The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that the Via Ba Chua Xu festival in An Giang Province will be selected to be Vietnam’s nomination in 2024 for UNESCO's recognition as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
The Via Ba Chua Xu festival honors the holy lady of Sam Mountain in An Giang’s Chau Doc City. (Photo: SGGP)
The Via Ba Chua Xu festival in Sam Mountain in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang is one of the traditional festivals of the ethnic peoples, including Kinh, Hoa, Khmer, and Cham.
According to the ministry, the Southern region has not yet got any ethnic communities’ heritage that receives UNESCO recognition.
The country possesses an array of intangible cultural heritages that have been recognized by UNESCO, such as the Worship of Hung Kings in Phu Tho, Practices related to Vietnamese beliefs in the Mother Goddesses of Three Realms in Nam Dinh, the art of Xoe Thai dance, Then singing practice of Tay, Nung, Thai ethnic people, the cultural space of the gongs in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, the art of pottery making of Cham ethnic people.
The Via Ba Chua Xu festival is the biggest folk festival in the Mekong Delta featuring a series of cultural and sports activities, such as a parade of the deity Ba Chua (known as Lady of the Realm), a washing rite, art performances and more. The event is held annually from the 22nd – 27th of the fourth lunar month. In 2014, the festival was recognized as a national intangible heritage.
By Mai An – Translated by Kim Khanh