Mother Goddesses worship recognized as human's intangible cultural heritage

The ceremony marking the practice of Vietnamese belief in Mother Goddesses recognized by UNESCO as human's intangible heritage took place on April 2 in Nam Dinh province.

The event was jointly held by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, Nam Dinh provincial People’s Committee, and Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO.

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 in localities who have been preserving and promoting the rituals in Mother Goddess worship and of the country as a whole.

He also reminded these 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.

Representative of UNESCO in Vietnam presenting the certificate of intangible cultural heritage to Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Ngoc Thien. (source: tuoitre)

The practice related to Beliefs in the Mother Goddesses of Three Realms has different names and includes various rituals, including “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.

Also on the occasion, the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism announced the national action program for 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 inpiduals and groups with great contributions to the popularity of the Beliefs in the Mother Goddesses of Three Realms./.

( VNF/PANO )