Final episode: Continuing the aspirations of the O Du people
When they were first brought to live in a separate village, the economic life of the O Du people was considered the most difficult among the ethnic minority communities in Western Nghe An, while their unique cultural features had almost been lost.
Content:Tien Hung - My Ha;Technique: Nam Phong • 09/01/2025
When they were first brought to live in a separate village, the economic life of the O Du people was considered the most difficult among the ethnic minority communities in Western Nghe An, while their unique cultural features had almost been lost. In that context, the Party and the State had many special policies specifically for them. With large investment resources, after nearly 20 years, the life of the O Du people has gradually changed.
After many ups and downs in history, when 73 households were resettled in a separate village in Vang Mon 20 years ago, the cultural identities of the O Du people were almost gone. In that context, many development projects related to the O Du people were built and implemented.
Accordingly, over the past nearly two decades, policies related to the preservation of the O Du ethnic culture have been continuously implemented. These include the Project to Support the Socio-Economic Development of the O Du Ethnic Group in Nghe An through the periods of 2006 - 2010, 2011 - 2015, 2016 - 2025; or the Project to Preserve and Promote the Value of Performing Arts of Ethnic Minorities in Nghe An Province for the period of 2018 - 2025, which also has a separate section for the O Du ethnic group; Then, in the "Project to Preserve and Promote Traditional Costumes of Ethnic Minorities in Vietnam in the Current Period" of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Nghe An also launched a separate program with a section for the O Du ethnic group... The Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Nghe An also implemented many policies related to preserving the cultural heritage of the O Du ethnic group such as building a community cultural house, restoring the Thunder Festival at the beginning of the year of the O Du people... The Ethnic Minorities Committee of Nghe An province also implemented policies such as restoring the language and brocade weaving profession for the O Du people...
Policies for ethnic minorities with very few people in general and policies for the O Du ethnic group in particular are great efforts of the Party and State for ethnic minorities. These related policies are built continuously through different stages and the content covers all areas of life.
Dr. Bui Minh Hao - who has many years of research on the O Du ethnic group, believes that the policies to preserve cultural heritage in recent years have contributed to helping people have more opportunities to preserve and promote the value of their cultural heritage. Community cultural houses have been built large and modern. Dances have been restored. Some community cultural activities have also been re-staged. Traditional costumes have gradually been revived along with the brocade weaving profession. Traditional art performances of the O Du ethnic group are practiced more in mass art competitions...
“In short, the policies to preserve the cultural heritage of the O Du ethnic group have created an important driving force to help the O Du people preserve some of their traditional cultural values. From a community living scattered in Thai and Kho Mu villages, where traditional culture was not highly valued, now concentrated in a separate village and having many policies to preserve cultural heritage specifically for their ethnic group, it is an important material and spiritual resource for the people,” said Dr. Hao.
Having worked with the O Du people for many years, Dr. Bui Minh Hao frankly stated that although the State's policies for this ethnic minority have had many positive results, they have also left some lessons learned during the implementation process. "Cultural preservation policies from the top down, despite large funding sources, have not yet achieved their intended results. From policies on building infrastructure to preserving traditional occupations or customs, these limitations have been revealed. The reason is that when implementing these policies and projects, people do not have much right to participate and decide. Although public consultation is still organized, it is still basically a formality and many times people's opinions are not properly received...", Mr. Hao said.
Meanwhile, according to Mr. Hao's research results, bottom-up efforts in preserving cultural heritage proactively carried out by the O Du people are more effective and contribute significantly to preserving traditional cultural values. For example, the restoration of traditional costumes of women and men of the O Du ethnic group. This restoration process not only helps the O Du people preserve their traditional costumes, but also revives the weaving profession in the village in a more appropriate way. "It can be seen that the participation of the host community will determine the effectiveness of preserving the cultural heritage of the O Du ethnic group," said Mr. Hao.
According to Dr. Bui Minh Hao, to develop the traditional culture of the O Du people, in addition to finding their remaining traditional cultural values to preserve and promote, it is also necessary to create new cultural elements, taking the O Du community as the center to suit their conditions and context. Harmoniously combine the remaining traditional cultural values of the O Du people with new cultural values, in order to create momentum for the development process.
Sharing this view, Mr. Vi Tan Hoi - former Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Tuong Duong district (old) said that in order to better preserve the culture of the O Du ethnic group, the preservation process must be associated with the host community. Not only the State or researchers do it, but the O Du people themselves must be the center of all activities. It is necessary to train "cultural nuclei" right in the village, so that they can teach the language, traditional crafts, and festivals.
Mr. Hoi assessed that Vang Mon village, where many O Du ethnic people live, has had positive changes in economic life, culture and intellectual level. However, the preservation of O Du culture still faces many challenges, especially the risk of being assimilated by other cultures.
"It must be admitted that the programs are still not very sustainable. For example, O Du language classes are often organized in batches, not continuously, leading to the learning not being maintained for a long time. As for developing traditional handicrafts, there is a lack of consumer markets. Traditional textile products are beautiful but are mainly consumed within the community, with little connection to the tourism or e-commerce market. The implemented programs have not yet taken advantage of cultural identity to develop community tourism. Vang Mon village has the potential to attract tourists but there is no effective exploitation model....", said Mr. Vi Tan Hoi.
From those limitations, Mr. Hoi believes that, to be sustainable, it is necessary to combine conservation with economic development. Crafts must be linked to the market: linking with businesses, tourism, e-commerce so that products both have cultural value and generate income. Exploit the potential of community tourism in Vang Mon village: homestay, weaving experience tours, O Du cuisine, folk storytelling. Reduce dependence on subsidies, increase community self-reliance.
"The Nga My commune government as well as the culture and tourism sector also need to carefully research and then organize the annual Cham festival, associated with community tourism and Nga My market," Mr. Vi Tan Hoi proposed.
Meanwhile, according to Mr. Hoi, the language of the O Du people also needs to be "lived" and not just "preserved". Therefore, it is necessary to integrate the O Du language into daily activities, bilingual signs at tourist attractions and relics, build village radio news in the O Du language; encourage young people to compose songs and short stories in their mother tongue...
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