Preserving and promoting the cultural values ​​of the Co Tu people

The Co Tu people of Hoa Bac commune dance tung tung da da to the beat of gongs at the Cultural and Sports Festival and the restoration of the Co Tu traditional festival in 2025. Photo: DOAN HAO LUONG

Recreating traditional ceremonies

One of the interesting and unique things about the Cultural Sports Festival and the restoration of the traditional Co Tu festival this year, held at the end of April 2025 in Hoa Bac commune, is the restoration of the oath-taking ceremony and the new rice celebration. With the meaning of thanking the gods for bringing a bountiful harvest, favorable weather, praying for a healthy and prosperous new year, the new rice celebration is an opportunity for villagers to gather, worship and share the joy of a good harvest. Meanwhile, the oath-taking ceremony has a unique humanistic value, helping people to strengthen their solidarity. The restoration of these two typical ceremonies not only contributes to preserving and promoting the traditional cultural values ​​of the Co Tu people here but also creates conditions for the younger generation to learn and research to enrich the traditional values ​​of their people.

Mr. Ha Vy, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said that although the Co Tu community in Hoa Vang is not large, their cultural and sports activities over the years have left many unique impressions in the diverse cultural life of the locality. This festival is one of the efforts to preserve and promote the values ​​of the people with a rich history, customs, festivals, costumes and musical instruments. "This is an opportunity for the Co Tu people to gather together, exchange and perform art, demonstrate traditional crafts and participate in folk games and sports, thereby contributing to strengthening solidarity, spreading the spirit of national pride and love for their homeland and identity," Mr. Vy expressed.

In particular, in this year's traditional festival, the tung tung da da dance was enthusiastically responded to by the people when they were in harmony with the gong sounds in the village. The women's legs stood straight and leisurely, their arms stretched up not higher than their heads, their hands behind their backs as if supporting the sky like a pair of buffalo horns - the symbol of "buffalo head and water hooves", as a way to connect the real world with the gods. Therefore, the da da dance is also called "the dance of offering to the sky" and is often performed in major festivals of the Co Tu people such as: buffalo stabbing festival, new rice festival, village building festival, building of Guol houses...

Sharing about the significance of this year's festival program, Mr. Nguyen Thuc Dung, Vice Chairman of Hoa Vang District People's Committee emphasized that this is a program to honor the spirit of solidarity among ethnic groups, and at the same time honor the cultural identity of the Co Tu people for a Vietnamese culture imbued with national identity in which the Co Tu people play a leading role in preserving and promoting the traditional cultural values ​​of the Co Tu people. Over the past 15 years, with the attention of the city, Hoa Vang District has focused on preserving and promoting traditional cultural values ​​as well as building the cultural life of villages in the district.

“The Co Tu community, together with the government, has made constant efforts to build and develop culture through cultural and sports festivals and expand exchanges and learning, enriching their cultural capital. Through these activities, the identity of the Co Tu people is preserved and developed, contributing to the cultural diversity of ethnic groups in Hoa Vang district and Da Nang city,” Mr. Dung emphasized.

Co Tu people perform brocade weaving in an activity at Da Nang Museum. Photo: XUAN DUNG

Expanding living space, enriching national culture

In recent times, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism together with the People's Committee of Hoa Vang district have mobilized the Co Tu people of the three villages of Ta Lang, Gian Bi (Hoa Bac commune) and Phu Tuc (Hoa Phu commune) to actively participate in many activities in the work of preserving the Co Tu ethnic culture, typically supporting the provision of traditional musical instruments and training in knowledge about conservation work and traditional music practice skills. In addition, the district has invested in community bookcases, preserved traditional musical instruments, supported traditional and modern sports training equipment at facilities; at the same time, built data on tangible and intangible cultural heritage of the Co Tu people, especially completing data and publishing documents on traditional cultural heritage of the Co Tu ethnic group in Da Nang city.

Mr. Ho Phu Thanh, Vice Chairman of Hoa Bac Commune People's Committee, said that in the past, most of the people here did not know how to dance tung tung da da, play gongs, or weave cloth, but now they are very proficient. Along with the commune organizing many classes on gongs, dancing tung tung da da, weaving, singing ly..., the adults in the village also responded and participated in passing them on to the younger generation. Thanks to that, the traditional occupations as well as the customs and culture of the Co Tu ethnic group have been preserved and promoted very well by the people.

“For the people of Ta Lang and Gian Bi villages, during the war, economic life was difficult, so their culture was lost. Realizing the importance of preserving, conserving and promoting the cultural values ​​of the Co Tu people, the city and the People's Committee of Hoa Vang district have had programs and plans to preserve and restore the culture of the Co Tu people. Up to now, the traditional cultural rituals of the people of the two villages have been restored and restored almost 100%. Currently, the people are promoting self-preservation and self-promotion well to let their children and grandchildren know about those cultural values, and at the same time introduce the cultural values ​​of their people to domestic and foreign tourists through cultural and tourism events", Mr. Ho Phu Thanh shared.

Currently, in Hoa Bac commune, there are about 257 households of the Co Tu ethnic group. People from Ta Lang and Gian Bi villages have established a tourism cooperative group, including 8 groups such as the weaving group, the weaving group, the gong group, the tung tung da da group, the culinary group, the checking group, the tour guide group... to serve the development of community tourism. Most of these groups participate in serving well 21 tourist attractions in the area when tourists want to enjoy the traditional culture of the locality. The exploitation of tourism based on the unique culture of the Co Tu people has been effective, contributing to improving the lives of the people.

The Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said that in the near future, when Da Nang city and Quang Nam province merge, with the goal of creating a new development space, the Co Tu people will have the opportunity to expand their community living space when participating in the big family of ethnic groups in Quang Nam province. This will be an opportunity to mobilize the government on ethnic work to exchange with the people according to the need to preserve the unique features of the Co Tu people in Hoa Vang. The Department is committed to performing the assigned functions and tasks to support the lives of the Co Tu people and hopes that the people will continue to unite and enthusiastically participate in the work of preserving and promoting the cultural values ​​of their ethnic group in order to spread the cultural values ​​of the ethnic group and become a driving force to attract tourists, contributing to the development of the local tourism economy.

DOAN HAO LUONG

Source: https://baodanang.vn/xa-hoi/202505/gin-giu-va-phat-huy-gia-tri-van-hoa-dong-bao-co-tu-4006593/