QuangNam (VNA) - Researcher Tran Tan Vinh from Quang Nam provinciallibrary has completed a 200-page book on the Co Tu ethnic group’s artistic woodsculptures.
Vinhtold Viet Nam News that 800 copies of the book will be released later thisyear.
Thebook features culture of wooden sculpture of the central province’s Co Tuethnic group, an artistic approach that has been preserved by the communityfrom past centuries.
Vinhsaid he took 15 years to study and research the Co Tu culture and lifestyle.
Traditionally,Co Tu people create wooden masks and sculpture on timber columns to decoratetheir Guol (communal house) and play as spiritual protection figures for thecommunity.
Theartwork has been preserved for a few hundred years, since the appearance of theethnic group in the region.
PorningVillage, which has a large population of Co Tu people in Quang Nam Province’s TayGiang District, still preserves the longest-standing tradition of the Co Tupeople.
Accordingto Co Lau Nam, 86, one of the oldest sculptor living in Porning, wooden carvedmasks are believed to represent the souls of the dead, the good and the evil,while depict the daily lives of the Co Tu people.
Hesaid masks used to hang on the village’s gate and all columns of the Guol – twospiritual places of Co Tu community – to drive away devils and protect thevillagers from supernatural disasters.
The book, written in Vietnamese, will alsofeature photos and collections of wood statue sculpture.-VNA
VNA