Preserving and developing culture and folk arts of ethnic minorities in mountainous areas

On August 16th, the People's Committee of Quang Ngai province, in coordination with the Vietnam Folk Arts Association, organized a scientific seminar titled "Folk Culture and Arts of Mountainous Ethnic Groups in Quang Ngai Province and the South Central Region in the New Context".

According to Professor Dr. Le Hong Ly, President of the Vietnam Folk Arts Association, the South Central provinces are home to no fewer than 30 ethnic minority groups. This creates significant cultural diversity for the entire region, and the richer the cultural landscape, the greater the opportunities for socio -economic development in the region.

By natural law, when migrating to other areas, ethnic communities, from minority to majority, bring with them their own unique cultural identities, which may sometimes no longer be preserved in the places they leave. This is the phenomenon of marginalized cultural fossilization of ethnic groups.

Besides preserving their own ethnic culture, these communities also absorb the cultural values of the ethnic groups they live with, creating new cultural nuances that are both unique and contribute to the diversity and richness of their new land.

Change is inevitable for all phenomena. However, change should be for development based on traditions built and nurtured with the sweat and blood of countless generations before, not to forget or erase those traditional values. Doing so would sooner or later lead to rootlessness and destruction.

Professor Dr. Le Hong Ly - President of the Vietnam Folk Arts Association, delivered a speech at the conference.

“As the late General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong said at the National Culture Conference on November 24, 2021: ‘As long as culture remains, the nation remains; when culture is lost, the nation is lost.’ That is also the goal of this conference, and there will have to be more conferences to help us preserve and protect the cultural values of our ancestors,” said Professor Le Hong Ly.

At the conference, scientists, experts, and researchers presented many insightful papers aimed at clarifying issues related to the folk culture and arts of ethnic groups, as well as directions and solutions for their preservation and promotion in the provinces of the South Central region, including Quang Ngai.

Delegates present papers at the conference.

Quang Ngai is home to the Hre, Cor, and Ca Dong ethnic minority groups, mainly concentrated in five mountainous districts.

Throughout their formation and development, the ethnic minority communities in the province have created cultural heritage values and traditions rich in identity, which have been passed down and preserved through many generations.

Through the process of integration and development, our country in general and Quang Ngai province in particular have achieved many great accomplishments in economics, culture, and society, and the material and spiritual lives of the people have been steadily improving.

However, this process also poses many challenges to the preservation and promotion of the traditional cultural and artistic values of ethnic minority communities. Languages, writing systems, folk literature, folk performing arts, etc., are at risk of disappearing or being lost.

Material living standards and levels of cultural and spiritual enjoyment are uneven across regions, failing to meet the increasingly high demands of national construction and development in the new situation.

Permanent Vice Chairman of the Quang Ngai Provincial People's Committee Tran Hoang Tuan delivered a speech at the workshop.

“The workshop was organized to concretize the guidelines and policies of the Party and the State. Quang Ngai province hopes to receive many constructive contributions and solutions, both theoretical and practical, so that the folk culture and arts of the ethnic groups in the mountainous areas of Quang Ngai province and the South Central region can be preserved and developed, endure with cultural history, blend into the cultural flow of the 54 ethnic groups of Vietnam, and contribute to the renovation, integration and development of the country,” emphasized Tran Hoang Tuan, Standing Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Quang Ngai province.

Source: https://kinhtedothi.vn/bao-ton-phat-trien-van-hoa-van-nghe-dan-gian-cac-dan-toc-mien-nui.html