For the Giay ethnic people in the northern mountainous province of Lai Chau, the land, forest, and rivers have their own gods. The forest god is the most sacred deity, protecting villagers in their daily life.
Fragrant lotus ponds now play an important role in the development of eco-tourism in Phuoc Dan town, Ninh Phuoc district, in south-central province of Ninh Thuan. Cultivation of lotus flowers has also provided better incomes for local Cham ethnic people in recent times.
A ritual held by the Lo Lo ethnic minority group to pray for rain was a highlight of the Phong Luu Khau Vai Market 2022, which was held recently in Khau Vai commune in Meo Vac district, northern mountainous Ha Giang province.
The Ponagar Temple Festival was held recently in Nha Trang city in central Khanh Hoa province, to pay tribute to Goddess Thien Y A Na - Holy Mother of the Cham ethnic minority community in the central region who, according to Cham legend, taught local people how to cultivate crops and make handicrafts.
Chol Chnam Thmay New Year is the biggest festival on the Khmer calendar, which takes place around mid-April of the solar calendar every year. The festival expresses the wish for a new year of favourable rain and wind, and bountiful crops.
The northernmost province of Ha Giang recently had two traditional ceremonies in Hoang Su Phi district inscribed on the list of national intangible cultural heritage.
The ‘Ga ma thu’ ceremony is the Ha Nhi ethnic group’s biggest and most important ceremony of the year. It is held in spring to pay respect to the ancestors, give thanks to heaven and earth, and pray for a good harvest in the new year.
Worshiping the souls of the living is one of the unique rituals preserved by the Bru Van Kieu ethnic people in Le Thuy district, in the central province of Quang Binh. Local people believe that worshipping the living helps them have good health and good fortune.
The rainy season festival, called “De khu cha”, is one of the seven major traditional festivals of the Ha Nhi ethnic group in the northwestern mountainous region of Vietnam.
The People’s Committee of the southern province of An Giang has approved a project on preserving and upholding cultural values of “Buong” leaf scriptures of the Khmer ethnic group by 2030.
During the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival, each ethnic group in Vietnam has its own culinary specialties that reflect the culture of their people and are used as offerings to worship their ancestors.
The southern province of An Giang will digitise the writing on “Buong” leaves of the Khmer ethnic minority group to preserve and uphold their cultural heritage.
Lak lake in Lien Son township of Lak district can be reached by travelling along National Road 27 for about 55 km from downtown Buon Ma Thuot, which is the capital of Dak Lak province in the Central Highlands.
Le Mung Com Moi (New Rice Celebration), a festival held in late eighth month and early ninth month of the Lunar year among ethnic minority groups in the northern province of Ha Giang, has been a unique cultural practice of local ethnic minority people to celebrate bumper crops.
“De khu cha”, the rainy season festival of the Ha Nhi ethnic people, is a ceremony praying for rain in around the fifth lunar month, demonstrating a harmonious behaviour towards the nature.
A festival highlighting the culture of the Mong ethnic group is scheduled to be held in September in the Central Highlands city of Lai Chau, with the participation of 14 cities and provinces.
Although modern culture has been present in every corner of mountainous hamlets, the passion for melodies of Khen (panpine) has never ceased among men of the Mong ethnic group.
An art programme highlighting cultures of Vietnam’s ethnic groups took place at the Vietnam National Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism in Hanoi’s outskirts on April 16 to mark the Vietnam Ethnic Group Cultural Day.
A kaleidoscope of cultures, rituals, and cuisine of ethnic minority groups around the country will be highlighted throughout April at the Vietnam National Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism in Son Tay town on the outskirts of Hanoi.
Culture - Sports
