Assoc. Prof. Dr. Do Van Tru – Chairman of the Cultural Heritage Association of Vietnam is speaking at the workshop
The workshop aims to promote, advertise and introduce the values of the Tug of War Ritual and Game; strengthen the cohesion between communities, meet the growing demands for exchange of heritage practice communities; at the same time, play as a premise for the future establishment of the Tug-of-war Heritage Communities Network Club in Vietnam in the future.
Tug of war ritual and game was named by UNESCO in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity 2015 as the multinational nomination of Cambodia, the Philippines, Korea and Vietnam at the 10th session of the Intergovernmental Committee on the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage held in Namibia.
Ms. Pham Thi Lan Anh, the Head of Heritage Management Office – Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports is speaking at the workshop
In Vietnam, Tug of war ritual and game is present in most regions like the Midlands, Red River Delta and North Central – the long-standing land of Vietnamese people associated with wet rice civilization. This heritage is most widely practised among Kinh communities in Vinh Phuc province, Bac Ninh province, Hanoi city and Tay, Thai, and Giay communities in the northern mountainous provinces such as Tuyen Quang, Lai Chau, and Lao Cai.
Since this heritage was enrolled in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, many performance arts, exchange, research collaboration and publication activities on this heritage have been actively organized by the Center for Research and Promotion of Cultural Heritage Values (CCH) – Cultural Heritage Association of Vietnam to support the tug of war community in raising public awareness in general and promoting values of this heritage in the contemporary life. Among them, the outstanding activities are the cooperation with Danjin city (Korea) through the Center for Communication and International Network of Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Asia-Pacific region, including the projects of research, publication, seminars and performance exchange.
Representative of tug of war community in Hoa Loan village, Lung Hoa commune, Vinh Tuong, Vinh Phuc is speaking at the workshop
Since Tug of war ritual and game was honored in 2015 until now, this is the first time a full and adequate workshop on Tug of war ritual and game was held with the participation of tug of war communities from many localities. Through 6 presentations at the workshop, localities introduced to the history of tug of war at their communities and the interesting features of tug-of-war ritual and game. For example, the tug of war game in Huong Canh town, Binh Xuyen district, Vinh Phuc province simulates Ngo Quyen’s victory on Bach Dang river; Tug of war game in Hoa Loan village, Lung Hoa commune, Vinh Tuong district, Vinh Phuc province symbolizes the bodice of female general Le Thi Ngoc Trinh in Hai Ba Trung period; The tug of war in Huu Chap village, Hoa Long ward, Bac Ninh city demonstrates the desire for good weather and the nation’s peace. Notably, the tug of war festivals usually take place at the beginning of a new year together with many rituals; therefore, it not only is a game or a sport but also has a spiritual meaning among the communities.
Speaking at the workshop, Assoc. Prof., Dr. Do Van Tru, Member of the National Cultural Heritage Council, the Chairman of the Cultural Heritage Association of Vietnam said that: Being enrolled by UNESCO as a Representative Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, we, on behalf of not only us but also the nation and the world, should preserve this precious cultural heritage. Hopefully, in the coming time, the tug of war communities will unite and share experiences to preserve and promote this intangible cultural heritage.
Representatives for tug of war community in Huong Canh town, Binh Xuyen district, Vinh Phuc province are giving flowers to the Organizing Committee
Also at the workshop, representatives of tug of war communities expected to soon have a tug of war communities network club as a place of exchange and art performance. Currently, the Center for Research and Promotion of Cultural Heritage Values has proposed a project to establish a Vietnamese tug of war heritage communities network club to protect and promote tug of war ritual and game heritage value; exchanging, cooperating, and helping mutually in all activities, contributing to improving the quality and efficiency of general activities.
In the framework of the workshop, the Organizing Committee introduced an exhibition space titled “Tug of war ritual and game” with 30 photos of tug of war activities held in the communities.
Hoang Nam