Ba Chua Xu Festival recognized as UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity
VGP - The Ba Chua Xu (Holy Mother of the Realm) Festival on Mount Sam in the southern province of An Giang has been recognized as UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The Ba Chua Xu (Holy Mother of the Realm) Festival on Mount Sam in the southern province of An Giang
The recognition was announced at the 19th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Paraguay on Wednesday.
It has become the 16th intangible cultural heritage of Viet Nam honored by UNESCO. The recognition has affirmed the international community's high regard for Viet Nam's heritage, especially the diversity, value, and identity of Vietnamese culture as well as highlighted Viet Nam's contributions to UNESCO's efforts in preserving and promoting heritage values.
The festival has been preserved and practiced for generations in Chau Doc city. It is held from the 22nd to the 27th of the fourth lunar month, at the Ba Chua Xu Temple on Mount Sam and the stone pedestal on the mountain to worship the Holy Mother.
It reflects the culture of Viet Nam's southerners as well as the acculturation process between local ethnic communities.
The festival honors Ba Chua Xu and serves as a time for local residents to pay their gratitude and respect for those who have rendered service to the nation.
Speaking at the event, Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu said, the festival, recognized by UNESCO, is a testament to Viet Nam's diverse, longstanding, and rich cultural heritage.
Nguyen underlined the significance of the recognition, which has contributed positively to the preservation and promotion of heritage values at both national and international levels.
As the Vice Chair of the UNESCO's Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, Viet Nam is committed to continually preserving and promoting the value of this heritage, along with other cultural heritages, he noted.
The 19th session of the Inter-Governmental Committee for the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO is scheduled to last until December 7 in Asunción, Paraguay.
It gathers nearly 1,000 delegates from 120 member countries to discuss key issues related to intangible cultural heritage. It plans to add 63 new entries to the global list of intangible cultural heritages./.
