Mo masters aged 26-45, all proficient in Mo songs and rituals.

Bui Yen Minh, Deputy Head of the Cao Phong Office of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, revealed that the district is accelerating the implementation of a project to establish a tourism-integrated conservation space for the cultural heritage in Hop Phong commune. Cao Phong also develops and implements Mo Muong preservation and promotion on an annual basis.

Similar clubs have also been established in many other districts across the province such as Lac Son, Tan Lac, Yen Thuy, and Kim Boi. Based on their activities, the provincial Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism has directed Mo masters in Muong regions to collect, research, edit, and compile works about unique characteristics of the art genre in each area.

In areas implementing the national target programme for socio-economic development of ethnic minority and mountainous areas, part of the funding has been used to support Mo artisans in costumes, aiding them in practicing and teaching the younger generation.

Transforming Mo Muong into national heritage

On January 19, 2016, the Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism issued a decision including Mo Muong in the list of national intangible cultural heritages. In 2020, the art was selected by the Prime Minister as one needing a national dossier for future inscription on the UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritages in urgent need of protection.

In recent years, Hoa Binh has issued many important documents serving cultural preservation, with Mo Muong identified as one of the heritages requiring conservation and promotion in community life and a Mo Muong Steering Committee established.

In 2018, the provincial People's Committee approved a project to preserve its value for 2019 - 2025 and the following years. Recently launched were two others on the culture conservation and promotion of the Muong ethnic and the province for 2023 - 2030.

Nguyen Van Toan, Deputy Chairman of the provincial People's Committee said Hoa Binh places priorities on communications work to raise awareness about the profound humanistic role and significance of Mo Muong. Related materials have been widely promoted on mass media and social networks.

Moreover, the province has proposed recognising Mo artisans as meritorious ones as prescribed, while establishing mechanisms and policies to incentivise and honour those who have contributed to the preservation, maintenance, transmission, and teaching of Mo Muong.

The Muong ethnic script was approved in 2026 serving its teaching and learning throughout the province. The authorities also selected suitable content, especially Mo Epic, to be included in the local heritage education programme for secondary schools./.

(To be continued)

Bringing art to remote areas - promoting ethnic culture

Hoa Binh city - Vibrant community activities at cultural houses

Building a cultural conservation area for Muong ethnic group in Luy Ai hamlet

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.

Truong Kha temple festival celebrates Muong cultural heritage

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.

Hoa Binh city residents enjoy upgraded cultural houses

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.

Enhancing cultural and spiritual life in remote and ethnic minority areas

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.