Vietnam Pictorial

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Exploring the Muong Culture in Hoa Binh

19/04/2024

Located approximately 70km southwest of hanoi, hoa Binh Province is known as the “land of epics” and a concentrated residential area of the Muong ethnic people. For many generations, the Muong have built a rich and distinctive cultural heritage, contributing to the diversity of Vietnam's ethnic cultures.

The Distinctive Imprint of the Muong Culture

Hoa Binh Province is considered the birthplace of the Muong with four major Muong regions, including Muong Bi (Tan Lac District), Muong Vang (Lac Son District), Muong Thang (Cao Phong District), and Muong Dong (Kim Boi District).

The Muong are indigenous residents who have long inhabited Hoa Binh. Through a long historical process, Muong culture has been formed, developed, and deeply rooted in the locals' life. Muong culture is vividly manifested in customs, traditions, beliefs, language, cuisine, costume, festivals and folklore art. Many distinctive artistic and cultural values of the Muong, such as folk songs, chieng art, mo art, and the epic “De dat - De nuoc” (Giving Birth to the Earth and the Water) are still preserved and highly appreciated in the treasure trove of Vietnam's ethnic cultures.

Scenic view of the Khai Ha Festival in Tan Lac District, Hoa Binh Province. Photo: Thanh Giang/VNP

In early 2024, we had an opportunity to attend the traditional Khai Ha (going down to the field) Festival of the Muong in Tan Lac District, Hoa Binh Province. The festival, closely associated with rice agriculture with many imprints of ancient Vietnamese civilization, is held to express the respect for genies and commemorate those who reclaimed and established the land and Muong community, and pray for good weather, abundant harvests and a prosperous and happy life. Today, the Khai Ha Festival has become a distinctive cultural feature and an indispensable spiritual activity of the Muong in the province.

When speaking of Muong culture, it is important to mention their living space, especially the stilt houses. In Giang Mo Village, Binh Thanh Commune, Cao Phong District, the Muong live in traditional stilt houses. Currently, the village has over 100 old stilt houses. Nguyen Van Huyen, a resident of Giang Mo Village, said, “My homeland, the village, and the stilt houses are what I have been closely attached to throughout my life. Therefore, no matter what I do, I still have to preserve these things for future generations”.

The uniqueness and allure of Muong culture has attracted special attention from researchers and artists who have devoted time and effort to studying and understanding Muong culture for their research, creative work, collection, and preservation.

Visiting the Muong Cultural Space Museum located on Tay Tien Street, Thai Binh Ward, Hoa Binh City, we discovered a distinctive space showcasing Muong culture. Painter Vu Duc Hieu, the owner of the museum - the first private one in Vietnam dedicated to Muong culture - said, “Hoa Binh is the cradle of ancient Muong culture, so I wanted to create this cultural space on Muong land. Here, I recreated a miniature Muong society from over 100 years ago through original artifacts that showed the architecture, daily life, customs, and language. The artifacts exhibited in the museum may not be the most beautiful, the finest, or the most valuable, but they are the most authentic in the life of the Muong”.

A tray of food prepared by the Muong in Muong Bi area of Tan Lac on their festival. Photo: Hoang Ha/VNP

Thanks to his efforts in preserving Muong culture, Vu Duc Hieu was awarded the Jeonju International Award in 2020. This award, sponsored by Jeonju City in South Korea, aims to encourage and promote activities of people worldwide in promoting, preserving, and conserving intangible cultural heritages. The award recognizes the persistent efforts of a Vietnamese artist who relentlessly pursues the preservation of Muong culture".

The Lang House in the Muong Cultural Space Museum - the first private museum in Vietnam dedicated to Muong culture. Photo: Thanh Giang/VNP

Preservation and Promotion of Muong Cultural Values

Many cultural values of the Muong are falling into oblivion due to time and changing lifestyles. In response to this situation, Hoa Binh Province has implemented various measures to effectively preserve and promote these Muong cultural values.

Nguyen Phi Long, Secretary of the Hoa Binh Provincial Party Committee, stated that despite the challenges in terms of resources, the province considers this an urgent task and is determined to mobilize resources for investment, management, protection, exploration, and promotion of the values and heritages of traditional culture and archaeological cultural heritage associated with sustainable tourism development. This effort aims to contribute to the socio-economic development, improve the material and spiritual lives of the people, and invest in resources and infrastructure for research, collection, preservation, and promotion of the cultural heritage of the Muong and Hoa Binh culture.

In recent years, thanks to the successful conservation and promotion of Muong cultural values, Lac Son District has established a healthy and culturally rich environment that contributes to educating the people about their historical traditions.

Bui Van Duong, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Lac Son District, said, “At present, the awareness about ethnic cultural values has been raised. Therefore, the district has set a target that 20% of the Muong will be able to write Muong script by 2025, 85% of the Muong will wear their traditional costumes and use them regularly on occasions such as festivals and the New Year celebration.

Students in secondary and high schools will wear traditional Muong costumes at least two days per week. Lac Son District will expand the scale of organizing cultural and sports festivals, Independence Day festivals, and invest in developing models for preserving traditional cultural villages associated with community tourism.

Quyet Thang High School in Lac Son District is an exemplary case. In 2019, the school established a club to preserve the Muong cultural identity, engaging in six main areas of folk songs, costumes, musical instruments, cuisine, traditional games, and folk culture. In addition, the club also organizes Muong writing classes for its members. To date, the club has attracted over 300 students who regularly participate in artist performances during school and local cultural festivals and events.

Students from Quyet Thang High School (Lac Son - Hoa Binh) studying Muong gongs in class. Photo: Thanh Giang/VNP

Bui Thi Huong, the head of the club, stated, “The club was established with the aim of educating students about the importance of preserving and promoting the unique culture of the Muong. Through these activities, we nurture students' love and responsibility for the conservation of traditional values”.

In 2023, Hoa Binh Province issued the plan on preservation and promotion of the cultural values of the Muong ethnic group and the Hoa Binh culture for the 2023-2030 period. The plan aims to continue researching, preserving, and promoting the cultural heritage and beautiful traditions of the Muong, as well as contributing to the promotion and introduction of the Hoa Binh region and its people. The plan also aims to develop unique tourism products to attract domestic and international tourists.

In the near future, Hoa Binh Province will focus on renovating and enhancing the landscape of the national relics of Xom Trai Cave (Tan Lap Commune) and Mai Da Lang Vanh (Yen Phu Commune) in Lac Son District which are important relics of Hoa Binh culture, with the goal of compiling a dossier to submit to the Prime Minister for classification as a special national relic and eventually proposing them to be listed as a cultural heritage site by UNESCO.

Story: Hoang Ha

Photos: Hoang Ha & Thanh Giang/VNP

Translated by Nguyen Tuoi

Designed by Trang Nhung