Unique Mo Muong cultural heritage in Dak Lak

Having prepared a full offering tray with all the traditional offerings, Ms. Quach Thi Hoa Phuong, a Muong ethnic group in village 3, Hoa Thang commune, Buon Ma Thuot city, Dak Lak province, respectfully invited a shaman to represent her family in performing the ancestor's death anniversary ceremony. Ms. Phuong said that the Muong community migrated from Hoa Binh to Dak Lak more than half a century ago. In their new homeland, they have always preserved and passed down the good cultural traditions of their people. In particular, inviting a shaman to pray for the health and safety of the family on holidays and death anniversaries is an indispensable spiritual ritual.

“On holidays and death anniversaries of our ancestors, we must have a shaman come to perform official ceremonies, especially on our ancestors’ death anniversaries every year, which must be complete. When the shaman comes, he must call the men and women home for a meal, and after the meal, he invites them back to go,” Ms. Phuong shared.

Mo Muong is a folk cultural performance activity practiced in rituals associated with the religious life of the Muong people.

For the Muong people, the shaman is the person who directly practices Mo performance - a folk cultural performance activity performed in rituals associated with spiritual beliefs. Muong Mo is made up of Mo words, the performance environment and the performing subject. Mo words are rhymed prose and Mo poems, with rich content, containing many ancient stories, folk legends, myths, epics; reflecting history, explaining things and phenomena in ancient life. Mo words are composed in rhyme and follow certain performance principles.

The Muong people do not have their own written language, so the Mo songs are passed down orally through generations of shamans, and are passed down through folk rituals. Shamans are the keepers of Mo knowledge, who know tens of thousands of Mo verses by heart and are well-versed in rituals, practices, and customs. According to shaman Bui Van Minh, in Hoa Thang commune, Buon Ma Thuot city, Dak Lak province, Mo is performed in each family, to practice a certain ritual, such as funerals, worshiping the midwife, warding off bad luck, weddings, building a new house, etc.

Shamans practice Mo performances in funeral ceremonies, worshiping the midwife, warding off bad luck, weddings, building new houses, etc.

Migrating to Dak Lak as early as 1954 and migrating from many provinces since the 1980s, the Muong ethnic community in Dak Lak currently has about 16 thousand people, living mainly in the districts of Ea Kar, Krong Nang, Ea H'leo, Krong Bong and Buon Ma Thuot city. Although the population is large, the number of artisans who can fully perform Mo Muong is only 6 people. The shamans play an important role in the spiritual life of the Muong people, maintaining the continuity of Mo Muong in life. This is further affirmed when the Mo Muong social customs and beliefs of Dak Lak province were included in the list of National Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism since February 2024.

According to the statistics of the Department of Cultural Heritage, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mo Muong heritage currently exists in 7 provinces and cities. In Dak Lak, in the process of investigation, statistics and assessment of the current status of Mo Muong heritage, since 2022, the province has coordinated with the National Institute of Music and provinces with Mo Muong heritage to build a national dossier to submit to the United NationsEducational , Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for inclusion in the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage for Urgent Safeguarding.

Facing the risk of extinction, Mo Muong being recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage is not only a source of pride for the Muong people, but also an opportunity for Dak Lak to continue to preserve and spread the unique values ​​of this heritage in the colorful cultural flow in the Central Highlands.

In Dak Lak, there are currently only about 6 people who can fully perform Mo Muong.

Since 2022, Dak Lak province has coordinated with the National Institute of Music to conduct surveys, statistics and evaluate the current status of Mo Muong heritage in the locality.

Source: https://vov.vn/van-hoa/doc-dao-di-san-van-hoa-mo-muong-o-dak-lak-post1198170.vov