Photo 1: Cultural exhibition corner of Cao Lan ethnic minority, Suoi Cat hamlet, Ha Thuong commune

Keeping the past culture from being lost

Back in March 2014, we participated in the launching ceremony of the cultural exhibition corner of Cao Lan ethnic minority in the Cultural House of hamlet 6 (currently Suoi Cat hamlet). To have an exhibition corner with more than 20 exhibits of many types (including Chinese-transcribed Vietnamese books, costumes, scarves, bags, plows, harrows, knives, wooden bell for buffalos, millstones, and many more), Nui Phao officers together with some elderly people in Suoi Cat hamlet spent six months traveling to communes and towns within and outside of Thai Nguyen province to research and collect. Most of the exhibits were donated by the people in local communes of the district. Nui Phao officers then consulted the district and provincial authorities, and held study tours to learn about exhibition models from museums and galleries in Thai Nguyen province, Hoa Binh province and Hanoi

Photo 2: Launching ceremony of the cultural exhibition corner of Cao Lan ethnic minority in 2014

“Even though this exhibition corner is quite small, we have put a lot of love, energy, and effort into setting it up." Mr. Vu Ngoc Cuong, Nui Phao Mining’s community liaison officer shared.

The cultural exhibition corner of the Cao Lan ethnic minority at Suoi Cat Cultural House suffered severe damage and deterioration over time. Therefore, Nui Phao Mining decided to provide 69 million dong for the locality to renovate and repair the exhibition corner. We were astounded to see how neatly and visually appealing all of the exhibits were arranged when we returned to the place after the renovation.

Promoting traditional values

"Cao Lan ethnic minority group accounts for 45% of the commune's population. Along with the propaganda and mobilization for people to actively develop the economy, eliminate hunger and reduce poverty, we also actively propagate among the people in the commune to preserve the traditional cultural beauty of our country to contribute to the preservation and promotion of traditional values. Nui Phao Mining has been supporting us a lot in this project." Mr. Tac Van Loi, Chairman of Ha Thuong Commune People's Committee, said.

Nui Phao Mining not only provides financial support but also assigns employees to accompany the commune in collection or construction of the exhibition corner. We hope that the cultural exhibition corner of the Cao Lan ethnic minority can help the young generation, surrounding communities and tourists understand more about the cultural values of ethnic minorities and the quintessence of ethnic people, which has been cultivated over thousands of years to form the unique features of the ethnic minority community of Thai Nguyen province and Vietnamese people.

“Since 2023, we have worked with numerous Cao Lan elderly people, including Hoang Van Duong, Tac Van Ngan, Nguyen Van Son and Dao Thi Tam, to complete the diversified cultural space of Cao Lan people. We visited various locations within and outside the province in search of documents, gathering images and cultural artifacts of Cao Lan ethnic minority. Following that, we went to a few museums and cultural exhibitions to gain insight into the exhibition process and to obtain advice for setting up the cultural space in Suoi Cat cultural house.”, Mrs. Phung Thi Mui, community liaison officer of Nui Phao Mining shared.

Photo 3: Local people and tourists visit the Cao Lan exhibition corner

Cultivating closeness through simplicity

We scrutinized the plows, harrows, wooden trays or jewelry and costumes of Cao Lan women. And what impressed us the most was the photo of a set of altar paintings and worship books written on “bản” paper in Chinese characters. It is an indispensable object in the worship rituals of the Cao Lan people. Looking at the paintings, we can easily realize the beliefs and concepts about the universe, but in general, all we can see is still the typical rustic, simple, and close features of the Cao Lan people.

Photo 4: Exhibits displayed at the Cultural exhibition corner of Cao Lan ethnic minority

Mr. Tac Van Ngan, a 93-year-old Cao Lan person residing in Suoi Cat hamlet, Ha Thuong commune, was moved when he saw the costume that he and his wife gave to the commune for exhibition. He said “This is the dress my wife wore on our wedding day, she was only 23 years old at that time. Even though my wife passed away and I am “having one foot in the grave", seeing this dress still recalls a lot of our memories together”.

Giving never loses

“There are 178 households in Suoi Cat hamlet, of which Cao Lan people account for nearly 60%. Having such a space to exhibit and introduce our ethnic culture, I have nothing to say other than thank you to the Board of Directors of Nui Phao Mining and community liaison officers that helped restoring this cultural space to preserve cultural values of the Cao Lan people.” – Ms. Chu Thi Hoa, Head of Suoi Cat hamlet, Ha Thuong commune emphasized.

Cao Lan ethnic minority people have a lot of unique features in their traditional customs, such as costumes, wedding customs, living in stilt dwellings, speaking their own language, etc., and especially the very unique folklore “Xình Ca” singing and “Tắc Xình” dancing performance.

Cao Lan is one of the most populated ethnic minorities residing in Ha Thuong commune, Dai Tu district, Thai Nguyen. Thanks to the development of animal husbandry and garden-forest-hill economic model, basically there is no more poor households in Ha Thuong commune, but the typical cultural traditions of this ethnic group has been gradually lost. Given the situation, the local authority, enterprises and community have had positive activities to preserve and promote the ethnic cultural values, including Nui Phao Mining. Over the past years, Nui Phao Mining has not only joined hands and supported the locality in socio-economic development programs and build new rural area but also actively maintained and preserved the cultural values of ethnic minority.

There are many things in the life that cannot be quantified, but looking at the Cao Lan ethnic minority exhibition corner at the Cultural House of Suoi Cat hamlet, everyone can see how highly valued, heart-warming, and dedicated both the givers and the recipients are.

Photo 5: Nui Phao Mining actively cares and preserves the cultural values of ethnic minorities.