Festival honours ethnic cultures

      Viet Nam’s 54 ethnic groups show their traditions at cultural programme
Thousands of people from different ethnic groups nationwide gathered to join the Day of Viet Nam’s Ethnic Cultures, which was organised for the first time at the Viet Nam Ethnic Culture and Tourism Village in Ha Noi’s Son Tay City on Saturday.
Organised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the event aimed to show the cultural identities and traditions of the nation’s 54 ethnic minorities.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Culture, Sports and Tourism Deputy Minister Huynh Vinh Ai said that the cultural activities presented during the two-day weekend event were vivid symbols of the development and preservation of national cultural heritage and great national unity.
The activities also featured the cultural quintessence of each ethnic group, making significant contributions to the development of tourism in the regions.
It was expected that the activities would be expanded and popularised, becoming a highlighted cultural event in the nation’s integration period.
To kick off the event, artists from art troupes from the northwest, Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) and southern provinces presented a special art performance. The programme featured a gong performance by artists from the Central Highland province of Kon Tum, and Cham dances by actresses from the central province of Ninh Thuan.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has issued a decision marking April 19 as the Day of Viet Nam’s Ethnic Cultures. A ceremony to announce the decision was held last night in presence of National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong.
A large cultural programme directed by artist Trong Dai also took place last night at the Ethnic Culture and Tourism Village. The programme included five chapters: Hoi Xuan (Spring Festival), featuring festivities from all of Viet Nam’s regions, and Su Thi (Epics), featuring De Dat De Nuoc epics from the Muong ethnic group and Dam San of the Ede ethnic group.
The other chapters were Hat Giao Duyen (Dual Love Songs) of the country’s three regions, with a reading of the poem Nam Quoc Son Ha (Rivers and Mountains of the Southern Nation) by General Ly Thuong Kiet. The poem was considered the nation’s first declaration of independance in 1077. The Tinh Yeu va Thu Thach (Love and Challenges) chapter described people coping with the severities of nature, with an extract from Binh Ngo Dai Cao (The Proclamation of the Victory over the Foreign Invaders) by Nguyen Trai, and the last chapter, named Viet Nam To Quoc Men Yeu (Viet Nam: the Lovely Motherland), will be a jubilant mix of Thai dance, Lo Lo sticks and Tay Nguyen gongs.
The scripts for programme were written by writer Nguyen Khac Phuc. He said the theme for the event was appropriate because "during the building and defending of the country, Vietnamese people showed their great desire for peace; when the country was at risk, the people show strong solidarity.
Some 2,000 delegates from different ethnic groups joined the conference Hoi Nghi Dien Hong (Dien Hong Conference) to discuss traditional culture in various regions and brainstorm ideas for upcoming festivals.
The name of the conference, Dien Hong, stems from an historical event that has come to symbolise the solidarity and patriotism of the Vietnamese people. During the Tran Dynasty, King Tran Thanh Tong held the Dien Hong Conference in 1284, a meeting at which many generals and nobles gathered together and decided to join the fight against Yuan invaders.
Ethnic groups from 33 provinces and cities nationwide attended the event.