Cham pottery in the making (Illustrative photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam will soon officially ask theUNESCO to consider putting the country’s Xoe Thai dance in the list of IntangibleCultural Heritage of Humanity and Cham pottery making art among IntangibleCultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has given the green lightfor the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to sign relevant dossiers forsubmission to the UNESCO on behalf of the Government. The submission will bemade prior to March 31.
Xoe Thai is a unique type of traditional dance that isassociated with and plays a significant role in the daily life of Thai ethniccommunities in the northwest of Vietnam, especially in the provinces of LaiChau, Dien Bien, Son La and Yen Bai.
A group performance of Xoe Thai dance (Photo: VNA) It is performed in various community activities fromfestivals to funeral rituals.
There are about 30 Xoe dances, which have been developed,protected and handed down through generations intact over hundreds of years, includingxoe quat (xoe dance with a fan), xoe khan (xoe dance with a scarf), xoe non(xoe dance with a conical hat) and many others with contents reflectingcommunity activities and expressing the Thai people’s emotion.
With gentle and alluring rhythms, dancers usually form acircle around a festive flame and move to the sound of melodic traditionalmusic.
Meanwhile, Cham people in the south central provinces ofBinh Thuan and Ninh Thuan, particularly those residing in the Ninh Thuan’s BauTruc pottery village, have long been renowned for their art of pottery.
Cham potters use their skills to create a variety of pottery products. (Photo: VNA) One of the most outstanding features of the traditional Champottery is the technique of shaping their wares by hand rather than by a wheeland their use of simple tools or shells to decorate the products. The potteryis dried under the sun for four to six hours before being fired outdoor overstraw or wood.
The skills of the Cham have created a variety of productsused for daily activities and spiritual worship. Some of the products includecylindrical jars which store water or rice, decorative lamps, reliefs, andstatuettes of apsara or gods.
The Bau Truc pottery village is one of the oldest of itskind in Southeast Asia. About 85 percent of the village’s 400 households makepottery. However, because of industrialisation, the local craft is fading, witha fewer number of workers recorded. -VNA
VNA
