(VOVWORLD) - The first national festival of Dao culture was held in Tuyen Quang city last week. Its aim was to preserve and promote Dao traditions and customs.
 An art performance at the national festival of Dao culture (Photo: VNA)
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The festival involved over 1,000 artisans and artists from 12 localities in the northern region where Dao people live.
Nguyễn Vũ Phan, Acting Director of the Tuyen Quang provincial Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, said: “The Dao are a large minority group. They still practice a lot of their traditional customs, which should be promoted. Many of those customs have been adopted to a newer life-style”.
Activities included a demonstration of traditional costumes and reenactment of Dao festivals and rituals. A highlight of the festival was “Cấp sắc”, a coming-of-age ritual for Dao men.
Mr. Phan elaborated: “All Dao boys have to pass this maturity ritual and learn the teachings of their ancestors and ‘Bàn Vương’ – the forefather of the Dao. Then they have to live up to the values of the Dao people, who are united and live in harmony with nature. We featured this rite at the festival with the hope that young Dao people will acknowledge and uphold these values”.
 An exhibit of Dao culture opens at the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology
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The festival is part of a general effort to preserve ethnic culture, as Mr. Phan said: “When we care about the lives of ethnic people and introduce their culture to a wider community, the ethnic people will themselves be aware of and nurture their cultural values day by day. We consider this method of cultural preservation more effective than films, books, or photos”.