VietNamNet Bridge – The Lim Festival opens today, February 3, in Bac Ninh province. This year the festival will make a record with the participation of 2,012 quan ho singers. But whether this famous festival, which were recognized by the UNESCO as the Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Mankind, needs sensational tricks attract attention?
Nguyen Quang Nhi, deputy director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Bac Ninh province told VietNamNet that besides traditional contents, the highlight of this year’s Lim Festival is making a Vietnamese record: the traditional festival with the highest number of people who wear quan ho distinctive costumes and sing quan ho, a Vietnamese folk music style originated in what is now Bac Ninh Province during the 13th century.

By noon of February 1, the organizing board finalized the list of 2,012 people who will join the event. Nhi said that this is the first time Bac Ninh organizes a national record for the Lim Festival. The idea was initiated by the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Association of Quan Ho Fans.

Quan Ho was recognized as a Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 2009, and has traditionally been associated with the likes of spring festivals such as the Lim Festival that follow the celebration of Tet (the Vietnamese New Year) on the 12th and 13th of the Lunar calendar.

As is traditional, the festival will be held in two parts: local religious ceremonies at the Count Nguyen Dinh Dien Temple, Hong An Pagoda and entertainment activities which include folk games, contests, poetry readings and Quan Ho performances.

However, many people worry that this world-recognized traditional festival may become a game, which does not aim at quality and preservation, but “records”. If this year the record is 2,012 people who sing quan ho, the next year will be a new record, with 2,013 people singing quan ho? This is not culture. They also worry that the “syndrome of record” has began attacking Vietnam’s cultural life.  
Nguyen Xuan Thang, Secretary General of the Union of International UNESCO Associations and Chairman of the Union of Vietnam UNESCO Associations, said that culture is by itself and it is not created by superficial things.

“This is another game of crowds. We cannot turn culture into a racing game. The value of Lim Festival is deep inside spiritual values, not records that are measures by numbers. The Lim Festival must be preserved as what it is,” Thang said.

The record at Lim Festival 2012 is only a variation of stories related to cultural heritages which are unexpectedly turned into games of crowds. After this festival, other festivals may also seek records. But be careful, festivals and cultural heritages may be destroyed by useless records.

The local media has mentioned a so-called “record syndrome” in Vietnam after organizations and individuals tried to make hundreds of records of all kinds, which are seen as “helpless”, such as the biggest, the longest, the smallest… things.

Hanh Phuong