Sixty gong troupes from five Asiancountries and 24 cities and provinces in Vietnam kicked off the firstInternational Gong Festival in the Central Highland province of Gia Laion Nov. 12 night.
The four-day festival, organisedby the provincial People’s Committee and the Ministry of Culture,Sports and Tourism, has attracted thousands of local and foreignvisitors.
Taking part are some 1,000 performers of 11 ethnic minority groups fromthe provinces of Kon Tum, Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Lam Dong, Nghe An and HoaBinh as well as troupes from Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar and thePhilippines.
The festival will include religious ceremonies accompanied by gongorchestras, a buffalo festival, tomb abandonment ceremonies, seminarson preserving gong music, and exhibitions on ethnic minority cultures.
Provincial ethnic groups, including the Jrai, Ybrom, E De and Bahnar,will take part in rain worship and New Year ceremonies.
The festival aims to preserve the region’s unique gong culturerecognised by UNESCO as an oral and intangible heritage of mankind.
Gong have been used for more than 3,000 years in Vietnam and haveplayed a key role in the ethnic communities’ culture.
Because it is seen as a tool that helps connect them with heaven, gongculture is an inseparable part of the ethnic minority people’sspiritual life.
Gia Lai, which has 5,655 sets of gongs owned by various families, hasthe highest number of gongs in any of the Central Highland provinces.The nearby province of Dak Lak has 300 sets, and Kon Tum has 1,800.
Gongs are played to celebrate special occasions, including housewarmings, the birth of a baby, weddings, ritual parades and funerals.
Attending the ceremony, head of the Party Central Committee’sCommission for Mass Mobilisation Ha Thi Khiet said that gong cultureunited Southeast Asian nations.
“Gong culture is not only an invaluable property of ethnic groups inthe Central Highlands, but for all Southeast Asian nations,” she said.“We have to preserve and promote it for future generations in SoutheastAsian region and around the world.
“The festival plays an important role in preserving this culture as well as in uniting Southeast Asian nations./.
The four-day festival, organisedby the provincial People’s Committee and the Ministry of Culture,Sports and Tourism, has attracted thousands of local and foreignvisitors.
Taking part are some 1,000 performers of 11 ethnic minority groups fromthe provinces of Kon Tum, Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Lam Dong, Nghe An and HoaBinh as well as troupes from Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar and thePhilippines.
The festival will include religious ceremonies accompanied by gongorchestras, a buffalo festival, tomb abandonment ceremonies, seminarson preserving gong music, and exhibitions on ethnic minority cultures.
Provincial ethnic groups, including the Jrai, Ybrom, E De and Bahnar,will take part in rain worship and New Year ceremonies.
The festival aims to preserve the region’s unique gong culturerecognised by UNESCO as an oral and intangible heritage of mankind.
Gong have been used for more than 3,000 years in Vietnam and haveplayed a key role in the ethnic communities’ culture.
Because it is seen as a tool that helps connect them with heaven, gongculture is an inseparable part of the ethnic minority people’sspiritual life.
Gia Lai, which has 5,655 sets of gongs owned by various families, hasthe highest number of gongs in any of the Central Highland provinces.The nearby province of Dak Lak has 300 sets, and Kon Tum has 1,800.
Gongs are played to celebrate special occasions, including housewarmings, the birth of a baby, weddings, ritual parades and funerals.
Attending the ceremony, head of the Party Central Committee’sCommission for Mass Mobilisation Ha Thi Khiet said that gong cultureunited Southeast Asian nations.
“Gong culture is not only an invaluable property of ethnic groups inthe Central Highlands, but for all Southeast Asian nations,” she said.“We have to preserve and promote it for future generations in SoutheastAsian region and around the world.
“The festival plays an important role in preserving this culture as well as in uniting Southeast Asian nations./.
