Vietnam Folk artisans

The industrialisation and modernisation process creates an impetus to develop Vietnam culture. However, this raises a problem in relations between tradition and modernity. Therefore, it’s time to pay more attention to folk artisans who are possessing a great value of traditional culture.

In Vietnam, intangible culture is an overwhelming part of the national culture heritage. Vietnam’s intangible culture is folk culture which is created by and belongs to the community. They are quan ho (love duet singing), classical opera, and of ceramic, silk weaving, and painting handicrafts.

These valuable intangible culture has been passed through generations by artisans who have contributed to preserving and enriching the community’s cultural identity.

UNESCO has made a proposal to honour them with title of ‘Living Human Treasures’ while the Vietnamese people often call them artisans. Artisans play an important role in preserving national cultural value.

In Vietnam, the role of folk culture is even more important because among 54 other nationalities, only the Kinh people have a kind of academic culture while the 53 ethnic minority groups only have folk culture.

Vietnamese intangible heritage was created in the past, mainly prior to the August Revolution. Therefore, those artisans who possess the heritage are at least 70 years of age. During the country’s 30 years in war, they did not have a chance to practice or carry out activities to promote the culture. In the peace time, industrialisation and modernisation, the globalisation and urbanisation sometimes make people ignore the folk culture.

Therefore, in order to build a Vietnamese advanced culture imbued with national identity, it’s in a great need of seeking effective measures to help folk artisans to continue practising and popularising cultural treasures they are possessing.

To reach the goal, it’s now time to collect all intangible culture treasures while honouring folk artisans.

To realise this, recently the Vietnam Folk Literature and Art Association has called for 1,000 its members and 2,000 others nationwide to try to collect and preserve all intangible heritage treasures of Vietnam’s minorities as being set out in its Vision 2020. They also set up regulations to honour the title “Folk Artisan” as recognition of their’s efforts to preserve the national cultural value.

Source: Nhandan.com.vn