Sunday, November 2, 2008
Culture, Sports and Tourism Festival to be held in Bac Giang
The 6th Culture, Sports and Tourism Festival of northeastern ethnic groups will be held on November 7-10 in Bac Giang, drawing the participation of 10 northeastern provinces.
The event, held every two-year, aims to honour, conserve and develop the unique culture of the northeastern provinces.
During the four-day event, folk song performances, sports, games and a food festival will take place. This is also an opportunity to advertise tourism in the northeastern provinces.
Delegates from Bac Giang, Ha Giang, Phu Tho, Thai Nguyen, Bac Kan, Lang Son, Cao Bang, Tuyen Quang, Quang Ninh and Vinh Phuc will join in the festival.
The opening ceremony of the 6th festival will be broadcast live on Vietnam Television and Radio the Voice of Vietnam at 7.45pm on November 8.
The event, held every two-year, aims to honour, conserve and develop the unique culture of the northeastern provinces.
During the four-day event, folk song performances, sports, games and a food festival will take place. This is also an opportunity to advertise tourism in the northeastern provinces.
Delegates from Bac Giang, Ha Giang, Phu Tho, Thai Nguyen, Bac Kan, Lang Son, Cao Bang, Tuyen Quang, Quang Ninh and Vinh Phuc will join in the festival.
The opening ceremony of the 6th festival will be broadcast live on Vietnam Television and Radio the Voice of Vietnam at 7.45pm on November 8.
Colors of ethnic minority groups shine at Muong Lo fest
Muong Lo Tourism and Culture Week has taken place in Nghia Lo town in the northern mountainous province of Yen Bai, highlighting the unique cultural features of 17 ethnic groups in the region.
The event aims to portray the beauty of the culture, people and nature of Muong Lo village though special performances by hundreds of local artists, including mua xoe (traditional dance of Thai ethnic people). The dance brings everyone together in a circle around the village shrine, and with so people hand-in-hand forming the circle.
On this occasion, the Gau Tao (new year) festival will also be held, along with mua sap (bamboo pole dancing), khen (pan-pipe) performances and the Mong ethic people’s ritual of worshipping the tea tree.
The week will also kick off a travel programme offering various tours of nearby villages, waterfalls, terraced fields, hot-water streams and tea farms in Nghia Lo, Van Chan and Mu Cang Chai towns. These tours will offer visitors a chance to experience the daily lives of the locals, offering them a genuine cultural experience.
This year’s event, co-organised by the three northern provinces of Yen Bai, Lao Cai and Phu Tho, to introduce and popularise the cultural features of ethnic groups and attract tourists will run until October 21.
Muong Lo Tourism and Culture Week has taken place in Nghia Lo town in the northern mountainous province of Yen Bai, highlighting the unique cultural features of 17 ethnic groups in the region.
The event aims to portray the beauty of the culture, people and nature of Muong Lo village though special performances by hundreds of local artists, including mua xoe (traditional dance of Thai ethnic people). The dance brings everyone together in a circle around the village shrine, and with so people hand-in-hand forming the circle.
On this occasion, the Gau Tao (new year) festival will also be held, along with mua sap (bamboo pole dancing), khen (pan-pipe) performances and the Mong ethic people’s ritual of worshipping the tea tree.
The week will also kick off a travel programme offering various tours of nearby villages, waterfalls, terraced fields, hot-water streams and tea farms in Nghia Lo, Van Chan and Mu Cang Chai towns. These tours will offer visitors a chance to experience the daily lives of the locals, offering them a genuine cultural experience.
This year’s event, co-organised by the three northern provinces of Yen Bai, Lao Cai and Phu Tho, to introduce and popularise the cultural features of ethnic groups and attract tourists will run until October 21.
Cam Muong festival
When Spring comes, Lao ethnic people in Lai Chau Province organise their traditional Cam Muong Festival to pray to the Gods of the rivers and mountains, as well as their ancestors, for blessing. On the last morning of lunar December there are boisterous drumbeats everywhere.
For the worshipping ceremony, the sorcerer prepares seven trays of offerings, including silver necklaces and bracelets, white coarse cloth, brocade cloth, betel and areca nuts, lime, several threads coated with beeswax, bows and arrows, sword, wooden spinning tops, etc. At noon, a procession, led by people carrying trays of offerings on their heads, followed by a sorcerer, old people and the villagers, go into the forest, beating drums and gongs. In the forest, a bamboo-worshipping house with a wooden floor is erected under a big tree.
The sorcerer places the offerings at seven worshipping compartments dedicated to the ancestors (the main compartment), the grand parents and the Gods of the mountains, forests and land. The sorcerer burns candles made of beeswax and reads prayers to invite the Gods and ancestors to enjoy the feast with their descendants.
At the end of the ceremony, food and wine are prepared. All people enjoy the feast and dance around the fire until late at night. The sorcerer and old people give alias to the young people.
The festival lasts from the first to the fifth day of the New Year. On each morning, an old person in the family opens a jar of can wine to .worship the ancestors, then invites those who come to bless the family to enjoy the wine. In the common yard of the village, people dance and play such folk games as throwing the con (a ball made of cloth) and playing with spinning tops.
For the worshipping ceremony, the sorcerer prepares seven trays of offerings, including silver necklaces and bracelets, white coarse cloth, brocade cloth, betel and areca nuts, lime, several threads coated with beeswax, bows and arrows, sword, wooden spinning tops, etc. At noon, a procession, led by people carrying trays of offerings on their heads, followed by a sorcerer, old people and the villagers, go into the forest, beating drums and gongs. In the forest, a bamboo-worshipping house with a wooden floor is erected under a big tree.
The sorcerer places the offerings at seven worshipping compartments dedicated to the ancestors (the main compartment), the grand parents and the Gods of the mountains, forests and land. The sorcerer burns candles made of beeswax and reads prayers to invite the Gods and ancestors to enjoy the feast with their descendants.
At the end of the ceremony, food and wine are prepared. All people enjoy the feast and dance around the fire until late at night. The sorcerer and old people give alias to the young people.
The festival lasts from the first to the fifth day of the New Year. On each morning, an old person in the family opens a jar of can wine to .worship the ancestors, then invites those who come to bless the family to enjoy the wine. In the common yard of the village, people dance and play such folk games as throwing the con (a ball made of cloth) and playing with spinning tops.
Hanoi-Prague exhibition opens in Hanoi
The Vietnam-Czech Friendship Association and the Czech Embassy in Hanoi opened an exhibition entitled “Hanoi-Prague, cultural and tourism exchange memories” on October 25 at the Vietnam Cultural and Arts Exhibition Centre.
On display are around 120 photos of people and landscapes in the Czech Republic and Vietnam, such as Huong and Tay Phuong pagodas.
The exhibition also showcases some works by the late President Ho Chi Minh, which are translated into Czech, and some Czech literary works translated into Vietnamese.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, the President of the Vietnam-Czech Friendship Association, Nguyen Minh Hong, said that the association officially launched the website hoivietsec.org.vn to mark the 90th anniversary of Czech National Day (October 28) and to welcome the 4th congress of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations.
The Czech Economic Counselor, Martin Vlastnik, expressed his delight at the fine development of friendly relations between the two countries over the past 50 years.
On display are around 120 photos of people and landscapes in the Czech Republic and Vietnam, such as Huong and Tay Phuong pagodas.
The exhibition also showcases some works by the late President Ho Chi Minh, which are translated into Czech, and some Czech literary works translated into Vietnamese.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, the President of the Vietnam-Czech Friendship Association, Nguyen Minh Hong, said that the association officially launched the website hoivietsec.org.vn to mark the 90th anniversary of Czech National Day (October 28) and to welcome the 4th congress of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations.
The Czech Economic Counselor, Martin Vlastnik, expressed his delight at the fine development of friendly relations between the two countries over the past 50 years.
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