Vietnam preserves ethnic minorities’ intangible cultures at risk of disappearing
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has issued a plan to support the study, restoration, and preservation of ethnic minorities’ intangible cultures which are at risk of falling into oblivion.
The programme, to be carried out in Q2 and Q3, is expected to contribute to saving the “khen be” (panpipe) art of the Thai people in Nghia Lo township, the traditional brocade weaving of the Mong group in the northwestern province of Yen Bai, the “cap sac” maturity ritual of the San Diu ethnics in Tam Dao district of the northern midland province of Vinh Phuc, and the art of mask making of the Khmer community in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh.
Accordingly, the ministry’s Department of Ethnic Culture will support the groups with equipment and musical instruments to perform and re-enact the rituals, take photos and make documentaries about the restoration process, while burning DVD discs and delivering them to locals so as to popularise the preservation results as well as the traditional cultures.
The programme is hoped to enhance solidarity among the ethnic groups through the teaching and learning of folk songs, dances, and cultural rituals, and promote the roles of artisans, village patriarchs, prestigious people and the communities in the preservation work.
