Mother Goddesses of Three Realms recognized intangible cultural heritage

Illustration photo

The news was announced at the 11th Conference of the Inter-Governmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage which is undergoing at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from November 28 to December 3.

Mother Goddess worship is a traditional practice in Vietnam with a long history, having stood the test of social changes. The belief in Mother Goddess worship reflects people’s desire for health, wealth and fortune. 

The practice rituals meet belief-related needs by people in their daily life and have been closely associated with historical and cultural figures, such as Lieu Hanh, Au Co, Vuong Mau (legendary Mother of Saint Giong). 

The Beliefs in the Mother Goddesses of Three Realms has been practiced in numerous northern mountainous provinces across the nation since the 16th century. 

So far, Viet Nam houses 11 intangible cultural heritages including royal court music in 2003; the Space of Gong Culture in the Central Highlands (2005); love duets and ceremonial singing in 2009; Giong festival in 2010;  Xoan singing in 2011;Hung King worshipping rituals in 2012; don ca tai tu (southern traditional music) performance in 2013;  Vi and Giam folk songs of Nghe Tinh in 2014; tug of war in 2015, and the practice related to the Vietnamese belief in Mother Goddesses of the Three Realms in 2016./.  

By Kim Loan