The role of community in preserving intangible culture

(Baothanhhoa.vn) - Intangible cultural heritage is not easy to form, but it is very easy to be lost and always has the potential to disappear. According to cultural researchers, the community's awareness and behavior towards this type of heritage is the decisive factor in its survival. Therefore, in recent years, Thanh Hoa province has always determined to take the role of the community as the center of the work of preserving and promoting the value of intangible cultural heritage.

Meritorious Artisan Pham Thi Tang, Lo village, Minh Son commune, teaches the Pon Pong ritual to the community.

Promoting the role of the community as a subject

The Cha Mun Festival, also known as the Thanksgiving Festival of the Thai community in Beo village, Yen Thang commune, is a traditional ritual of the family and clan of herbalists, with the meaning of thanking heaven and earth for giving medicine to heal people. However, through the accumulation of time, going beyond the thanksgiving ritual of the family and clan, the Cha Mun festival has become a common festival of the Thai community in Beo village. Discussing the community cohesion in the Cha Mun festival, Mr. Lo Viet Lam, Yen Thang commune affirmed: "The first festival is of the family and clan. Later, the festival became of the village, because of its fun and meaning in community life. Cultural and artistic programs attract a large number of people inside and outside the village to participate."

Intangible traditional cultural values ​​are built and created from the labor process, cultural activities, customs and folk beliefs of human communities. What is special is that people are both creators and beneficiaries of cultural values, and at the same time preserve and transmit traditional cultural values. In addition to providing information and documents about heritage for future generations, people are also the ones who fully practice those traditional cultural values. Currently, the whole province has 120 active folk culture and arts clubs. With enthusiasm and tireless efforts, members of folk culture and arts clubs have absorbed the quintessence from artisans and the elderly to build and enrich intangible cultural values.

Join hands to preserve

intangible culture

Almost all Muong ethnic people in Minh Son commune and neighboring communes know the name of Meritorious Artisan Pham Thi Tang in Lo village. Meritorious Artisan Pham Thi Tang, with her passion for her ancestors' traditional craft, has contributed to reviving a festival considered the "soul" of Muong culture, which is the Pon Pong festival.

Now, despite being at an "old age", she is still diligently teaching rituals, dances, and songs... so that the Pon Pong festival can be integrated into community life, enriching the cultural and spiritual life of the people, especially the youth. Meritorious Artist Pham Thi Tang shared: "I will continue to dance Pon Pong until I am too weak to work anymore. I regularly pass on the dances and songs to my children and grandchildren in the club with the hope that the cultural values ​​of Pon Pong will spread and last forever."

For many years, Mr. Phung Quang Du in Ha Son quarter, Ngoc Lac commune, has been diligently researching, collecting and fully restoring the traditional rituals of the Dao people in shorts. On holidays or all the "big events" of the village, from the ordination ceremony for young people, the New Year dance, the naming ceremony, and the wedding ceremony of the Dao people, he is always present to guide people in performing traditional rituals. His work has contributed to spreading the awareness and responsibility of the people in preserving and maintaining the traditional culture of ethnic minorities. Mr. Du said: "Growing up, I saw that the culture of the Dao people was fading away, especially the festivals and customs. Therefore, I have diligently collected all the rituals and taught them to the children of the upper and lower villages."

Thanh Hoa currently has 66 people who have been awarded the title of Meritorious Artist by the State, 3 people have been awarded the title of People's Artist. These are not only typical subjects in creating and promoting heritage values, but also members of the community. With outstanding abilities in performing arts, they are dedicated, creative, and teaching folk songs, folk dances, and traditional crafts to their children. To promote the role and contribution of the People's Artists and Meritorious Artists, over the years, the provincial cultural sector, through cultural preservation programs and projects, has organized meetings, encouraged, and invited them to participate in programs to preserve traditional cultural heritages of the community. Thereby, creating favorable environments and motivation for them to continue contributing to the preservation and promotion of traditional cultural values.

It can be affirmed that the hard work of collecting and contributing by Meritorious Artists, People's Artists, folk song and dance clubs and the people who are preserving and practicing unique folk rituals, games and performances have provided important support to the cultural sector in restoring, preserving and developing many traditional festivals and cultural rituals in the province. Over the past 20 years, the whole province has collected and restored hundreds of traditional festivals, games, performances, folk songs, folk dances, folk songs, proverbs and poems of the Kinh, Muong, Thai, Dao and Mong ethnic groups. Typical examples are Dong Anh folk songs and dances, Xuan Pha plays, Song Ma songs, Mung village's ancient cheo... In the mountainous areas alone, in the past 10 years, 12 projects have been implemented to preserve typical intangible cultural heritage of ethnic minorities, such as: The custom of making the way of the horse-drawn Si - Muong ethnic group (old Cam Thuy district); Xen Cung Festival of the Kho Mu people (old Muong Lat district); Muong Kho and Cam Muong festivals (old Ba Thuoc district); Dinh Thi festival (old Nhu Xuan district); Set Booc May festival (old Nhu Thanh district)...

Intangible cultural heritage values ​​are born from the community, exist and develop based on the community, and then serve the interests of the community itself, enriching the spiritual and cultural life of the people. At the same time, this is also a strong thread connecting generations, between ancestors and today's and future generations, so that the flow and source of culture is not interrupted but remains eternal and shines forever.

Article and photos: Mai Ngoc

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/vai-tro-cong-dong-trong-nbsp-bao-ton-van-hoa-phi-vat-the-261141.htm