Art performance at the first National Festival of Dao Ethnic Culture. (Photo: nhandan.com.vn)Tuyen Quang (VNA) –The first National Festival of Dao Ethnic Culturewrapped up in the northern mountainous province of Tuyen Quang on September 30.
The two-day event drew the participation of nearly 1,000 actors and actresses,craftsmen and athletes from localities resided by the Dao ethnic group acrossthe country.
A string of cultural activities were held during the event, including an artfestival, a Dao ethnic custom show, ritual ceremonies of the Dao people, sportcompetitions and folk games.
The festival aims to preserve Dao cultural features during the national industrialisationand modernisation process.
The same day, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the provincialPeople’s Committee organised a conference on preserving and promoting Daocultural heritage in the context of global integration and nationaldevelopment.
As one of Vietnam’s 54 nationalities, the Dao community has an estimatedpopulation of nearly 800,000. They mostly reside in northern mountainousprovinces like Ha Giang, Tuyen Quang, Lao Cai and Yen Bai. Their main economicactivities are farming in rocky areas, weaving, and silver craft-making.
The Dao ethnic group’s cultural values are illustrated through housingarchitecture, costumes, jewelry, food and traditional craft. However, marketeconomy has driven the values to slide into oblivion.
Participants at the conference recommended measures to protect Dao ethnicculture like designing policies to save Dao language and writing, collectingand popularising Dao culture and promoting roles of craftsmen andsorcerers.-VNA
VNA
