The unique folk performing arts of the Muong people.

The Muong people in Phu Tho still preserve a diverse and rich cultural heritage. Muong culture is clearly reflected in customs, traditions, beliefs, language, cuisine, clothing, festivals, and folk knowledge. This includes unique folk performing arts such as: gong performances, folk singing, "thuong rang," "bo meng," "hat dum," "moi" dance, "xenh tien" dance, "dam duong" dance, "cham ong" dance, and drum dance.

In the cultural heritage of the Muong people, gongs play a very important role. Gong culture is considered the soul of the Muong people, symbolizing the material and spiritual prosperity of each family as well as the entire community. In 2016, the Muong gong art of Hoa Binh was included in the list of National Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The sound of gongs is indispensable during festivals and holidays. In particular, the sound of gongs always resonates in the festivals of the four ancient Muong regions: Bi, Vang, Thang, and Dong, imbued with the depth of history and community spirit.

The Muong people of Huong Can commune perform the "dam duong" dance during the festival.

For the Muong people, folk songs are an indispensable feature in their cultural heritage. Notably, in call-and-response singing, folk songs, and courtship songs, the singers often improvise, creating lyrics that perfectly match the existing melody and rhythm for immediate response. The lyrics of folk songs are passed down orally through generations; therefore, the artists must collect, learn, and preserve a large body of Muong language, including ancient Muong. Recently, folk songs like "Thuong Rang" and "Bo Meng" were included in the list of National Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism .

Mr. Dinh Van Thanh, from Cu Dong commune, has spent decades diligently researching and recording the lyrics of folk songs, dances, and performances of the Muong people. According to him, the songs and dances of the Muong people are taught and passed down orally, without any specific written records. Therefore, support from the State and the Ministry of Culture is crucial in systematically collecting and recording lyrics, songs, cultural activities, music , and archiving documents and materials on folk performances to preserve, promote, and teach these folk performing arts to the younger generation.

Besides Muong folk songs, the Xenh Tien dance, Moi dance, and Trong Du dance also create a distinctive feature of Muong culture. To preserve and promote the value of Muong culture – including folk performing arts – hundreds of Muong ethnic cultural clubs have been established in communes, residential areas, and schools, attracting a large number of people to participate, contributing to the promotion of traditional beauty and further strengthening the preservation and promotion of ethnic cultural values. These Muong cultural clubs have been and are contributing to preserving the language, folk literature, performing arts, customs, beliefs, festivals, culinary culture, traditional crafts, and ethnic costumes of the Muong people. During Tet (Lunar New Year) or other festivals, performances of gong music, Xenh Tien dance, Dam Duong dance, Cham Ong dance, and Trong Du dance are indispensable. Through the activities of these clubs, many people have participated in practicing and learning more about folk performing arts. These are also the people directly responsible for preserving the folk performing arts of the Muong ethnic group.

Many localities in the province have also coordinated with units of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to organize training courses to improve capacity in the preservation and promotion of ethnic minority cultural identity; built models of Muong ethnic cultural clubs for commune cultural officials, artisans, and influential people to equip them with knowledge on the preservation and promotion of traditional ethnic minority culture; focused on implementing methods and skills for collecting, restoring, and developing some traditional intangible cultural forms at risk of being lost... From there, contributing to preserving the folk performing arts of the Muong people, preserving and promoting Muong cultural values ​​in modern life.

Phuong Thanh

Source: https://baophutho.vn/doc-dao-nbsp-nghe-thuat-trinh-dien-dan-gian-cua-nguoi-muong-238543.htm