Amid the growing risk of cultural knowledge being lost as those with an in-depth understanding of traditional rituals grow older, faithful reconstruction and digitisation are emerging as practical solutions for preserving and passing on folk cultural knowledge.

Village elders conducting traditional rituals as part of the harvest-praying ceremony.

The Ba Na people have numerous traditional rituals associated with different stages of life, each embodying distinctive cultural values passed down through generations. These practices have their own sequence, prayers and significance, reflecting the community’s perceptions of people, nature, ancestors and life.

Village elder Xau Dun Linh of Xi Thoai Hamlet is one of the few people who still has an in-depth knowledge of the community’s traditional rituals and regularly performs them. This knowledge was passed down from previous generations. However, knowledgeable people such as elder Xau Dun Linh are growing older, while young people today have limited opportunities to fully engage with traditional rituals.

Without timely documentation, reconstruction and transmission, when village elders and artisans pass away, many prayers, rituals and cultural knowledge associated with these practices could also be lost. This would mean not only the loss of a custom, but also the disruption of part of the community’s cultural memory.

Preservation through reconstruction and digitisation

In response to this urgent need, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in coordination with the Xuan Lanh Commune authorities, recently organised a faithful reconstruction of the Ba Na people’s harvest-praying ceremony in Xi Thoai Hamlet. The project not only recreated the ritual space, sequence and ceremonial elements, but also digitised the entire process to create a long-term body of materials for preservation, research, promotion and transmission.

The Ba Na people’s harvest-praying ceremony being reconstructed within the community by the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Ms. La Lang Thi Yen, a local resident, said: “Through the reconstruction of traditional rituals, community members, especially younger people, have the opportunity to gain a better understanding of the customs handed down by our ancestors over generations. This is not merely a cultural activity, but also a way for each person to become more aware of their responsibility to preserve their ethnic identity.”

According to Ms. Nguyen Thuy Phuong Hieu, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the faithful reconstruction of traditional rituals not only recreates a cultural practice, but, more importantly, helps identify and preserve the heritage’s original values. Digitisation will also help preserve for the long term the knowledge embedded in prayers, ritual sequence, spaces, offerings as well as related performative elements.

In the coming period, the cultural sector will continue to coordinate with localities to review and select representative rituals at risk of being lost, prioritising their reconstruction, documentation and digitisation. This will gradually establish a database on the traditional cultural practices of ethnic minority groups in the province, contributing to heritage preservation while promoting its values in community life and supporting the development of cultural tourism.

Translated by KHUONG THAO