New and promising direction
Gong association of Gia Rai ethnic group, Chu Prong district (Gia Lai). File photo: Sy Huynh/VNA
According to research by author Dinh Viet Ha (Institute of Cultural Studies, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences), the effective exploitation of diverse materials of traditional culture, inheritance and creative use Cultural heritage value of ethnic minorities is a way to preserve heritage and is also a new and promising direction for the cultural industries, especially the film, music, and fashion industries. cultural tourism...
Accordingly, heritages play an important role in socio-economic development, helping to form and foster the spiritual life of ethnic minorities, contributing to the general development of each locality, each region. region and country; increase the strength of the great national unity bloc, creating soft power for the nation. Among 15 Intangible Cultural Heritages of Vietnam inscribed by UNESCO, there are many heritages belonging to ethnic minority communities. That is the Cultural Space of Gongs in the Central Highlands; Then practice of the Tay, Nung, and Thai people; The art of Xoe Thai and most recently the art of pottery making of the Cham people.
Tourism has contributed to promoting socio-economic development in mountainous regions and localities. Visitors to these regions along with sightseeing and enjoying food will experience the lifestyle and culture of each ethnic group, and learn local knowledge. Visitors can explore mountain farming techniques (terraced fields in Mu Cang Chai, Y Ty, Hoang Su Phi...); participate in handicrafts (brocade weaving of the Mong, Dao, Tay, Thai...). Tourists are also the consumers of typical products of the destination, bringing high economic value.
In ethnic minority areas, the type of community tourism, homestay has been invested to meet more needs of visitors. Typically, Thai community tourism in Ban Men (Thanh Nua commune, Dien Bien district, Dien Bien province) and Ang village (Dong Sang commune, Moc Chau district, Son La province); Ha Nhi people in Y Ty commune (Bat Xat district, Lao Cai province); Muong people in Lac village (Chieng Chau commune, Mai Chau district, Hoa Binh province); Mong people in Cat Cat village (San Sa Ho commune, Sa Pa district, Lao Cai province); Dao people in Nam Dam village (Quan Ba commune, Quan Ba district, Ha Giang province)… The State and local authorities have built many tourist spots and routes such as the Northwest arc connecting 6 Northwestern provinces; “Through the Viet Bac heritage regions”, the tour route explores the space of gong culture in the Central Highlands… to exploit and promote the indigenous cultural values of the people.
In movies, works with material from ethnic minority cultures are few, but there are also some films that have made a special impression on the public such as "Pao's Story" (movie), "Silently". Peace in the Abyss" (TV series) or "Children in the Mist" (documentary)... The exploitation of ethnic cultural material on film opens the way to preserving and promoting the values of heritage sites. this cultural property effectively. Since the movie "Pao's Story", Lung Cam village (Lung Cam village, Sung La commune, Dong Van district) - the filming location has become an indispensable destination in tours to Ha Giang.
Author Dinh Viet Ha stated that the use of traditional musical materials of ethnic minorities is not a new job. In the past, Vietnamese music has had "Cherry scarf", "Before the shooting festival", ... now young musicians continue to inherit and try to exploit the specific materials of ethnic minority cultures to create a new musical style. create new products. Songs with the theme, melody or background of ethnic minorities can be mentioned such as "Sunshine love", "My house is on the hillside", "Lyrics to Noong" or "Let Me tell you". but listen”…
Exploiting ethnic minority cultural materials in music and producing music videos is a challenging but very encouraging direction that will create a mark for artists and a place for Vietnamese music. . The fact also shows that, in order to have an attractive product, the artist must "work harder" to exploit the essence of the cultural treasures of the ethnic groups.
Ao dai and brocade fashion show in the Central Highlands at Pa Sy waterfall, Mang Den town, Kon Plong district. Photo: Khoa Chuong/VNA
Many fashion designers have contributed to preserving and promoting the unique beauty in the traditional culture of ethnic minorities through applied fashion products, especially brocade patterns. Many major fashion shows have combined performance with honoring the natural or cultural heritage of the nation. For example, the 14th Vietnam International Fashion Week with the theme "Taste of Heritage" introduced more than 30 designs in the collection "Consigned the Mong people to the future". This is a collection of designer Vu Viet Ha inspired by the beauty of highland culture, especially brocade costumes of the Mong ethnic group in Sa Pa (Lao Cai), which has left many impressions on viewers.
Sustainable development
At the recent forum "The culture of Vietnamese ethnic groups, resources for the development of a prosperous and happy country", Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung affirmed that 54 ethnic groups are born. Living on an S-shaped strip of land, each ethnic group has its own cultural identity, creating unity in Vietnam's cultural diversity. That is the characteristic but also the development law of the country's culture; creating endogenous strength, synthesizing national strength and attractiveness of Vietnamese culture; contributing to the positioning of Vietnamese cultural identity in the international arena.
During his lifetime, Uncle Ho paid special attention to the culture and cultural heritage of the ethnic groups in Vietnam. Generations of Vietnamese people have been constantly building, cultivating, and forging to create the strength of national culture that is increasingly rich in identity. The achievements of culture - art, creativity are always preserved, transmitted, forming a rich and massive treasure of tangible and intangible cultural heritage.
Minister Nguyen Van Hung stated that the exploitation and promotion of cultural resources of ethnic communities is a must to be done in a sustainable way, with step-by-step implementation of tasks, with focus and focus. The Minister suggested the Culture sector to uphold the role of the people as the creative subject, intellectuals play an important role and mobilize the participation of all stakeholders, contributing to the development of natural resources. cultural force of the nations, for the common development of the country.
Ethnic communities - creative subjects need to uphold the responsibility to protect and promote the national cultural identity; Actively participate in creative activities and pass it on to the next generation. The people need to absorb and add new values suitable for development.
According to scientists and cultural researchers, the cultural heritage value of ethnic minorities is an abundant and rich source of inspiration to exploit and develop the cultural industry. However, in the process of exploiting this potential, creators and producers need to pay attention to minimize negative impacts on the cultural heritage system.
Because, intangible cultural heritages such as singing then, dance, gongs, etc., when becoming tourism products, all go through the process of "commodifying" the heritage, being theatricalized, and cutting the ritual part. ceremony, separated from the space of the people, causing the community and sacredness of the heritages to be at risk of being lost. The fact also shows that, at some tourist destinations, the number of tourists coming to visit and experience is often very large, bringing income to the community and locality but also leading to overcrowding, causing negative consequences. undesirable with the environment, cultural lifestyle of the local community.
Ethnic minorities and tourists join in dancing to celebrate Vietnam's Ethnic Culture Day (April 19), 4. Photo (documentary): Trong Dat/VNA
Professor, Dr. Bui Quang Thanh, of the Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts, proposed many practical solutions to preserve and promote the cultural values of ethnic minorities. In it, he mentioned the organization of cultural exchanges between ethnic groups in ethnic communities from commune to provincial level, so that they can understand and learn from each other. Relevant units need to organize cultural activities and services, restore and exploit ethnic cultural craft villages, and proceed to widely introduce such products to regions, regions and the whole country. The most important thing is to associate the culture of ethnic minorities with tourism activities to both promote culture and contribute to socio-economic development in the locality. Indigenous ethnic minorities need to be trained as tour guides to introduce, promote and spread the most accurate cultural values of their people.
On the other hand, the State needs to better implement the policy of honoring typical artisans in preserving and promoting the cultural values of ethnic minorities, considering them as "living human treasures" in the same way. designation by UNESCO (2005). Most of today's artisans are old, when they go back to their ancestors, the precious heritage source is accidentally forgotten. Indigenous knowledge and skills of intangible cultural heritage will gradually disappear.
Creating the culture of Vietnamese ethnic groups through products imbued with identity is a new and promising direction of the cultural industry. This is also the way to enrich the country with a worthy cultural economy; so that our national culture does not "dissolve" in the global flow.
