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| The reclining Buddha statue at Som Rong Pagoda in Sóc Trăng. The province develops unique cultural products to serve tourism while creating stable, long-term income for the Khmer ethnic community. VNA/VNS Photo |
SÓC TRĂNG The authorities of Sóc Trăng have consistently made efforts to preserve and promote the traditional values of local ethnic communities, which make up more than 35 per cent of the Mekong Delta province’s population.
Numerous programmes and projects have been implemented in the province, such as providing support for preserving ethnic costumes, traditional musical instruments, and organising ethnic music training classes.
These efforts have strengthened the cultural identities of the local ethnic communities, and enhancing their quality.
According to Trần Minh Lý, director of the Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism of Sóc Trăng, the province is carrying out a project titled “Preserving and Promoting the Traditional Cultural Values of Ethnic Minorities in Association with Tourism Development” as part of the National Target Programme for Socio-Economic Development in Ethnic Minority Areas (2021–2030).
During phase 1 between 2021 and 2025, Sóc Trăng has invested over VNĐ21 billion (US$838,300) in this initiative.
The project has supported 29 cultural and artistic clubs in disadvantaged hamlets, by providing them 10 sound systems, 16 sets of traditional pentatonic orchestras, one set of ethnic musical instruments, and 442 sets of traditional costumes.
Additionally, it has repaired and renovated 53 cultural houses in poor ethnic areas.
Lý Lết, a renowned ethnic Khmer temple builder, said that thanks to timely support from relevant authorities, the traditional cultural heritage of ethnic communities, including the Khmer in Sóc Trăng, have been preserved and promoted to this day.
He expressed his gratitude for the efforts of local authorities in supporting the revival of cultural heritage, the gradual development of unique cultural products to serve tourism, and the creation of stable, long-term income for the Khmer ethnics.
Lâm Chí Thường, leader of the Khmer Traditional Music Group in Liêu Tú Commune, Trần Đề District, said that his group recently received support in the form of equipment, costumes, and instruments for cultural and artistic activities.
He and the group members were delighted by the attention from local authorities to preserving and promoting the cultural identity of the Khmer people.
Thường reaffirmed that this support would allow the group to better promote the traditional melodies of the Khmer ethnic group and ensure the equipment’s longevity for long-term service to the local community.
Sóc Trăng has a population of about 1.2 million, of them 30.18 per cent Khmer, and 5.2 per cent Hoa or Chinese Vietnamese. VNS
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