On March 29, the Government Office issued document No. 3 conveying the opinion of Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha on sending documents "Mo Muong" and "Cheo Art" to the Organization of Science, Education and Literature. of the United Nations (UNESCO).
Accordingly, considering the request of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Deputy Prime Minister agreed to submit to UNESCO for consideration and inclusion of the intangible cultural heritage "Cheo Art" in the list of intangible cultural heritages. representative of humanity.
Excerpt from Thi Mau going to the pagoda in the ancient cheo play Quan Am Thi Kinh. (Photo: VNA)
In addition, the Deputy Prime Minister agreed to submit to UNESCO for consideration and inclusion of the intangible cultural heritage "Mo Muong" in the list of intangible cultural heritage in need of urgent protection.
Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha authorized the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism to sign documents according to regulations.
The Vietnam National Committee for UNESCO was assigned by the Government leadership to preside over and coordinate with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to carry out the necessary procedures to send heritage dossiers to UNESCO, ensuring the time according to regulations. provisions of the 2003 Convention for the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage and the law on cultural heritage.
Cheo art is a type of Vietnamese folk theater art, strongly developed and popular in the Red River Delta and two spreading areas: the Northern midlands and the North Central region.
Cheo is popular and often associated with folk festivals to thank the gods for their blessings for a bountiful harvest, for the villagers to be prosperous, and for farmers who often get their hands dirty in the mud to interact and sing. the sound of your heart.
Over a long history from the 10th century to the present, Cheo art has penetrated deeply into cultural and social life, depicting the simple life of farmers, praising the noble qualities of people. People. Besides, there are also Cheo plays that are humorous, criticize bad habits, fight against injustice, and show love, tolerance, and forgiveness.
Mo Muong is a folk performance activity expressed in rituals associated with the spiritual belief life of the Muong people. The space organizes performance activities and prayers that take place in community life and in each family that holds a ceremony.
The subjects who practice Mo Muong are the shamans, these are the people who keep the shaman knowledge, memorize thousands of shaman verses and are fluent in rituals and customs, and are reputable people trusted by the community. When practicing rituals, the shaman is the one who speaks, reads, and sings the shaman songs during the ceremony.
The Muong people do not have their own writing, so the Mo songs (prayers) of the Muong people are passed down from one generation of shamans to another by word of mouth, and are preserved and maintained through rituals. in the folk of the Muong people.
