Dak Nong cultural identity - from hidden to reaching out
Before April 30, 1975, the diverse and unique cultural features of the ethnic groups on the M'Nong plateau existed, hidden in small communities, passed down orally. Their appearance was only fleeting as a "strangeness" in the books of colonialists disguised as explorers, or a few lines of illustrations in some geographical books, and even faded away, lost track of.
50 years after the country's reunification, from a place that had never been named on the cultural map, Dak Nong has a new, brilliant, shining appearance, making its mark not only domestically but also on the world cultural map.
The epic treasure of Ot N'rong, the pride of the M'nong people, has been collected, translated, and published into 12 volumes, each volume approximately 1,000 pages long; digitized, with original audio archived; and available in library and school systems.
The Nau M'Pring folk performing art (folk songs) of the M'nong people has been recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage. The sound of the M'nong gong and the Ot N'rong epic have resounded in many national and international cultural events.
The event of M'nong artisans performing epics and gongs at Expo 2020 Dubai (UAE), one of the world's largest cultural and economic events with more than 120 participating countries, is a typical example. That milestone is a source of pride, a "story to be told forever", not only for the M'nong people but also for the ethnic minority communities in the Central Highlands.
Not only searching and preserving, the cultural heritage of the ethnic groups in the area has also appeared in the contemporary cultural and artistic life. The unique features in the gong culture of the M'nong, Ma, and Ede ethnic groups have shaped their position in the Central Highlands cultural space, contributing to making the Central Highlands gong cultural space become an oral and intangible masterpiece of humanity - one of the seven intangible cultural heritages of Vietnam symbolizing national identity.
The Dak Ka lithophone, Dak Son (national treasure) exists in the museum and has become the sounds in the life of the community, creating the "Land of Melodies - UNESCO Global Geopark Dak Nong".
Indigenous cultural identity exists in contemporary works of art such as the monument to Hero N'Trang Long and the Central Highlands ethnic groups; the cultural ecosystem of the Dak Nong UNESCO Global Geopark...
The unique and exclusive values of the culture of the Southern Central Highlands have become creative materials in performing arts, fine arts, applied in the garment industry, fashion design; become rich creative materials for many artists; nurture, inspire creativity and form, identify national and international names for many artists such as literature and folk culture researchers Dieu Kau, Y Thinh; Meritorious Artist Vo Cuong, Meritorious Artist My Thanh; writers Ba Canh, Dao Thu Ha; Artists Ngoc Tam, Ngo Minh Phuong; Architect Nguyen Quoc Hoc...
The right path - building the foundation for great achievements
The achievements of Dak Nong culture and art are not accidental, not spontaneously formed by the accumulation of time. They are the results of the cultural development policies of the Party Committee and the government of Dak Lak (old) and Dak Nong provinces over the past 50 years; they are the deepest proof of the correctness of the Party's cultural, literary and artistic guidelines.
During the period 1975 - 1986, the key tasks of the Party Committee and the government of Dak Lak province (old) were "pursuing reactionaries, maintaining political security and social order and safety as urgent tasks, building and developing the economy as key tasks, food production as the number one task, but that did not mean that the fields of culture and arts lacked attention.
The Resolution of the 7th Dak Lak Provincial Party Congress (1977) identified one of the four major tasks as “Building and renovating the economy and culture and gradually improving people’s lives”. The main orientation is to build a new socialist culture, preserve and promote national cultural identity, restore and develop cultural activities, and improve the spiritual and cultural life of the people. This orientation has created a foundation for restoring traditional cultural values, laying the foundation for the development of culture, literature and art in Dak Nong in the next period.
The decisions on developing culture, literature and art in the direction of innovation have become clearer and more realistic since Dak Nong was re-established (January 1, 2004). Right in the documents of the 9th Congress, the first Congress after the re-establishment of the province (2005 - 2010), the Provincial Party Committee has oriented the direction of "focusing on preserving and promoting the cultural identity of each ethnic group on the basis of respecting the language, writing, customs, practices, and healthy and good traditional festivals, building a diverse and rich culture".
The consistent viewpoint of the Dak Nong Provincial Party Committee through the 10th, 11th, and 12th Congresses on culture, literature, and art is: clearly defining the building and development of culture and people as an important and regular task of the entire political system; culture is the solid spiritual foundation of society, an important endogenous strength ensuring sustainable development; carrying out the work of preserving and promoting traditional cultural values, associated with tourism development, especially intangible cultural heritages and geological heritages.
In the context of very limited economic resources, the orientation of the Provincial Party Committee, People's Council, and Provincial People's Committee over the years has issued policies and plans for cultural development with focus, key points, tasks, and practical solutions, identifying breakthroughs that need to be prioritized for investment and must be focused on for successful implementation.
That is to determine the focus of the task of raising awareness, thoroughly understanding the Party's viewpoints and guidelines on culture not only for cadres and party members but also for the community, for the owners of traditional culture, becoming self-awareness that influences action. Thanks to that, activities to preserve and develop traditional culture and heritage values have become activities of the community itself, become the pride and consciousness of the young generation, the government only plays a supporting and promoting role.
The investment policies for cultural development of the People's Council and People's Committee over the periods have focused on the preservation and promotion of traditional cultural values typical of the area, such as festivals, gongs, folk musical instruments, brocade culture...; focusing on selective investment resources on typical values, associated with the indigenous ecosystem, so that the invested cultural values become resources to promote economic development, first of all the people's economy.
The greatest result from the issued policies is not only in preserving the unique cultural values of ethnic minorities, but also in promoting traditional cultural values and becoming a livelihood for the community itself.
The achievements of Dak Nong literature and art today are vivid proof affirming the correctness of the Party's cultural guidelines and the policies of the Party Committee and provincial government through the periods.
Building new cultural values, creating momentum for Dak Nong development
The cultural highlights of Dak Nong over the past 50 years have contributed to the country's literature and arts to "steadfastly nurture the soul and personality of the Vietnamese people; preserve and promote the national cultural identity. At the same time, it is a strong bond that unites people's hearts, heals the wounds of war, strongly arouses patriotism, the will to be self-reliant, and strengthens the great national unity bloc" as stated by the Head of the Central Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Commission Nguyen Trong Nghia.
Promoting the achieved results, maintaining the Party's cultural guidelines, applying creatively and appropriately, paying attention to investing in the right direction, promoting the role of the community as the main subject, these factors will continue to bring the cultural, literary and artistic values in Dak Nong to new heights, becoming endogenous resources, contributing to building new cultural values, creating a driving force for Dak Nong development, developing the country in the era of strong growth of the Vietnamese people.
Source: https://baodaknong.vn/thanh-tuu-van-hoc-nghe-thuat-dak-nong-sau-50-nam-thong-nhat-dat-nuoc-251125.html
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