Achievements after 50 years
Folk culture across the country, including the South, has achieved many successes in fields such as folk films, folk arts, folk performing arts, craft villages, beliefs and festivals. The collection, research and preservation of Southern folk culture plays an important contribution to the overall development.
After 1975, the team of cadres collecting and researching Southern folk culture was supplemented from many sources, spreading to each locality in the South. Up to now, that road has gone through 50 years and the Southern folk cultural treasure trove has been gathered, both rich in types and genres, and diverse in value, rich in the reserves of works.
In the field of folk literature, the most prominent are the works of Ca dao dan ca Nam Bo, Truyen thuong Nam Bo, Truyen thuong thuong Nam Bo, Truyen Ba Phi, along with many collections of folk literature in the province. In particular, the Southern Traditional Literature Collective project, implemented by authors Huynh Ngoc Trang and Pham Thieu Huong, consisting of 7 volumes with funding from the Hoa Sen Fund, is an important contribution.
Regarding performing arts, the collections of the late musician Lu Nhat Vu, poet Le Giang and Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi My Liem have systematized folk songs, musicals and talented singing, which were honored by UNESCO as a representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
In the field of creative arts, research on communal houses, pagodas, houses, folk architecture and Southern pinnacle paintings contributes to recreating the typical cultural and material space of the region.
The field of religion and folk festivals was also widely studied. Festivals such as Ba Chua Xu, Nghinh Ong ceremony, village festivals... are recorded and analyzed about religious values and social roles.
In the field of folk knowledge and craft villages, artisans also have quality research works.
Challenges
However, in the context of international integration and the 4.0 industrial revolution, the issue of overall research on Southern folk culture faces challenges.
According to him, first of all, the folk culture of the Cham people in the Chau Doc region, the Chinese people, as well as the ethnic minorities in the Southern region has not been given attention, and there is no reference work on the folk culture of these ethnic groups.
On the other hand, recognizing the entire Southern folk culture as a vibrant being has not been set. It is necessary to study the folk culture of each locality and each ethnic group in the South in depth, but it is also necessary to have one project, many works mention the common thing such as the issue of cultural exchange and transmission among ethnic groups. The "Southern Traditional Culture" index of experts at Ho Chi Minh City University of Culture should be announced to readers soon.
Moreover, it is necessary to apply theories and methods of studying Western scholars in folk culture in the South. At the same time, with this work, it is impossible not to introduce the research results of domestic researchers to foreign readers. Choosing valuable works, translating them to introduce to foreign readers in English, French, Russian, German, Chinese... is necessary.
In addition, an issue that cannot be avoided is the work of protecting and promoting the value of Southern folk culture, which is the teaching and transmission of folk culture. Nowadays, there are some young mothers who do not know how to sing, do not know how to tell fairy tales to children.
According to the professor, it is necessary to build a databank and promote research achievements domestically and internationally. At the same time, learning from international experience will help improve the effectiveness of research and preservation of folk culture.
Sharing with Lao Dong reporter, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Chi Ben said that to better support artisans and conservation work, it is necessary to invest in funding, policies and performance opportunities for artisans. Opportunities are very important - there are talented people, but if they are not given opportunities, folk culture will have a hard time spreading. In addition to performing, publishing and introducing research on Vietnamese heritage to the world is also very important. Such activities help international friends better understand Vietnamese culture.
