The northern province of Nam Dinh has held a ceremony to receivecertificates officially recognising its Phu Day festival and Chau Van(spiritual singing) ritual as pieces of National Intangible CulturalHeritage.

Both are closely linked with GoddessLieu Hanh, who is worshipped in the Mother Goddess religion and one ofthe Four Immortals in Vietnamese legends.

Thefestival, the biggest among numerous activities celebrating Goddess LieuHanh in the country, is held annually at the Phu Day historical andcultural relic site in Kim Thai commune, Vu Ban district - consideredthe spiritual centre of the Mother Goddess religion.

The site is also the cradle of “hau bong”, an age-old spiritual ritualof the Kinh ethnic group, and Chau Van singing, which is indispensablein the worshipping practice of the Mother Goddess religion.

Chau Van was created during the Tran Dynasty (1225-1400) and Nam Dinh province is considered its birthplace.

The highly rhythmic and trance-oriented form of singing often takesplace during rituals to honour the Mother Goddesses and connect to othergods. It is performed mostly at temples and pagodas.

The music and poetry performed in the folk art are mingled with avariety of rhythms, pauses, tempos, stresses and pitches. The genre hasalso adopted folk songs from the highlands of the north, centre andsouth.

The latest recognition helps preserve andpromote the historical and cultural values of the heritage and will helpthe province as it tries to persuade the Prime Minister to recognisePhu Day as a national special relics site and UNESCO to acknowledgethe Chau Van ritual as a piece of intangible cultural heritage ofhumanity.-VNA