Promoting the value of Tho culture associated with tourism development in Quy Hop
In recent times, Quy Hop district has had many solutions to preserve and promote the cultural identity of the Tho people. Thereby, contributing to honoring traditional values, encouraging people to actively compete in labor production, making worthy contributions to the overall development of the district.
From unique traditional crafts...
Talking about the traditional occupations of ethnic minorities in Western Nghe An, if the Thai people have traditional brocade weaving, the Mong people have blacksmithing, the Kho Mu people have weaving, then the Tho people in Quy Hop have traditional hemp hammock weaving.
We went to Tho Hop commune, met some old ladies who have been involved in the craft of weaving hemp hammocks all their lives. The destination was Mrs. Truong Thi Thong’s family, today many people gathered here to sit together and weave hemp hammocks.
Ms. Truong Thi Thong shared: “Weaving hemp hammocks has become a traditional profession, a cultural beauty of the ethnic people here. During the free days, the elders, grandmothers, and mothers gather together to weave hemp hammocks, chatting intimately in the village. The hammocks weaving of the women in the village has contributed to making the Tho village more bustling, happy, and connecting families and clans in the Tho community.”
According to the elders in Tho Hop commune (Quy Hop), in the past, Tho people used hemp to weave nets to catch big and small animals, hammocks to lie on and some other items. Nowadays, they weave hammocks as a wish for a peaceful life for the person using it.
Hemp hammocks are very durable, can be used for 15 to 20 years, the longer you lie on them, the smoother and cooler the hemp fibers become. Currently, the price of each hemp hammock ranges from 800,000 to 1.2 million VND. The hemp hammock weaving profession not only brings income to people, but is also a valuable intangible cultural heritage of the Tho ethnic group.
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Coming to Quy Hop district, in addition to being impressed by the hammock weaving profession, visitors from all over can also discover many unique cultural features of the Tho ethnic group with traditional costumes, folk songs, folk dances, festivals, customs and practices in the community culture.
In their productive labor life, the Tho people still preserve and popularize many unique folk melodies, bearing the cultural characteristics of their people such as: Da oi melody; Tang Khang Le; Khai Khai Re; Tap Tinh Tap Tang; Hat Giao Duyen; Hat Doi Dap... Or in folk medicine, there are traditional remedies to cure people's diseases from hundreds of types of herbs, forest leaves...
...To preserve and promote Turkish cultural values
Quy Hop is a mountainous district located in the Northwest of Nghe An province, with three ethnic groups living together, including: Kinh (accounting for 48% of the population), Thai (40% of the population) and Tho (12% of the population). The Tho ethnic group lives mainly in the communes of Ha Son, Nghia Xuan, Minh Hop, Tho Hop, Van Loi, Tam Hop and Quy Hop town.
Currently, the Tho ethnic group in Quy Hop district is holding an extremely rich and diverse indigenous knowledge system, typically folk song and dance knowledge; folk medicine knowledge and traditional handicraft knowledge.
Nowadays, due to geographical characteristics and the impact of modern life, the work of preserving and promoting the traditional cultural values of the Tho ethnic group faces some difficulties. The young generation when approaching the folk songs of their own ethnic group does not perform them properly.
The traditional medicine-making and hammock-weaving professions have long been a cultural beauty of the Tho people. However, the raw materials for production are gradually depleted, and it is more difficult to collect medicine from plants and forest leaves.
Faced with the above situation, Quy Hop district has proposed many policies and solutions to preserve the beauty of Tho ethnic culture. Accordingly, the district focuses on extensive propaganda to all classes of people, especially the young generation, so that people understand and are aware of preserving and promoting the cultural identity of their ethnic group.
Along with that, the district has conducted surveys, reviews and assessments of the current status of Tho culture in villages and hamlets in the area to have specific conservation plans; continue to preserve and promote the value of traditional costumes of Tho ethnic people.
Regarding folk songs and dances, the District Department of Culture and Information has advised the District People's Committee to issue a Project to Preserve and promote the cultural values of ethnic minorities in the district, including the Tho ethnic group.
Up to now, the district has built 6 Tho ethnic folklore clubs, 1 provincial club, 1 district club and 4 commune clubs. Most of the clubs operate very effectively such as collecting, developing members, organizing and exchanging or performing at local joint programs or organized by district, provincial, regional or central levels. Typical is the Tho ethnic folklore club in Dot Va hamlet, Nghia Xuan commune.
The district has the Boc Mo Festival with the cultural identity of the Tho ethnic group in Mo Moi hamlet, Nghia Xuan commune. In particular, Quy Hop district has a combination of Thai and Tho ethnic cultures, creating unique cultural features that will be an attractive discovery point for tourists who want to experience traditional culture.
Mr. Hoang Van Thai - Vice Chairman of Quy Hop District People's Committee said: "To preserve and promote the traditional cultural values of ethnic minorities associated with tourism development in Quy Hop district, in the coming time, the district will include in the land use planning historical, cultural, and scenic areas associated with the living environment of ethnic minorities.
To preserve and promote the folk cultural values of the Tho ethnic group such as medicinal plants and intangible cultural values, it is necessary to have the participation of scientists and researchers to preserve the unique cultural values of the Tho ethnic group; continue to review the number of people who hold knowledge of the Tho ethnic group's culture such as doctors, artisans, collectors of folk songs, folk dances, and hammock weaving to build a strategic plan to preserve, promote, develop and find consumption directions for traditional craft products of the Tho ethnic group; focus resources on policies and promptly commend and reward groups and individuals who have contributed to the work of preserving and developing folk knowledge and traditional culture of the Tho ethnic group... Thereby, gradually research, build and develop community tourism spots in the Tho ethnic group area in Quy Hop".
