“Then” is an essential ritual practice in the spiritual life of the Tay, Nung, and Thai ethnic minority groups in Vietnam, who mainly live in 11 northern provinces.
According to UNESCO representative in Vietnam, the practice of Then helps people overcome difficulties and obstacles in life, contributes to moral education and humane lifestyles, and preserves the positive lifestyles of the ethnic minority communities.
Then ceremonies describe a journey in which the Then Master (male or female) controls ghost soldiers traveling from the earthly realm to the heavenly realm to offer items of worship and to present prayers for peace, treating illnesses, ensuring good crops, wishing for a happy new year, and more.
Then rituals are always transmitted orally, reflecting succession between generations, and Then Masters play a key role in passing on the skills and know-how, with some conducting around 200 ceremonies a year.
The president also requested the 11 provinces that are home to Then to build programmes to extensively, creatively, and effectively promote the practice while raising people’s awareness about cultural identity.
The provinces should create favourable conditions for artisans to educate future generations and continue to collect, store, and publish ancient Then books, he said, adding that the diversity of Then in each ethnic minority group in each locality should also be respected./.
