(VOVworld) - Ai Lao singing and dancing, a traditional ritual associated with the legend of Saint Giong’s defeat of invaders, has been recognised national intangible cultural heritage.

Ai Lao singing and dancing, a traditional ritual associated with the legend of Saint Giong’s defeat of invaders (Photo: VNA)

The art is practiced at the Giong Festival (from the seventh to the ninth days of the fourth lunar month) in Phu Dong Temple, Hanoi’s Gia Lam district, by a troupe from Phuc Loi ward of Long Bien district. researcher Cao Huy Dinh  said in ancient Chinese language, Ai Lao means tethering buffaloes, and the children herders were called the Ai Lao troupe. In 2010, the Giong Festival was recognised as intangible cultural heritage of humanity by UNESCO.
Aside from Ai Lao singing and dancing, six others practises were named national intangible cultural heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. There are 174 national intangible cultural heritage pieces in Vietnam at present.