The project named “Preserving and promoting festivals, patterns, gongs and musical instruments of local ethnic”: contribute to enrich spiritual life of ethnic groups.

According to Department of Culture, Sport and Tourism, it is more than 4 years of implementation of Resolution No. 02/NQ-HDND of Provincial Council on deploying the project named “Preserving and promoting festivals, patterns, gongs and musical instruments of local ethnic” has achieved remarkable results up to now.

Accordingly, in the framework of project, the province invested VND 6.5 billion to implement content as well as related components. Up to now, the province has bought and provided 50 sets of gong, 10 sets of goong and 229 sets of traditional costume for local ethnic groups such as M'nong, Ma, E de …

Singing folk songs and throwing m'buot of the M'nong in Dak R'tih commune (Tuy Duc district)


Training courses to enhance ability to perform gongs for artists and students in the province often held in hamlets and schools. Specifically, from 2000 to now in the province, there have been nine classes for gongs, eleven classes for folk songs, ten classes for creating musical instruments and six classes for weaving and decorating Tet pole…

Through the training courses, artists can not only be creative, exchange teaching experience but also understand more about how to build a  community reunion program. The establishment of gong clubs and building operation and management regulations as well as researching rituals and festivals that use gongs are carried out.

Now, each district and town establishes a core club and it becomes "seed" of culture and art in local areas. Moreover, the introduction of gongs in teaching and extracurricular activities at schools especially at ethnic boarding schools is concerned adequately. Through it, younger generation is raising awareness of preserving, conserving and promoting cultural values of nation.

Along with that, through investigation, research and review, Cultural sector built, edited and published two photo books that introduce typical artists of province. Those books have full of information about artists working in local heritage conservation and cultural forms they understand. Two sets of data of M'nong, Ma and E de gong and one DVD introduces folk music in Vietnamese with M'nong subtitle were built…

In most local areas in the province, they regularly held cultural festival days of ethnic groups creating a healthy playground for artists as well as a large number of ethnic minorities. Through it, many traditional festivals such as Tach Nang Yoh ritual, clearing mountain field ritual and community reunion ritual…were restored and reappeared help ethnic groups to understand more clearly about good customs and habits of ancestor.

Some folk games imbue with national culture identity such as making Tet pole, singing folk songs, dancing, cuisine and traditional sports as pushing stick, shooting cross-bow, walking on stilt…are held to create solidarity and competition among ethnic groups participating in festivals as well as promoting sport movement of people in local areas. Especially, basing on folklore material, 13 musical compositions were built and appreciated by experts.

Reappearing "Happy good harvest ritual" in Dak Song district


It can be said that achieving the above results thanked to attention of committee level and administration from province to units. They made advantages for deploying the project to enrich spiritual life of people. The implementation of project has changed awareness about cultural heritage protection in all people classes especially the M'nong, the Ma, the E de.

However, besides these results, deployment of the project still has some certain difficulties. Some local areas did not really do propaganda well; the organization was formalistic. Some local cultural officers lack of experience and expert so it affected quality of implementing the project.

The organization and recovery of festivals is not sometimes right with customs and habits of the ethnic groups in some areas. Therefore, cultural sector is continuing to coordinate with local areas to strengthen more propaganda and raise awareness of ethnic groups in preserving and promoting the national cultural identity. Traditional festivals will be maintained and developed rightly and healthily to gradually improve enjoyment level of people.

According to Dak  Nong online