Preserving traditional culture associated with developing community tourism

The sounds of gongs and xoang dances are still passed down every day, continued with love and pride by many generations. The traditional culture of the K'ho people is thus protected from the risk of being lost and also participates in the development of community tourism.

Traditional gong sounds and xoang dances are performed at the K'ho Traditional Cultural Village. Photo: Anh Khoa

Preserving cultural resources

Nearly half a year ago, when the K'ho Traditional Cultural Village in KLong Trao 1 village officially came into operation, Gung Re commune (now Di Linh commune) became more bustling when it welcomed many groups of visitors to visit and learn about the unique cultural features of the locality. In the stilt house, wearing traditional brocade costumes, the K'ho girls and boys who are members of the Di Linh Gong Club proudly performed gong sounds and dances, introducing to visitors the cultural values imbued with the identity of their people...

The Di Linh Gong Club currently has 17 members, aged 16-34. Each person has a job, whether they are busy studying, working or working in the fields, each person tries to set aside time each week to practice. The club's leader is Tam Bo Tho, a girl born in 1990 who has followed her grandmother and mother to attend festivals, listen to the sound of gongs, and practice each dance since she was a child. After years of studying and working away from home, she returned, carrying with her the aspiration to preserve the village culture.

In addition to traditional movements, Tho also created new movements to suit the stage and the needs of the audience. The initial shyness of the members was gradually replaced by confidence and boldness. After just over 2 years of establishment, the Di Linh Gong Club has become a familiar unit at important local events, and regularly performs at tourist attractions in the province.

Talking about the youth club, Mr. K'Brèm - Secretary of the Party Cell of KLong Trao 1 village shared: "There was a time when young people were indifferent to gongs, traditional culture gradually faded away. But thanks to the government opening classes to teach and propagate, the awareness of young people has changed. Now, they have many opportunities and are very confident when wearing traditional costumes, holding gongs to perform."

Opportunities for tourism development

In 2023, KLong Trao 1 village was chosen to build the K'ho Traditional Cultural Village with a total cost of more than 10 billion VND and start operating from March 2025. This is an opportunity for local traditional culture to not only be preserved but also have the opportunity to shine, contributing to local socio -economic development.

The Secretary of the K'Brèm Party Cell said that the KLong Trao 1 Village Party Cell identified preserving identity associated with developing community tourism as a key political task. Therefore, from the beginning, the Party Cell proactively led, oriented and assigned specific tasks to Party members with each specific task. Some monitored the restoration of the weaving profession, some mobilized people to preserve their costumes, some participated in guiding community tourism... so that the village could operate smoothly and effectively. "We determined that preserving culture is not only the task of specialized agencies, cadres and Party members, but must start from the community itself, each family, each person", the Secretary of the K'Brèm Party Cell shared.

From those efforts, up to now, more than 1,000 visitors have come to visit and experience the culture at the K'ho Traditional Cultural Village. In particular, the new rice festival, rain-praying ceremony... were recreated in the program "Di Linh - Identity and Integration" in response to the 10th Da Lat Flower Festival, held in 2024 in the village, attracting a large number of people and tourists to participate.

These are the initial foundations for building the K'ho Traditional Cultural Village into a bright spot in combining identity preservation with sustainable socio-economic development; contributing to making tourism a breakthrough highlight of the commune in the coming time.

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/bao-ton-van-hoa-truyen-thong-gan-voi-phat-trien-du-lich-cong-dong-387642.html