Collection of materials and documents of the Mo Mường practice in Thanh Hóa and HaNoi

Wednesday, May 15, 2024 10:41:58 AM

Afer more than one year conducting the collection and feldwork, the Vietnamese Institute for Musicology completed the recording and flming of the Mo ritual practice by the Mường people in 6/7 provinces and cities including Hòa Bình, Ninh Bình, Sơn La, Phú Thọ, Thanh Hóa and Hanoi. Tese six provinces and cities participated in the building of the Mo Mường National File which will be submitted to UNESCO for the recognition in the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.

In Thanh Hóa province, the Vietnamese Institute for Musicology in collaboration with the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Thanh Hóa province collected the Mo Đổi Sổ ritual performed by the Mo sorcerer Bùi Văn Kiên (born in 1965). This ritual is organized to wish for the old’s longevity of the Mường ethnic group in the Cẩm Thành commune of Cẩm Thủy district. This is one of the humane traditional rituals of the Mường community. The ritual is organized to show gratitude of family’s members to their grandparents, father, mother, and so on, and to wish that they will live longer with descendants.


Through the survey and inventories, at present, there are only six Mo sorcerers who practice the Mo Mường in Hanoi. Among them, there are very few Mo sorcerers who have a thorough knowledge and specialize in practicing Mo in funeral rituals. Vietnamese Institute for Musicology in collaboration with the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports and the Mo sorcerer Bùi Phát Tường (born in 1940) who lives in Vân Hòa commune of Ba Vì district to organize the recording and flming the ritual of Mo mát nhà. According to
the Mường people’s tradition, this ritual is performed at the beginning of a new year, in order to wash away last year’s misfortune, and to appeal for good luck and plentiful harvest in the coming year.


 

In order to complete the collection of information and scientifc data on Mo Mường practice in provinces and cities who participated in the building of the Mo Mường National File, in the near future, the Vietnamese Institute for Musicology will coordinate with the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Đắk Lắk province to survey and collect some Mo rituals of the Mường ethnic group who is living in this province.


NGUYỄN VƯƠNG HOÀNG

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