Strongly promote the value of Ma Nhai heritage

*Documents about Ma Nhai Ngu Hanh Son were displayed at the Vu Lan festival of filial piety in Ngu Hanh Son in 2025, attracting the attention of many young people. Photo: DOAN HAO LUONG*

"The word painting" carries many cultural and historical values.

Historically, Ngu Hanh Son was one of the major Buddhist centers of Dai Viet on the nation's southward march, with the formation of famous national temples: Tam Thai, Linh Ung and the footprints of many virtuous monks for many centuries. Therefore, the influence and image of Buddhism in the Ma Nhai Stele at the Ngu Hanh Son scenic spot is very clear.

On the other hand, these documentary heritages have become a valuable source of historical data on Buddhism in the land of Quang Nam - Da Nang in particular and Vietnam in general. With this great value, on November 26, 2022, at the 9th General Conference of the Memory of the World Program Committee for Asia - Pacific (MOWCAP) in Andong city, Korea, "Ma Nhai Stele at Ngu Hanh Son scenic spot" was officially recognized as a documentary heritage of the Memory of the World program for Asia - Pacific region.

Dr. Nguyen Hoang Than, University of Education (University of Danang ) said that the system of inscriptions on the cliffs of Ngu Hanh Son, also known as Ma Nhai documents, was formed under the Nguyen Lords and Nguyen Dynasty along with a number of documents dating from the first half of the 20th century, and has existed for nearly 4 centuries.

“Currently, there are nearly 80 units of Ma Nhai stele texts, distributed throughout the Ngu Hanh Son areas such as Hoa Nghiem cave, Huyen Khong cave, Tang Chon cave, Van Thong cave, Linh Nham cave... In which, Ma Nhai stele texts are mainly concentrated on the cliffs of Huyen Khong cave, accounting for nearly half of the total number of Ma Nhai stele texts in Ngu Hanh Son. Only considering the factor of the number of Ma Nhai texts at a relic in Vietnam, Ngu Hanh Son has the highest number of Ma Nhai texts”, Dr. Nguyen Hoang Than shared.

The Ma Nhai Ngu Hanh Son texts are diverse in genre and rich in content, including royal writings, inscriptions, poems, names, tablets, parallel sentences, etc. The genres and forms of the Ma Nhai Ngu Hanh Son texts are also rich and diverse, including pure Chinese texts, pure Nom texts, or a combination of both Chinese and Nom texts; Khai (Chan), Hanh, Thao fonts and the combination of Chan da Hanh, Hanh pha Thao fonts, etc. These, together with different font sizes, create a beautiful calligraphic "picture of words".

Researcher Vo Van Thang, Da Nang City Historical Science Association, said that along with remarkable geological features illustrating the process of land formation over millions of years, the Ngu Hanh Son mountain clusters also preserve many cultural relics from the time of human habitation in the last few thousand years.

Inside the Ngu Hanh Son caves, there are artifacts made from sandstone in the Champa art style, including carved stone blocks similar to the altar block at Dong Duong relic (9th-10th century). This is a vestige of the religious activities of Champa residents, using natural caves as places of worship.

Preserve and revitalize heritage

Like other cultural heritages, documentary heritages are very sensitive to the impacts of natural and social factors. In particular, for our country, the tropical monsoon climate with frequent natural disasters has greatly affected the work of preserving and maintaining this rare Ma Nhai documentary heritage.

Cham sculptures at the entrance of Cham Cave, Tang Chon Cave at the Ngu Hanh Son scenic spot. Photo: DOAN HAO LUONG

Currently, some Ma Nhai tablets have faded and their contents are unclear due to natural weathering; some Ma Nhai tablets have had their letters chiseled, covered with cement, or have been written on due to poor human awareness. Therefore, the work of inventorying, identifying, and protecting Ma Nhai documentary heritage is extremely important.

Mr. Nguyen Van Hien, Deputy Director of the Public Service Supply Center of Ngu Hanh Son Ward, said that compared to other tourist destinations in the country, the Ma Nhai system in Ngu Hanh Son is relatively large and is being developed very well.

“Currently, Ngu Hanh Son scenic spot has many Ma Nhai that are over 400 years old. In particular, the Ma Nhai system is mostly exposed in caves and is subject to humidity, so it needs to be strictly preserved with the support of specialized authorities. To enhance the value and promote the Ma Nhai documentary heritage, the leaders of Ngu Hanh Son Ward People's Committee have directed the development of a project to promote the value of Ma Nhai after it has been recognized and assigned the Department of Culture and Society to develop a project to submit to the competent authority for consideration. When the project is approved, the Ma Nhai heritage will be promoted more widely so that domestic and foreign tourists can come and learn more,” Mr. Nguyen Van Hien emphasized.

In particular, the preservation and promotion of the value of Ngu Hanh Son has been facilitated when on July 11, 2023, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 822/QD-TTg approving the Plan for preservation, restoration and rehabilitation of the Ngu Hanh Son National Special Scenic Site. This is an important legal basis for the city government and grassroots levels to take specific measures to preserve and promote the values of Ngu Hanh Son scenic spot.

Earlier this year, the People's Committee of Da Nang City also issued a document directing the preparation of a dossier to request UNESCO to recognize the Ngu Hanh Son Scenic Area as a World Cultural Heritage. The dossier preparation process will be meaningful in creating opportunities for scientific researchers and managers to share their knowledge and experience in heritage conservation; thereby bringing about positive impacts, contributing to the preservation of Ngu Hanh Son, a heritage with mixed and multi-valued nature, including the Ma Nhai documentary heritage.

Source: https://baodanang.vn/phat-huy-manh-me-gia-tri-di-san-ma-nhai-3301313.html