The keeper of the Mo Muong "soul"

Mo Muong is considered a great creation, the “soul” of the Muong people. With its especially precious value, this national heritage is on the journey to be recognized as a representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity. From Tan Phu hamlet, Muong Bi commune, excellent artisan Bui Van Noi has spent more than 40 years diligently collecting, researching, restoring and spreading the value of Mo Muong, becoming a typical face in preserving and promoting cultural identity.

Preserving the "soul" of Mo Muong

Born into a family that specializes in shamanism for the nobility (which preserves the most complete quintessence of Muong culture) - the old lang house, with 10 consecutive generations, since childhood, he was taught by his grandfather Bui Van Yem and father Bui Van Du, two famous shamans in the region. After graduating from Hoa Binh Pedagogical College, since 1982, instead of directly performing shamanism, he spent time researching related sciences and collecting historical documents, culture, and Muong folk arts.

Mr. Bui Van Noi (left) diligently collects and researches about Mo Muong

He traveled to all the communes of Muong Bi region, met with elders and Mo artisans to collect the precious heritage of his father. Although his legs were tired, his pocket was empty and his wife and children tried to stop him, his passion helped him to continue. He went to other Muong regions such as Vang, Thang, Dong to research, compare and have an overall view of Mo Muong.

In the process of finding his roots, he had the chance to meet famous names such as Tu Chi, To Ngoc Thanh... Mr. Noi said: Seeing the passion of the Muong people, they enthusiastically guided him on how to collect, conduct fieldwork, and research. However, the implementation was not easy, because Mo Muong is a topic of a synthetic nature, a collection of Muong culture, and it was necessary to consult scientific conclusions from many fields to decode all the mysteries. On the other hand, the Muong people did not have a written language before, so I had to diligently transcribe Mo sentences in Latin in my own way.

Working hard from morning to night, he wrote an application with 100 pages of research on Mo Muong (Muong - Vietnamese pronunciation) to join the Vietnam Folk Arts Association. He actively participated in conferences and seminars on culture with many papers published in the proceedings and wrote articles published in newspapers and magazines. Notably, the International Scientific Conference on Mo Muong in Hoa Binh contributed to building a dossier to submit to UNESCO for recognition as a representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity. The conference "Learning about the legend of the flower garden of the mountain and the princess of the Le dynasty", contributed to building the project "Mo Muong cultural space" in Muong Thanh...

After a long journey of effort, in 2012-2013, the book Mo Muong Complete Works (I, II, III) which Mr. Bui Van Noi painstakingly collected and researched was published. Volume I won the 3A prize of the Vietnam Folk Literature Association, Volume III won the C prize of the Vietnam Ethnic Minority Literature and Arts Association. He is also the co-author of 2 books on Mo Muong Hoa Binh and the author of Mo Rung Hoa, Moi Muong Bi, Mo Mat Nha, Mo Via.

Turning the pages of the 3 Mo Muong books with me, Mr. Noi mentally calculated the capacity of nearly 2,500 pages, equivalent to the massive number of Mo poems - about over 40,000 verses. This is truly a "Folk Encyclopedia" about the Muong people presented in a logical sequence of 16 days and nights of noble Mo. At the same time, it is a valuable document, when nowadays, the shamans only do about 2 days and nights of Mo due to the implementation of the new lifestyle.

Mr. Bui Van Noi introduces the book Mo Muong volume III

Spreading Muong cultural values

Besides Mo Muong, Mr. Noi also researched Hoa Binh culture with many articles on: Village tutelary god, traditional weddings, ancient Khao roi calendar, Muong people's kitchen building custom... As Secretary of Tan Phu hamlet Party Cell, in the area where the famous Khai Ha Festival is held, he and the Organizing Committee restored the rituals and folk games. In particular, he is the co-author of the Muong ethnic alphabet which was approved by the People's Committee of Hoa Binh province (old) in 2016.

Mr. Noi is still diligently researching and spreading Muong culture.

Not only researching and collecting, Mr. Noi is also an active member of the Tan Lac Mo Muong Club and has taught Mo to many proficient students such as Bui Tan Binh, Bui Van Uc... Bui Van Uc continues to teach many others to preserve their ancestors' heritage. He is also a teacher of Muong script for many agencies, units and schools in the province.

“Every time I teach, I illustrate specifically by performing Mo and Muong folk songs... When I tell stories leisurely, when they are passionate and emotional, when they are heroic... it leaves a deep impression. That is also the most understandable and vivid way to teach to spread national culture” - Mr. Noi shared.

With his contributions to preserving and promoting the national cultural identity, Mr. Noi was awarded the title of Meritorious Artisan in 2015 and 2024. He has submitted a proposal for the title of People's Artisan. He has been awarded a Certificate of Merit by the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee three times; and a Certificate of Merit by the Vietnam Folk Arts Association for his outstanding achievements in collecting and researching folk culture and arts, along with a number of awards in journalism, literature and arts.

Cam Le

Source: https://baophutho.vn/nguoi-gin-giu-linh-hon-mo-muong-240831.htm