Ethnic Mong Culture To Be Feted in Hanoi

Buckwheat flowers from the northern province of Ha Giang will be showcased at Ly Thai To Park in downtown Hanoi during a three-day cultural festival of Mong people starting today. The event, designed to preserve and promote the cultural identity of the ethnic minority along with its integration, will feature a musical concert, a traditional costume fashion show, food festival and a series of traditional activities of the Mong, according to Tran Duc Quy, vice chairman of the Ha Giang People’s Committee. “We will design the space of Ly Thai To Park to reflect the mountainous region of Ha Giang, traditional houses of the Mong ethnic group and feature the culture of the indigenous people,” he said. Visitors will have an opportunity to enjoy activities such as danh yen (similar to badminton), linen weaving, pan pipe dance and senh tien (castanets with strung coins) dance. Hanoians and tourists will also be able to experience the rituals of G?u Tào, the most important festival of the Mong, held in early spring to express their gratitude to Heaven and Earth, and pray for good luck and happiness in the new year. The festival is a prelude to a bigger event honoring the culture of the Mong people to be held in Ha Giang city on November 18 and 19 with the participation of residents from 13 provinces nationwide “The festival honors the cultural values of the Mong ethnic group in the united and diversified culture of the nation,” said Quy. “It’s a chance for Mong people in different regions and artists to meet, exchange and preserve traditional culture.” The opening ceremony in Ha Giang city will be broadcast live on Vietnam Television. Native sports competitions and folk games of the community, as well as tours around the Dong Van Karst Plateau Geopark, are also planned. On display will be costumes, handicraft, and specialties like buckwheat wine and seedless persimmons. Traditional food is an integral part of the festival. On offer will be thang co (horse meat or beef and pork cooked with almost all the offal such as intestines, liver, and kidneys), thang den (a dessert of sesame dumplings, peanuts and coconut) and men men (cooked corn powder). Some 800,000 Mong tribespeople live in Vietnam, constituting one of the country’s largest ethnic minorities. Most live in the northern mountainous areas and the north-central and Central Highlands regions. About one-third live in Ha Giang Province. (Vietnam News Nov 11)