The organizing board introduces the 2012 festival on Then singing and playing Tinh instrument .

(VOVworld) – The fifth national festival on Then singing and playing Tinh instrument will open in Lang Son province next Friday. This is a chance to honor, preserve, and develop the traditional art of Tay, Nung, and Thai ethnic groups. At a press briefing in Hanoi today/on Thursday, Director of the Ethnic Culture Department, Hoang Duc Hau, said three major activities will be held during the festival. They are an exhibition featuring Then cultural heritage, a seminar, and an art performance of Then singing and playing Tinh instrument by artists of nine participant province. Mr. Hau said that Then is a kind of art that is diverse in terms of content and forms ‘The Then art includes Then singing, Then dancing, and its music. Then singing has closely linked to the spiritual life of ethnic minority people. At the beginning of a year, a then ritual is often organized to pray for safety, having a bumper crop, or wishing elderly person longevity. The Then art has a great potential of humanity that should be preserved.’

The festival aims to make preparations for a dossier to submit to the UNESCO for recognizing Then singing a human intangible cultural heritage.