Preserve and promote the cultural values of the Ede people

Chủ nhật - 23/06/2019 20:58 357 0

Song Hinh mountainousdistrict has 19 ethnic groups living together, of which Ede ethnic groupaccounts for 34%, the rest are other ethnic groups such as Kinh, Tay, Nung,Thai, Dao, Hoa, Cham, Ba Na and Muong... Thecultural life of the ethnic groups here is very rich, eachethnic group has its own traditional festivals with unique identities. Inparticular, the E De people (Ede Mdhur) still retain many of the most festivalssuch as: buffalo stabbing, new home offerings, worshiping graves, life-cycle offering...

The water wharf feast of the Ede people

The Ede people in Song Hinh follow the concept of polytheism,all things have divine. The divine is in the three worlds of heaven, earth, under-earth and the gods in the space between the earthand heaven (light god: sun, moon, god of weather...). Therefore, in the processof living and productive labor, they conduct corresponding agricultural rituals(from sowing to harvesting), as well as small and large rituals according tohuman life cycle (from born until the time of closing eyes) to pray for theirhealth and longevity.

Born and raised in Ea Trol commune, the elderly Y Tip is a prestigious personwith deep knowledgeabout rituals and customs of the Ede ethnic group. Old Y Tip shared: “I am very happy toparticipate in performing and teaching the young generation what I know,what I have about the culture, customs and habits of my people, sothat the otherethnic groups canunderstand and know more about the Ede people”.
Determining that the culture is a spiritual foundation ofsociety, both as a goal and a driving force for socio-econo development, SongHinh district has paid special attention to preserving and promoting the traditional cultural identityof ethnic minoritypeoples.

During the recent time, the District Division of Culture and Information hasdeveloped plans and implemented specific tasks in preserving and promoting the cultural heritage values of ethnicgroups in the district such as: collecting, preserving and promoting traditional musical instruments,folk songs, ‘khan’singing, traditional cultural festivals such as rain-praying ceremony, grave-removal ceremony, new-house celebration ceremony, adult-worshiping ceremony...; inviting experienced artisans in the districtto organize training courses for cultural cadres of communes, town and artisansof villages on theory and practice of gongs and Arap dance.

Song Hinh also organized 5 times the gong cultural festivalin the district. After each organization, the number of people who know how tobeat gongs and Arap dancein the region is increasing and the movement of performing gongs in villagesand hamlets has a better development direction.

Besides, implementing the National Target Program on Culturein the period of 2012-2015, the Department of Culture and Information hasequipped 12 sets of gongs for villages. Currently, the district has 15 gonggroups and 12 traditional ethnic music clubs with 169 artisans participating inactivities.
In particular, some communes have invested funds andmobilized artisans to establish the Folk Songs, Traditional Music Clubs, ThenClubs in Hai Rieng townlet and the communes of Ea Ly and Song Hinh, Ea Bia, Ea Bar, Ea Ba, Ea Lam...

According to Mr. Phan Thanh Quyen, Head of the Division of Culture and Information in Song Hinh district, although thereare many difficulties, the work of preserving and promoting traditionalcultural values has always been properly invested, contributing to improvingpeople's awareness on preserving and promotng the culture of their people.

“In the coming time, the locality will continue to implementthe project of preserving and promoting the cultural heritage values ofethnic minority people in Song Hinh district for the period of 2015-2020; inparticular, focusing onadvocacy for ethnic minorities to raise awareness in the community, in everyfamily; prioritize funding sources to restore some typical traditionalfestivals of the E De people; preserving traditional musical instruments and folksongs of ethnic minorities...”, Mr. Quyen said.

Source: Phu YenNewspaper
Translated by TRINHTHUY

Từ khóa: Preserve and promote the cultural values of the Ede people