Shortcomings in the inventory of intangible cultural heritage in Nghe An

Positive results

From 2011 to the present, Nghe An province has conducted two rounds of inventory of intangible cultural heritage, recording 463 heritage items with 4,075 inventory forms and lists. These heritage items are distributed across 21 districts, cities, and towns in the province.

The plains and midland areas such as Yen Thanh, Do Luong, Nam Dan, Thanh Chuong, Hung Nguyen, and Vinh City are home to many unique folk festivals and performances, such as the Qua Son Temple Festival, the Ong Hoang Muoi Temple Festival, and performances of folk songs, opera, and traditional singing. Meanwhile, coastal districts and towns such as Dien Chau, Quynh Luu, Hoang Mai town, Nghi Loc, and Cua Lo town are notable for customs such as the worship of the Whale God, the Whale God welcoming ceremony, the fishing prayer ceremony, and the ceremony of departing from and launching ships.

Meanwhile, mountainous districts such as Ky Son, Tuong Duong, Con Cuong, Que Phong, Quy Hop, Quy Chau, Nghia Dan, Tan Ky, Anh Son... are cultural spaces home to many unique intangible cultural heritages. Intangible cultural heritage in this region is rich in quantity and diverse in type. Among them, the most prominent is folk performing arts, with many popular heritages deeply rooted in local cultural identity.

For example, the Thai ethnic group has art forms such as gong performances, bamboo pole dancing, furrow carving, xòe dance, pí, khắp, lăm, and nhuôn playing. The Khơ Mú ethnic group is notable for its gongs, tơm, phí tơm, đao đao, leaf flutes, bamboo mouth flutes, and bamboo gongs. The Hmong ethnic group possesses heritage such as the bamboo mouth organ, Hmong flute, mouth organ, and cự xia singing. The Thổ ethnic group currently preserves traditional singing art such as tập tình tập tang, đu đu, gong performances, so ma flute, traditional dances, and melodies such as điềng điềng folk songs and dạ ời songs.

Furthermore, the highland localities also preserve many heritage items related to customs and traditions such as ancestor worship, wedding rituals, the custom of performing the "spirit-making" ritual and tying threads around the wrist, the custom of drinking rice wine, etc. Along with these are heritage items related to folk knowledge such as traditional herbal remedies, and the experience of practicing shamanism...

Ms. Phan Thi Anh – Head of the Cultural Heritage Management Department (Department of Culture and Sports) shared: “It can be seen that Nghe An possesses a large number of intangible cultural heritages, diverse in type and unique in value, which are currently being preserved and passed on. The inventory process has helped local authorities at all levels clearly recognize the importance of this work and dedicate significant attention and resources to its implementation.”

Identifying difficulties and shortcomings

However, representatives from the Department of Cultural Heritage Management stated that the inventory of intangible cultural heritage in the area still faces many difficulties and shortcomings. As the force directly involved in the inventory, some cultural officials, especially at the commune level, are still limited in identifying intangible cultural heritage and understanding the content of the inventory.

"

Before each inventory, the Department of Culture, from the provincial to the district level, organizes training sessions for cultural officials at the commune level. However, during implementation, some commune cultural officials still confuse tangible and intangible cultural heritage, for example, mistaking stone steles and royal decrees for intangible heritage. In addition, some traditional crafts that are no longer practiced or are banned are still included in the list, such as logging, hunting, and traditional brick-making.

Mr. Nguyen Hong Hien – an officer at the Culture, Sports and Communications Center of Con Cuong District.

Representatives from the culture and information departments of mountainous districts stated that the difficult economic conditions of ethnic minority communities have led to a lack of attention to the preservation and promotion of intangible cultural heritage. In fact, some communities still practice these heritages without recognizing them as heritage, such as the Hmong custom of ancestor worship and wife abduction, the custom of burying whales among coastal residents, the exhumation ceremony of the Tho ethnic group, the custom of tying threads on the wrist to ward off evil spirits, or the Thai people's ceremony of giving thanks to their parents…

Furthermore, language barriers during the inventory process also created many difficulties. Some heritage sites were only documented in the local language without Vietnamese annotations, leading to difficulties in compiling information, for example: Hang Van, Xen Ban, Xen Muong, Ooc Cam, Ooc Kho, Booc May, Pam Tai...

Furthermore, the inventory process requires significant funding and time for activities such as fieldwork, interviews, audio and video recording, photography, and mapping. However, the funding for these activities is insufficient, limiting the time available for research and collection in villages, thus affecting the quality and results of the inventory.

Furthermore, intangible cultural heritage is primarily passed down through oral tradition and apprenticeship from one person to another, rather than being documented in written form, increasing the risk of its loss. Meanwhile, documentation efforts in recent years have only been implemented for a few types of heritage, on a small scale, fragmented, and lacking comprehensiveness.

Discussing the inventory of intangible cultural heritage, Ms. Tran Thi My Hanh, Director of the Department of Culture and Sports, stated that due to difficulties and limitations in inventorying and collecting documentation on intangible cultural heritage, most districts have not yet proposed feasible protection measures that are appropriate to the nature and characteristics of each type of heritage. Meanwhile, intangible cultural heritage is not easily formed, but is very easily lost.

"

In the coming period, in addition to continuing to strengthen inventory work, the Culture and Sports sector will propose and advise on appropriate investment mechanisms and policies to protect and promote the value of intangible cultural heritage. At the same time, emphasis will be placed on training, fostering, and improving the professional skills and expertise of grassroots officials in inventorying and documenting cultural heritage. Furthermore, research and implementation of information technology and digital transformation solutions will be intensified to effectively preserve and promote the value of cultural heritage, including both tangible and intangible cultural heritage.

Ms. Tran Thi My Hanh - Director of the Department of Culture and Sports of Nghe An Province.