April 03, 2017 | 21:09 (GMT+7)
Mother Goddesses worship recognized as intangible cultural heritage of humanity
PANO - The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, Nam Dinh provincial People’s Committee, and Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO on April 2 held a ceremony to receive UNESCO’s certificate recognizing the practices of the Vietnamese belief in Mother Goddesses of the Three Realms as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
Addressing the event, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam stressed that the UNESCO’s recognition for the practices is an honor of the people in Nam Dinh and localities which are preserving and promoting the rituals in Mother Goddess worship and of the country as a whole. He also reminded the localities of their heavy responsibilities for further promoting and popularizing values of the recognized heritage to other countries.
The Beliefs in the Mother Goddesses of Three Realms has been practiced by the Vietnamese people of generations in various Northern provinces since the 16th century. Among localities worshiping Mother Goddesses, Nam Dinh province is considered the center of Mother Goddesses worship with around 400 worshiping places. The practice related to Beliefs in the Mother Goddesses of Three Realms has different names and includes rituals, “Chau van” (traditional folk art of northern Vietnam which combines trance singing and dancing) singing, and festivals. In each ritual, Vietnam’s traditional cultural features are clearly reflected through colorful costumes, music, dances, and singing.
On the occasion, the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism announced the national action program on protecting and promoting values of the practices in the period of 2017-2020. Accordingly, relevant units and localities will gather documents about the heritage, rituals and festivals, honor individuals and groups with great contributions to the popularity of the Beliefs in the Mother Goddesses of Three Realms.
Source: PANO/VOV
Translated by Tran Hoai