(VOVworld)- The Dao Khau ethnic minority group in Sin Ho district, Lai Chau province owns a rich archive of cultural traditions and customs, especially ancient books which feature the religious culture and script of Dao people. The preservation of this valuable archive is now of great concern. VOV5 takes a closer look.

76 year old Tan Menh Xieu of Ta Phin commune, Sin Ho district is respectfully called teacher by local people. Xieu is an outstanding member of the Tan clan who has a profound knowledge, and owns and preserves several scripted books of the clan. In an old wooden box, Xieu keeps more than 100 books in Nom script- a Vietnamese script based on Chinese characters, printed on do (poonah) papers, which date back 150 years. One particular book describes natural phenomena, and traditional practices and customs. Xieu says he is very worried because not many Dao people are interested in researching Dao culture. "Society is changing rapidly and most young people prefer the new cultures to the traditional one, so they easily forget the fine values of their cultural roots. I wish there were more incentives to encourage young people to preserve the Nom scripts of the Dao people", said Xieu.

Xieu says only a few Dao people in his commune can read and write know Dao script while young people say they have heard about it but don’t know how to use it. Nguyen Duc Truong, Head of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Department of Sin Ho district says there are only about 500 ancient books of the Dao Khau ethnic group in Sin Ho district, scattered in different communes. Some people say they have few books handed down from their ancestors but they don’t know how to read the books. Phan Thanh Son, a young Dao person says it is because their grandparents and parents are too busy to tell them about their traditions and roots. "We have never been told about the roots and traditions of the Dao ethnic minority people. When we study at school, we study in Vietnamese and learn Vietnamese. That’s why we know nothing about Dao script", said Son.

So, how to preserve this valuable archive of ancient books? The local authority and each member in the community should join efforts to preserve these traditional values. Meanwhile, it’s necessary for schools to include Dao script in their curriculum to restore the cultural traditions of the Dao ethnic group.

Lan Anh