The festival of Lady Chua Xu of Sam Mountain was recognized as a representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

(Fatherland) - At 9:47 a.m. on December 4, 2024, local time (7:47 p.m. Hanoi time), at the 19th Session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO, held at the Conmebol Convention Center, Asunción, Republic of Paraguay, the Vietnamese heritage of the Via Ba Chua Xu Festival on Sam Mountain was officially inscribed by UNESCO on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

This is one of 66 proposals considered at this session and is the 16th intangible cultural heritage of Vietnam to be recognized by UNESCO.

The festival of Ba Chua Xu on Sam Mountain takes place from the 22nd to the 27th of the 4th lunar month, in the Ba Chua Xu temple on Sam Mountain and the stone pedestal area on Sam Mountain. It is a spiritual ritual and artistic performance, expressing the belief and gratitude to Mother Earth - Mother Land of the Vietnamese, Cham, Khmer and Chinese ethnic communities in Chau Doc, An Giang . Ba Chua Xu is a holy mother in the goddess worship, always protecting and supporting the people. The custom of worshiping her, participating in the festival is to satisfy the belief and wishes for health, peace and fortune of the Khmer, Cham, Chinese and Vietnamese communities in Chau Doc, An Giang as well as the residents of the Southwest region.

Vietnamese delegation at the meeting

The Sam Mountain Lady's Festival is the inheritance, absorption, integration and creation of Vietnamese people in the process of reclaiming land and is the synthesis of the Mother Goddess worship of the Vietnamese, Cham, Khmer and Chinese people. The festival aims to honor the Goddess who protects and bestows wealth, health and peace to local people, and is also an educational environment for the traditional morality of "remembering the source of water when drinking", reminding the ancestors of their merits in building and defending the country, promoting the role of women and demonstrating the exchange in creativity, cultural practice and harmony of ethnic groups sharing the same faith in the same territory.

According to the 2003 Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, the nomination dossier for the intangible cultural heritage of the Festival of Lady Chua Xu of Sam Mountain of Vietnam meets the criteria for inclusion in the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity with the following criteria:

(1) The Via Ba Chua Xu Nui Sam Festival is celebrated by the Kinh, Khmer, Cham and Chinese communities in Chau Doc city. This heritage includes the performance of religious rituals and folk performing arts to express gratitude to the Goddess of the Land. The rituals, customs and ritual practices related to this heritage are passed down within families and communities through word of mouth, direct practice and participation in the festival. The festival promotes cultural exchange, community cohesion and national harmony, and is a means to affirm the important role of women in society and the contributions of our ancestors in building the country.

(2) Heritage contributes to improving the quality of education, gender equality, comprehensive economic development, as well as promoting actions to protect the environment and climate sustainably, protect peace and social cohesion. Specifically, heritage contributes to the social cohesion of ethnic communities in Vietnam and promotes cultural respect through expressing the common aspirations of the communities participating in the festival for a life of well-being, prosperity and peace. Heritage also encourages the participation of people of all ages, genders, regardless of social status, thereby promoting gender equality.

Ms. Nancy Ovelar de Gorostiaga, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and Permanent Delegate of the Republic of Paraguay to UNESCO, Chaired the Hammering Session to approve the dossier of the Festival of Lady Chua Xu of Sam Mountain of Vietnam to be inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

(3) The State has proposed protection measures, including efforts with representatives of community members to practice and transmit the heritage, and dedicatedly imparting relevant knowledge about the festival to their children and community members. The festival has been included in the curriculum at local high schools and the heads of the Associations have actively connected and mobilized community members and artisans to participate in organizing and practicing the festival. Publications, films, and research and documentation projects continue to promote this heritage widely to the public. The Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of An Giang province has supported communities in restoring and embellishing heritage practice spaces.

(4) The nomination dossier clearly demonstrated the roles of agencies, artisans and community representatives in developing the nomination dossier. Meetings were held with the participation of representatives from Kinh, Hoa, Khmer and Cham communities. Community representatives developed a protection plan, provided data on ritual objects, nominated heritage and provided other required documents including videos, photos and consent letters. The nomination dossier provided full consent letters and protection commitments from different relevant communities.

(5) The heritage is included in the National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage and the Inventory List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of An Giang and the country in the Intangible Cultural Heritage Management Information System managed by the Department of Cultural Heritage, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The inventory list is updated annually in coordination with community representatives and artisans. Information on the community-based inventory process has been included in the National Periodic Report of Vietnam.

UNESCO's inscription of the Via Ba Chua Xu Festival on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity will raise community awareness in jointly organizing, managing and preserving common heritage, connecting ethnic communities in Vietnam; thereby, enhancing cultural respect in expressing the common aspiration for a peaceful life, favorable weather, health and prosperity. This inscription by UNESCO also contributes to sharing the form of festival practice, affirming the role of rituals that are culturally compatible with communities, reflecting cultural diversity. The festival's inscription by UNESCO will promote understanding and dialogue between ethnic communities that worship Goddesses in Vietnam, in Southeast Asia and in the world, promoting spiritual and cultural creations of ethnic groups and contributing to identifying cultural similarities between ethnic groups.

UNESCO's inscription of the Ba Chua Xu Festival on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity will raise community awareness in jointly organizing, managing and preserving common heritage, connecting ethnic communities in Vietnam.

The Intergovernmental Committee acknowledged that Vietnam had prepared very well the dossier of the Ba Chua Xu Festival on Sam Mountain, as well as Vietnam's previous dossiers. At the same time, it highly appreciated Vietnam's experiences and contributions to the Intergovernmental Committee of the 2003 UNESCO Convention on the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, especially in the 2022-2026 term.

On behalf of Vietnam and the community practicing the heritage of the Via Ba Chua Xu Festival of Sam Mountain, Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chairman of the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO Nguyen Minh Vu and Secretary of the An Giang Provincial Party Committee Le Hong Quang delivered a speech in response and committed to taking necessary measures to protect the values ​​of the Via Ba Chua Xu Festival of Sam Mountain, thanking the Advisory Board, members of the Intergovernmental Committee, and the Secretariat of the 2003 Convention for their dedicated and impartial work to inscribe this heritage of Vietnam./.

Source: https://toquoc.vn/le-hoi-via-ba-chua-xu-nui-sam-duoc-ghi-danh-la-di-san-van-hoa-phi-vat-the-dai-dien-cua-nhan-loai-20241204205144091.htm