A Vi Giam folk song performance. The art form has been recognised by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage. (Photo: dancaxunghe.vn)

The PM assigned the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to instruct the provincial People’s Committees to protect and promote the value of the folk singing in line with the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.

He tasked competent authorities to promptly develop new regulations and propose amendments to the current ones on safeguarding and promoting Vietnam’s intangible cultural heritages to submit to the government for review.

The Vi Giam folk singing was recognised as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2014.

Vi and Giam are sung by communities in Nghe An and Ha Tinh. The lyrics use the unique dialect and linguistic idioms of the region and are sung with the particular accents of people there.

The songs focus on key values and virtues including respect for parents, loyalty, care and devotion, and the importance of honesty and a good heart in the maintenance of village customs and traditions.

The folk music is traditionally sung while people are working in the rice fields, rowing boats, making crafts or lulling children to sleep. Singing is a chance for locals to ease theirs hardship in life as well as express feelings between men and women.

Today, Vi and Giam are also sung at cultural events and theatres. The folk singing is also featured in a number of local festivals and taught in schools as a way to transmit, practise and pass down the heritage to the younger generations./. VNA

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