Khanh Hoa: Two more heritages recognized as national intangible cultural heritages

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has issued a Decision to recognize Khanh Hoa Agarwood Exploitation and Processing Knowledge and the Bird's Nest Festival as National Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The knowledge of exploiting and processing agarwood in Khanh Hoa has been recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage.

Along with agarwood harvesting, bird's nest harvesting in Khanh Hoa has existed since before the 17th century, with local residents collecting nests from caves on coastal islands. At that time, there were rudimentary religious rituals, praying for divine assistance for those who collected the nests.

From the 17th to the 19th centuries, the swiftlet farming industry received close attention and management from the Nguyen dynasty, and the ritual of worshipping the patron saint of the profession along with other deities became an important tradition. From then on, temples dedicated to the patron saint of swiftlet farming began to be built on swiftlet islands and on the mainland in Nha Trang.

From the beginning of the 20th century until before 1975, the Swiftlet Nest Festival became a traditional custom, closely associated with the lives of swiftlet nest harvesters in Khanh Hoa. The rituals were rich and diverse, including ceremonies honoring the ancestors of the profession, ceremonies to worship the guardian deities of swiftlet nest harvesting, and prayers for a bountiful harvest. Local authorities and swiftlet nest harvesting organizations played a crucial role in maintaining and preserving the festival.

The Khanh Hoa Bird's Nest Festival has been recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The Khanh Hoa Bird's Nest Festival has gone through many stages of development, from the early beliefs of the communities in Vinh Nguyen, Phuoc Hai, Vinh Truong, Vinh Hai, Vinh Hoa, Phuoc Long, Phuong Son, Phuong Sai wards and Phuoc Dong, Vinh Luong communes - Nha Trang City; to today, it has become an important local festival. Maintaining this festival is not only significant from a spiritual perspective but also contributes to preserving the traditional culture of Khanh Hoa province.

The consecutive recognition of two distinctive local heritage sites not only affirms the unique cultural value but also contributes to the preservation and promotion of heritage associated with the livelihoods and cultural identity of the people of Khanh Hoa.

Source: https://baodantoc.vn/khanh-hoa-them-hai-di-san-duoc-cong-nhan-la-di-san-van-hoa-phi-vat-the-quoc-gia-1749199207972.htm