The Vietnamese heritage of the Ba Chua Xu Festival at Sam Mountain was officially recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity at 9:47 a.m. on December 4, 2024 local time (7:47 p.m. Hanoi time).
This is one of a total of 66 proposals considered at the 19th Session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO held in Paraguay at the 19th Session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO held at the Conmebol Conference Center, Asuncion, Republic of Paraguay.
According to the Department of Cultural Heritage (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism), the Intergovernmental Committee acknowledged that Vietnam had prepared the dossier for the Ba Chua Xu Festival on Sam Mountain very well, as well as Vietnam's previous dossiers. At the same time, this agency highly appreciated Vietnam's experiences and contributions to the Intergovernmental Committee for the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, especially during the 2022-2026 term.
On behalf of Vietnam and the community practicing the heritage of the Ba Chua Xu Festival of Sam Mountain, Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chairman of the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO Nguyen Minh Vu and Secretary of the An Giang Provincial Party Committee Le Hong Quang delivered a speech in response and committed to taking necessary measures to protect the values of the Ba Chua Xu Festival of Sam Mountain.
This is the 16th intangible cultural heritage of Vietnam recognized by UNESCO.
The Ba Chua Xu Festival on Sam Mountain takes place from the 22nd to the 27th of the fourth lunar month, in the Ba Chua Xu Temple on Sam Mountain and the stone pedestal area worshiping her on Sam Mountain. These are spiritual rituals and artistic performances, expressing the belief and gratitude to Mother Earth - Mother Land of the Vietnamese, Cham, Khmer and Chinese ethnic communities in Chau Doc, An Giang.
Ba Chua Xu is a holy mother in the goddess worship religion, always protecting and supporting the people. The custom of worshiping her and participating in the festival is to satisfy the beliefs and wishes for health, peace and fortune of the Khmer, Cham, Chinese, and Vietnamese communities in Chau Doc, An Giang as well as residents of the Southwest region.
The Sam Mountain Lady's Festival is the inheritance, absorption, integration and creation of Vietnamese residents in the process of land reclamation and is a synthesis of the Mother Goddess worship beliefs of the Vietnamese, Cham, Khmer and Chinese ethnic groups.
The festival aims to honor the Goddess who protects and bestows wealth, health, and peace on local people, and is also an educational environment for the traditional morality of “remembering the source of water”, reminding the ancestors of their efforts in building and defending the country, and promoting the role of women. The rituals demonstrate the exchange of creativity, cultural practice, and harmony between ethnic groups with the same beliefs within the same territory.
UNESCO's inscription of the Ba Chua Xu Festival on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity will raise community awareness in jointly organizing, managing and preserving the common heritage, connecting the ethnic communities in Vietnam. From there, it will enhance cultural respect in expressing the common aspiration for a peaceful life, favorable weather, good health and prosperity.
This UNESCO recognition also contributes to sharing the form of Festival practice, affirming the role of rituals that are culturally integrated among communities, thus reflecting cultural diversity. The UNESCO recognition of the Festival will promote understanding and dialogue among ethnic communities with Goddess worship beliefs in Vietnam, in Southeast Asia and around the world, promoting the spiritual cultural creations of ethnic groups and contributing to identifying cultural similarities among ethnic groups.
