Preserving the precious treasure of ethnic minorities in Nghe An
(Baonghean.vn) -With 5 ethnic minorities: Tho, Thai, Kho Mu, O Du, Mong living together, Nghe An is a province with a rich and diverse ethnic culture. Among them, the treasure of folk tales is truly a precious gem...
Among the folk tales that remain today of the ethnic minorities of Nghe An, the vast majority belong to the Thai people. This is understandable because the Thai people are the largest ethnic minority, have a rich folk culture and have lived the longest in Nghe An. Also because of the large population, in the process of living together and cultural exchange, the Thai people have not been assimilated or influenced by other ethnic groups.
Professor Ninh Viet Giao with works collected over the past time
Of the approximately 500 stories that we have collected and preserved today, approximately 85% are stories of the Thai people, the rest are of the Khmu, Mong, Tho ethnic groups... stories of the O Du people are almost impossible to find. Among these, there are many famous stories with high literary value. These are epic poems such as "Lai Khun Chuong", "Lai Nang Han", or fairy tales about "Cai Lo Khai", stories about "Chim Tang Lo" and "Hon Da Cu Xoi". Many critics have assessed that the folk tales of the ethnic groups of Nghe An "are invaluable assets, as pure as the source of a stream, both stories and at the same time expressing world views on philosophy, history, ethnology, and sociology".
Although there are many rich and diverse folk tales, in the past, the preservation of stories was only in the form of oral tradition. Since 1991, since the establishment of the Folk Literature Association, the work of collecting and preserving has been officially respected and systematically organized, in which the main link is Professor Ninh Viet Giao - Chairman of the Association and also a person who has been passionate about the folk cultural treasures of ethnic minorities for many years. Through forms such as direct field trips, direct recording from ethnic minorities, through teachers teaching in the highlands, through the stories of parents, students or through the stories that ethnic minorities recorded and sent to the Association, hundreds of folk tales that were once lost have been preserved and recorded.
Thanks to that, after a period of collecting and searching, in 1996, for the first time, the Nghe An Folk Literature Association published the book "Tales of the ethnic groups in the mountainous region of Nghe An". The book's publication has created an impression on the literary world, through which literature lovers in the province and the whole country have another perspective, a valuable archive of documents on Nghe An folk tales. In addition, a number of other valuable works have been printed along with a number of books by authors Ninh Viet Giao, Quan Vi Mien...
Although there have been certain results, according to Professor Ninh Viet Giao, the collection and preservation of folk tales of ethnic minorities in Nghe An is currently facing some difficulties because those who are truly enthusiastic and passionate about folk tales are getting older and do not have much time to collect them at the grassroots level. In addition, there are not many people who know ethnic languages, especially the Khmu, Mong, O Du languages, so for a long time, the folk tales of these ethnic groups have not been collected as much as expected. In addition, due to the limited budget of the province and the Association, the number of collected stories introduced to readers has not been much. Most recently, through the project of publishing the complete collection of "Nghe An Toan Chi", the Association is planning to include the book published in 1996 in this book series, however, the stories introduced "are only a small number compared to the current massive treasure that we have" - Professor Giao added.
Faced with the above situation, in 2012, implementing Decision 84 of the Provincial People's Committee, the Ethnic Committee of Nghe An province decided to allocate a portion of the budget from the support for the preservation and development of ethnic minority culture to support the Nghe An Folk Literature Association in collecting, editing, and introducing a number of folk tales of ethnic minorities. This is truly a good sign, through which valuable literary works have the opportunity to reach readers, giving us another opportunity to better understand the identity, culture, and people of the mountainous region of Nghe An.
My Ha
