Artist Bui Hoang Duong (Photo courtesy of the artist)
Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The secrets of spiritual culture and life of the Muongethnic minority in the north-central province of Thanh Hoa willbe revealed at an exhibition titled MoMuong to be held later this week.
The exhibition will display 35 paintings and twoinstallations by Bui Hoang Duong, a Muong artist from Thanh Hoa.
It features the Mo Muong – a popular ritualceremony which has become the unique cultural heritage of the Muongethnic community in Thanh Hoa and many other provinces in the northernmountainous region.
Mo Muong is a job and also a performance practiced at funerals, religiousfestivals, and life cycle rituals by the ethnic Muong sorcerers.
Duong said he was born in a family with generations of practicing theMuong prayers. His great-grandfather recited the prayers but since he passedaway in 1954, the practice no longer remained in the family. However, manyof his followers tried to preserve it.
The artist said his exhibition was aimed to help promoteand preserve the unique cultural value of the Muong.
"About 10 years ago, many people did not understand Muong prayers, soconsidered them a kind of superstition due to the wrong methods of somelocal shamans. Actually, the Muong prayers are all aboutmorality, ethics and doctrines of humanity and life that teach peopleabout good personality, social behaviour and filial piety. Manypractitioners now understand they have a responsibility to lead the nationin the best spiritual direction, maintain and protect the culturalfoundations," said Duong.
Duong, who has travelled extensively throughout the country and abroad since2000, has a deep and endless affection for social life, humans and animalsparticularly dogs which appear in many of his works displayed in thisexhibition.
This is Duong's fourth solo exhibition since 2007. His latestgroup exhibition was XOM, which took place in Hanoi last August.
He chose this time to open the display as it was safer since COVID-19impacted the whole art and culture sector. The artist said he spent almosta year preparing for it and hoped he would help preserve the Muongepic poem "Land and Water".
Through the generations, the Muong prayers have been passed down verbally inthe community. When they’re collected, translated, and published in books,however, they begin to exist separately from people.
These days, most Muong prayers are called "Mo Muong". They are acollection of verses recited at traditional Muong funerals.
Each Muong community has its own version of prayers, but they are allfairly similar. The existence of various versions of "Mo Muong" hashelped expand the heritage and spiritual life of the Muong people.
The Mo Muong exhibition will open between April 24-28 at the Vietnam NationalFine Arts Museum at 66 Nguyen Thai Hoc street, Hanoi./.
