Cuc Phuong National Park – a vast and mysterious forest. It is also the home of the Muong ethnic community, who have lived there for millennia. Beneath the forest canopy, the Muong people not only found livelihood but also created their own unique cultural values. One of the cultural achievements that we still recognize today is the Muong shamanic rituals.
A performance of Mo Muong at the training course on intangible cultural heritage transmission in Nho Quan district in 2023. Photo: Minh Quang
Listen to Master Mo tell stories about his profession.For many locals, the story of the Muong shaman has long been shrouded in legend. In their minds, these shamans are like messengers of the spiritual world , possessing unlimited power and various magical abilities... And the author, filled with anxiety and curiosity, sought out shaman Dinh Van Tan in Bai Ca village, Cuc Phuong commune (Nho Quan district) to have his story unraveled.
Master Mo Dinh Van Tan said: He started practicing in 1987, initially just performing rituals and land offerings, and only officially became a Mo in 2009. Initially, he practiced with his master, an uncle in his family, who later taught him the Mo techniques. Although Master Mo Tan comes from a family with a long tradition of Mo practice (a family with many generations of Mo practitioners), the practice was interrupted in the past. According to Master Mo Tan, even those from a Mo family don't become Mo. It depends on each person's temperament, intelligence, and most importantly, whether they can overcome the "challenges" set by their teacher during their apprenticeship.
According to Master Tan, his family and lineage of Mo practitioners originate from Hoa Binh , unlike the Mo lineage originating from Thanh Hoa. The process of learning Mo is quite arduous, primarily through oral tradition. Learning Mo is not done indoors due to the belief that homes are unclean. Students must learn outdoors and at night, when everyone is asleep, in a quiet space, ideally when "the roosters are not crowing and the dogs are not barking." At that time, the student can fully concentrate, with the presence of the "higher powers" so that any mistakes can be corrected. The Mo texts are extremely long; a Mo practitioner must perform rituals for a very long time, such as the "Mo ascending to heaven" ritual, which lasts for 18 consecutive hours. Not everyone has the health to practice this profession.
Furthermore, a shaman must not only know the shamanic texts (which can be understood as the verses or chapters in the shamanic rituals) but also possess "sacred objects" for the ceremony, such as: small bells, deer antlers, tiger fangs, yin-yang coins, and herbs (used for the wearer to ward off evil spirits)... Before the ceremony, the shaman needs to bathe with herbal water to cleanse themselves and purify the space where the ceremony is to be performed, and wear a red hat and red robe, carrying all the sacred objects for the ceremony.
According to Master Tan, the profession of a shaman is a charitable one. If money is prioritized, the shaman will carry "karma," affecting their descendants for generations. That's why masters carefully select their apprentices and put them through many trials before passing on the profession. However, the shaman profession is sometimes fraught with difficulties. In previous years, when the understanding of Muong shamanism was limited, many people viewed shamans as mere sorcerers, as propagators of superstition, so the shaman profession was not respected by the community.
Today, in the light of science , the Muong shamanic rituals are being re-examined and evaluated as an intellectual achievement of the Muong people, freeing those who follow them from the psychological pressure of discrimination. Many of Mr. Tan's fellow shamans not only know the shamanic rituals but also herbal remedies, have experience in the forest, and can calculate the seasonal calendar by observing the weather... Mr. Tan's concern is that, although the Muong shamanic rituals have been "re-evaluated," if timely and effective preservation measures are not taken, those who know the shamanic rituals will soon disappear.
Decoding the Mo Muong ritual
Today, the Muong ethnic community in Cuc Phuong still practices the Mo ritual, especially Mo in funerals (or Mo ma). This ritual plays an important role in the spiritual life of the people. In addition, there are many other forms of Mo such as: ritual Mo, spirit Mo, exorcism Mo, etc. However, due to the way the rituals are performed and the limited understanding of the people, many mistakenly believe that Mo shamans are the same as other shamans or priests.
Through scientific research, the mystical elements of Mo Muong are gradually being "demystified," and Mo Muong is recognized as a cultural and intellectual achievement, a "folk encyclopedia"... In ancient times, the Mo shamans were the intellectuals within the Muong ethnic community, and the Mo villages were a form of "preserving" this knowledge and passing it on to future generations.
Author Truong Dinh Tuong, editor-in-chief of the book "Ninh Binh Folk Culture Geography," explains that Mo is one of the customs in funerals, which is essentially a form of traditional cultural activity (spiritual culture) of the Muong people.
Ms. Vu Thanh Lich, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture and Sports, speaking from the perspective of a cultural manager, stated: "Mo Muong is an extremely valuable spiritual cultural heritage of the Muong people, contributing to the recreation of the history of heaven and earth from the dawn of time to the appearance of humankind and the process of struggling against foreign forces to build and protect the Muong village. It also contains life lessons with admonitions for descendants to work diligently, cherish each other, live honestly, and be good people. Therefore, preserving and promoting the value of Mo Muong is of great importance in today's life."
Mo Muong - a cultural heritage that needs protection.
According to statistics from the Department of Culture and Sports, in Nho Quan district and Tam Diep city, where a large Muong ethnic minority population lives, there are currently only 8 shamans (as of July 2022) distributed across 4 communes: Cuc Phuong, Ky Phu, Phu Long, and Thach Binh in Nho Quan district. Among them, very few shamans are capable of performing all the traditional shamanic rituals. With a high demand for shamanic funeral services in the community, but a limited number of shamans, some due to old age, poor health, or long periods of inactivity, the demand for shamanic funeral services is insufficient. As a result, people have to seek assistance from shamans from Hoa Binh and Thanh Hoa provinces.
Of particular concern is that the current shamans in Ninh Binh are all elderly, and there are very few successors. The small number, the limited performance space, and the fact that the teaching of Muong shamanism is primarily through oral tradition, observation, participation, and practical application (assisting the shaman in rituals) make the preservation of Muong shamanism even more difficult, and it faces the risk of extinction. Based on the research results and inventory of Muong shamanism heritage in Ninh Binh, the Department of Culture and Sports has proposed to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to include the Muong shamanism cultural heritage of Ninh Binh in the national list of intangible cultural heritage.
In her presentation at the 2023 Scientific Conference on Mo Muong in Hoa Binh, Ms. Vu Thanh Lich, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture and Sports, emphasized: Mo Muong is not only an important ritual in the spiritual life of the Muong people, but also a great creation of humankind, encompassing almost all the values that make up traditional Muong culture (history, literature, society, art, beliefs, daily life...).
However, over time, the practice, preservation, and promotion of the unique cultural values of Mo Muong in Ninh Binh are gradually shrinking, and the risk of extinction is ever-present in all aspects, from the performance space, the team of Mo practitioners, the content of Mo, and the transmission of Mo... Therefore, timely research is needed to propose appropriate solutions, focusing on strengthening the broad participation of the community in the preservation and promotion of the values of the Mo Muong cultural heritage in Ninh Binh today.
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