A ceremony was held in the mountainous northern province of Tuyen Quang,on August 27 to receive certificates recognising the “Cap sac”(coming-of-age) ritual and the “Pao dung” singing of the Dao ethnicgroup as national intangible cultural heritage.

TheCap sac ritual is essential for all Dao men. They must endure theritual in order to be recognised by the community as a mature andcompetent adult capable of holding communal positions.

The ritual is rooted in a thousand-year-old Dao legend. It is usuallyconducted at the end or the beginning of the lunar year for one male ormore, always an odd number. Three shamans chair the rituals, assisted bythree more, over the course of three days.

On the first day, the ritual is conducted outside. On the next day,the men enter the house to listen to the shamans’ prayers and learntraditional dances. The third day is dedicated to rituals honouring theancestors.

Pao dung singing, a unique Dao artform, speaks of creativity in labour, the beauty of local landscapes,culture, and love. The songs teach their listeners about their homelandand family relationships.

This type of song is oftenperformed during traditional community rituals and in day-to-day lifein the form of lullabies or love songs.

Tuyen Quangprovince is home to two other national intangible cultural heritages,including Then singing and the Long Tong festival.-VNA