Numerous efforts to preserve cultural features of Dao ethnic people

21 members of the Dao traditional cultural club in Trung Ha commune (Chiem Hoa, Tuyen Quang), are all passionate and knowledgeable about the ethnic group’s culture.
A group of Dao people at a ceremony marking the start of new crop. Photo by VN Express.
A group of Dao people at a ceremony marking the start of new crop. Photo by VN Express. 

The northern mountainous province of Tuyen Quang is home to some 100,000 Dao ethnic people, who have rich and diverse traditional cultural features. Thanks to the support from the local authorities as well as the efforts of the Dao people themselves, the preservation of the Dao culture in Tuyen Quang has been maintained by an increasing number of cultural clubs. 

Ban Van Nam, Chairman of the Dao Cultural Club in Trung Ha commune, who comes from a Dao traditional family, said the unique cultural features of the Dao ethnic group were being forgotten. The number of Dao people in the commune who know how to sing “Pao Dung” folk music, to embroider cloth, and know the Nom - Dao script, was decreasing. 


Therefore, in 2020, Nam asked the local authorities for permission to establish a traditional cultural club of the Dao people in the commune.

The club currently has 21 members, aged from 32 to 65, who are all passionate and knowledgeable about the Dao ethnic culture.

They meet once a week or more after harvest season. They teach each other to sing folk songs, perform traditional dances and embroider cloth. The club’s members will then teach their family members. The club also holds regular cultural exchanges with other clubs in other communes, districts. 

Hoang Thi Tam, a resident of Lang Chua village, expressed her concern over the fact that not many young Dao people in the commune know how to embroider or use beeswax to create patterns for their costumes. Joining the club, she and other female members share their experience in traditional embroidery and folk songs and dances. 

Tuyen Quang is the only province in Vietnam which has all 9 branches of the Dao ethnicity. 

The Dao ethnicity has rich and diverse cultural values. 133 out of the 400 ethnic cultural heritages in Tuyen Quang belong to the Dao ethnic group. 

Nguyen Van Hoa, Vice Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sport and Tourism of Tuyen Quang, said the provincial authorities have been conducting scientific research projects on preserving the Dao culture. 

Photo by VN Express.
Photo by VN Express. 

The provincial leaders have directed the Provincial Museum to collect cultural artifacts of the Dao people for display; hold more cultural events for students to experience the traditional entitlement ceremony and practice embroidering traditional costumes of the Dao people. 

At the same time, the province promptly praises and rewards organizations and individuals that have made contributions to cultural preservation, encouraged and supported the establishment of art teams or Dao cultural clubs.
By DT

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