Submitting to UNESCO the dossier of intangible cultural heritage with Mo Muong and Cheo art

On March 29, the Government Office issued Document No. 2082/VPCP-KGVX conveying the opinion of Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha on submitting the dossiers of "Mo Muong" and "Cheo art" to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Specifically, considering the proposal of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the appraisal opinion of the National Cultural Heritage Council on the request for permission to sign and send the national dossiers "Mo Muong" and "Cheo art" to submit and consider registering on the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage lists, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha agreed to submit to UNESCO for consideration and inclusion of the intangible cultural heritage "Mo Muong" (Hoa Binh, Thanh Hoa, Ninh Binh, Phu Tho, Son La, Hanoi and Dak Lak) in the list of intangible cultural heritages in need of urgent protection and the intangible cultural heritage "Cheo art" (Thai Binh, Ninh Binh, Ha Nam, Nam Dinh, Hai Duong, Hung Yen, Bac Ninh, Vinh Phuc, Phu Tho, Quang Ninh, Bac Giang, Thai Nguyen, Hanoi and Hai Phong) in the list of representative intangible cultural heritages of humanity; authorize the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism to sign the dossiers according to regulations.

The Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO shall preside over and coordinate with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to carry out necessary procedures to send heritage dossiers to UNESCO, ensuring the time limit prescribed by the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage and the law on cultural heritage.

Mo Muong is a folk performance activity expressed in rituals associated with the spiritual life of the Muong people.

The space for performing activities and chanting takes place in community life and each family holds a ritual.

The subjects practicing Muong mo are the shamans, these are the people who keep mo knowledge, know thousands of mo verses by heart and are proficient in rituals and customs, are prestigious people trusted by the community. When practicing rituals, the shaman is the one who speaks, reads, and sings mo verses during the ceremony.

The Muong people do not have their own written language, so the Muong's mo (prayer) songs are passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth, and are preserved and maintained through Muong folk rituals.

Mo Muong includes many mo songs and mo sections used in specific rituals.

As a type of Vietnamese folk theater art, strongly developed and popular in the Red River Delta and two spreading areas, the Northern midlands and mountainous areas and the North Central region, Cheo has a popular character and is often associated with folk festivals to thank the gods for blessing a bountiful harvest, and for the villagers to be well-off, so that the farmers who work hard every day can communicate and express their feelings.

Cheo melodies often use polyphonic, polysemous language, combined with narrative and lyrical metaphors.

Through a long historical process from the 10th century to the present, the art of Cheo has penetrated deeply into cultural and social life, depicting the simple life of farmers, praising the noble qualities of human beings.

Besides, there are also humorous cheo plays that criticize bad habits, fight against injustice, express love, tolerance, and forgiveness.