THE ART OF XÒE DANCE OF THE TAI PEOPLE IN VIET NAMINVENTORY REPORT

CONTENT OF TABLEInventory Report of the Art of Xòe Dance of the Tai People in Viet Nam Provinces of Yên Bái, Lai Châu, Sơn La and Điện Biên 3 III.. INVENTORY REPORT OF THE ART OF XÒE D

THE NATIONAL CANDIDATURE FILE FOR INSCRIPTION ON THE REPRESENTATIVE LIST OF INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE OF HUMANITY

THE ART OF XÒE DANCE OF THE TAI PEOPLE

IN VIET NAM

INVENTORY REPORT

Ha Noi - 2019

CONTENT OF TABLE

Inventory Report of the Art of Xòe Dance of the Tai People

in Viet Nam (Provinces of Yên Bái, Lai Châu, Sơn La

and Điện Biên)

3

III The Localities of the Inventorying Work 4

V Some Advantages of the Inventorying Work 6

VI Some Difficulties of the Inventory Work 7

VII Overview of the Tai People in Viet Nam 8

Appendix 1 Representative List of Main Practitioners

of the Art of Xòe Dance of the Tai People in Yên Bái Province

43

Appendix 2 Representative List of Main Practitioners

of the Art of Xòe Dance of the Tai People in Điện Biên Province

56

Appendix 3 Representative List of Main Practitioners of

the Art of Xòe Dance of the Tai People

in Lai Châu Province

101

Appendix 4 Representative List of Main Practitioners of

the Art of Xòe Dance of the Tai People in Sơn La Provine

112

INVENTORY REPORT OF THE ART OF XÒE DANCE

OF THE TAI PEOPLE IN VIET NAM

(Provinces of Yên Bái, Lai Châu, Sơn La and Điện Biên)

I Time for Inventory Work

a In Yên Bái province:

+ Stage 1: From December 25 to December 30, 2017

+ Stage 2: From April 15 to April 21, 2018

b In Điện Biên province:

+ Stage 1: From September 20 to October 3, 2018

+ Stage 2: From October 17 to October 30, 2018

c In Lai Châu province:

+ Stage 1: From January 5 to January 10, 2018+ Stage 2: From March 15 to March 22, 2018

d In Sơn La province:

+ Stage 1: From March 20 to March 23, 2018

+ Stage 2: From April 1 to April 10, 2018

II Purpose of the Inventory

- Surveying and assessing the art of Xòe Dance in the residential areas

of Tai communities in the provinces of Yên Bái, Lai Châu, Sơn La and ĐiệnBiên - the localities considered one of the geographical areas that the Xòedance has came from and circulated and existed for many hundred years

- Initially, systematically the team researcher collect data provided bythe communities that demonstrate the current state of facilities as well ascultural activities, in which the focus is on the dance activities, in thevillages/residential areas and art performance troupes (that have beenfounded by the authorities or the commune and district culturalmanagement agencies of the provinces) There is a plan to continuecollecting, studying, conserving and exploiting the value of intangiblecultural heritage of Tai people in general and the Xòe dance activities inparticular (as conducted at ddifferent levels from many years)

- Collect data according to UNESCO’s criteria are to serve thebuilding of the dossier submitted to UNESCO for inscription of "The Art of

Xòe Dance of the Tai People in Viet Nam" on the Representative List ofIntangible Cultural Heritage of Humanities.

III The Localities of the Inventorying Work

The determination of cultural space, cultural and administrative areas

to conduct an inventory of the Art of Xòe Dance is first set up which isbased on the three sources as followings:

- Firstly, the inventory is based on the surveyed sources, and throughcollection works and articles directly related to the Xòe Dance bycollectors, local studies and researches that have been published - typicallysuch works by Lò Văn Sơi, Hoàng Ngọc Xíu, Lò Văn Biến (with annexesattached) and researchers Đặng Nghiêm Vạn and Lã Văn Lô, Cầm Trọng,

Tô Ngọc Thanh, Đỗ Thị Tấc After that, they can contribute to identifythe scope of human-cultural and social-space in the administrative area,where exist the Art of Xòe Dance activities in the provinces ofNorthwestern region from past to present

- Secondly, the inventory is based on existing sources of Xòe Dance inthe districts / towns of the provinces (officials of the Department ofCultural Heritage Management, Cultural Centers under the Department ofCulture, Sports and Tourism) that help building a candidate file for theNational List of Intangible Cultural Heritage (2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016)

- Thirdly, through the field survey materials of the research teams ofViệt Nam National Institute of Culture and Arts Studies conducted from theend of 2017 in the districts and towns of Yên Bái, Lai Châu and Sơn Laand Điện Biên provinces and anthropological survey and research materials

of the research teams implementing this inventory project from the end of

2017 to the middle of 2018

The determination of villages/and residential areas where Xòe dance

is performed is set according to some criteria as follows:

- Firstly, this must first and foremost be the place where Xòe dance isperformed, be recognized or exchanged by the neighboring villages /hamlets in the process of practicing of this element

- Secondly, in villages / hamlets / residential areas where there ispractice of the Xòe dance, there must be at least 10 or more people (enoughhuman resources to performance Xòe dance and play musical instruments),knowledgeable and proficient in how to practice Xòe Dance

- Thirdly, the performance troupes and the dance teams in the samevillage /residential area belong to the same village / residence areas counted

as an independent cultural unit if established on the population of 500people or more in the locality.

In general, the villages / hamlets / villages that the inventory isconducted are all located in areas with interactive natural conditions mainly

in the districts / towns with concentrated Tai population density, lessinterwoven with other ethnic groups, has a cultural history for hundreds ofyears and has a process of safeguarding and promotion of sustainabletraditional cultural activities

IV Methods

The method used to collect information includes questionnaires, depth interviews, recording, taking note through group discussions,historical and statistical retrospective, and from the viewpoint of respectingcommunity voices about their cultural heritage Combining the use ofinterdisciplinary approaches (books, text study, museumology, sociology)

in-in analyzin-ing and comparin-ing sources of data to identify objects of in-inventoryInventory and consensus activities of the community on Xòe dance inthe provinces of Yên Bái, Lai Châu, Sơn La and Điện Biên basicallyconsist of two main activities: carrying out the quantitative inventory on thecurrent action on the Xòe dance heritage in the four provinces (according tothe survey of the questionnaire), in combination with in-depth interviewswith a number of informants that represent the local community and theconsenting activities of the community on establishing the file of Xòedance and submitting to UNESCO to inscribe on the Representative List ofIntangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

The surveyed area at the time of conducting the training workshop onconducting inventory and consensus (2018) was implemented within: 4districts in Yên Bái province (Nghĩa Lộ town, Văn Chấn districts, Station

Mù Căng Chải); 5 districts of Lai Châu province (Phong Thổ, Nậm Nhùm,Mường Tè, Sìn Hồ and Than Uyên districts); 6 districts in Sơn La province(Sơn La city and Thuận Châu, Mai Sơn, Yên Châu, (Black Tai), Mộc Châu,Qùynh Nhai and Phù Yên districts (white Tai), 9 districts and towns arelocated in Điện Biên province (Điện Biên city, Điện Biên, Điện Biên Đông,Mường Lay, Tủa Chùa, Mường Nhé, Tuần Giáo, Mường Chà and MườngẢng districts)

The process of conducting surveys and identifying and selecting areasfor inventory and research of secondary documents, the research groupshave acquired and inherited the results of the prior required fieldwork(through the researches of scholars on Xoe Dance, records of the National

Museum of intangible Cultural Heritage which have been implemented bythe Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2013 - 2014 to submit tothe Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to inscribe the Art of XoèDance on the List of national intangible cultural heritage.

For the inventory component, within the limits of manpower, time andbudget, the groups conducting inventory in the four provinces havedeveloped 02 cumulative forms including the Inventory Form for villages

of the Tai people and Inventory form for main practitioners, knowledgeablepeople about Tai art (See Appendix) In fact, the direct inventory activities

in the districts of the above districts showed that the above two forms aftercollecting can support the addition of quantitative and qualitative data(from open questions) to each other The qualitative data of this component

is aggregated using the total number of Inventory votes for Tai villages tostop at a representative number, focusing on the areas with the highestdensity of Tai people residing or for urban areas and remote areas, flexibleinventory decisions are made by groups The data from the inventory formsfor Xòe Dace provide more professional information derived from thefeedback of main practitioners, who hold all knowledge of Tai danceheritage for many years

For the consent letter, the team have conducted consultation meetings

in respective inventory areas, with the participation of representativepractitioners, cultural managers, and related people of districts The writtenconsent letters of the community, in addition to Vietnamese, also prioritizesdocuments written in Tai (although the number of people who know Tai istoo small) At the meetings, the inventory teams invited the intangiblecultural heritage expert to share ideas to enhance community understandingand awareness of the meaning of the nomination process

V Some Advantages of the Inventorying Work

- During the inventory process, the local government and districtcultural management and the village heads, heads of performance troupeshave supported the team, creating favorable conditions to meet allrequirements of inventory work In particular, the heads of the performancetroupes, party secretaries, and cultural cadres of the villages / areas in mostcommunes have directly participated in organizing discussion groups in thelocality The community representatives actively engage in the discussionand provide information for the inventory

- All residents (especially seniors, members of the performancetroupes) directly or indirectly participate in the work of providing

information in most villages/ residential areas and they have a consent withthe need to safeguard and transmit the practice of the Xoè heritage Someseniors including those who are honored as main practitioners haveprovided precious materials collected, compiled by individuals, as goodreferences for the questionnaires

- The direction of the leaders of the districts / towns, the participation

of the local cadres and human resources of the Department of Culture,Sports and Tourism of the 4 provinces and especially the staff of Cultureand Information Departments in districts and towns during the time ofcarrying out the inventory contribute to ensuring the inventoryimplementation in accordance with schedule and requirements

- The process of carrying out the inventory has received the attentionand enthusiastic collaboration of the representatives of villages / hamletsthat contributes to the effective and decisive inventory of Xòe heritage indistricts and towns All these advantages created favorable conditions forthe process of inventory, and help raising awareness for members of thecommunity in actively participating in the inventory work

VI Some Difficulties of the Inventory Work

- On the path of development of social history and changes of naturalgeographical strata, of various stages of administrative organization, manyplaces have been changed Having transformed into towns and cities, theyhave been replaced by modern languages and people who are trulyknowledgeable about the Xòe dance heritage no longer exist or mainpractitioners lack of concern for heritage transmission The young peopleare not systematically and sustainably taught how to practice the Xoèdance The continuation of traditional cultural activities betweengenerations was interrupted by war and historical and social conditions

- In the process of conducting surveys in the localities, we found thatmany forms of religious activities related to the Xoè dance have disappeared.The number of practitioners who are knowledgeable about traditionalreligious activities is too small That fact is also the cause of ignorance aboutthe living heritage for the current generation of young people

- Over the past decade (since 1996), in most residential areas of towns,towns and cities, the whole villages or villages / hamlets with Tai languagehave been divided into residential areas, numbered as residential zone(zone 1, zone 2, zone 3, ) In fact, it has led to a situation of naturalgradual eradication of the traditional name of a series of villages, self-nomenclature which has followed hundreds of years of population, deeply

embedded in human cultural sub-consciousness, associated with traditionalcultural values In addition, there are villages, which are large, denselypopulated areas, which have been divided into many residential areas bythe government, which makes it easy to create a cracking of the villageculture - the unit of the same regulations in customary laws, customs andpractices of the previous generations

- In the process of mobilization and development of economic andcultural and social life, many villages (mainly in towns, towns and cities)have been affected by the changing environment and livelihood with theimpact of modernity, leading to the change of cultural living environmentand ethnic cultural maker The younger generation is more passionate aboutmodern art than practicing his father's traditional forms of arts And so, thatsituation also has a profound impact on the existential cultural space of theheritage

- In almost all inventory areas, the number of people who can read andwrite Tai words is too small Many women of middle age and older do notknow how to write and read common words (the Vietnamese language),leading to limited reading and filling out the survey forms

- In some areas at the commune level, the management staff andleaders are mostly young, the capacity to understand traditional ethnicculture is limited or weak They do not meet the requirements of culturalmanagement and cooperation with the community members in collecting,researching and preserving the local heritage Many officials are the Vietpeople are not fluent in Tai language, and they do not understand about thevalue of Tai cultural heritage, that leads to certain limitations in themanagement of local ethnic cultural life

- Due to the time taken to carry out the inventory - the investigation islimited, the budget is limited, it must be done in the area too wide,complicated in terms of terrain and the number of professional staff whohas limited work should be trained This partly affects the results ofinventory, research, especially the evaluation of the manifestations ofheritage characteristics and the system of ancient languages or dialects,associated with Xòe dance in particular and community culture of the Taipeople in general

VII Overview of the Tai people in Viet Nam

1 The Tai People in Viet Nam

So far, Quắm tố mường (Story of the Mường Village) and Táy Pú sấc (The Father's Step of the War) are two historical texts of handwritten texts

and probably the oldest about the Tai people, written in Tai ancient letters(that are archived at Sơn La Provincial Museum), and is also consideredtwo chronicles of the Black Tai, which recorded the great heavenlymovement of the land of the first generation of Tai people to come from thenorth to Mường Lò, then from there to many parts of Northwestern VietNam and some Southeast Asian countries Through this epic version, wecan recognize that in the early 11th century, the Black Tai group from theregion between the Nậm U river and the Red river led by Tạo Xuông andTạo Ngần brothers came to Viet Nam, " parts of the Black Tai peoplefrom Mường Om, Mường Ai, upstream of the first Mekong River migrate

to the south, exploiting Mường Lò field (the center is Nghĩa Lộ towntoday) In the next two generations, Lạng Chương led his tribe to occupySơn La, Điện Biên and Lai Châu areas This heavenly movement lasted forhundreds of years because of the resistance of the local tribes, especiallythe Xá Khao clan” (Đặng Nghiêm Vạn 1977, p 49-154)

According to ethnographers Lã Văn Lô and Đặng Nghiêm Vạn: "Afteroccupying the Northwest, a part of the Black Tai people poured into the Mariver basin, through Laos to Thanh - Nghe " (Lã Văn Lô and ĐặngNghiêm Vạn 1968, p 153) It is no coincidence that the Tai Black people inViệt Nam and in some countries (Laos, Thailand, etc.) have beenconsidering Mường Lò for a long time (belonging to Văn Chấn and Nghĩa

Lộ towns today) as their Father’s land Their ancestors, they call Mường Lò

"Đin pẩu pú" or "Đin pẩu pú", which means the ancestral land of the Black

Tai people, considered Tạo Xuông, Tạo Ngần as their ancestor; even, theBlack Tai in Thailand also solemnly printed the source of its ancestors fromMường Lò in Viet Nam land to hang in the house in order to remind children

to remember the land of their ancestors, at the same time annually organizepilgrimage for descendants to Mường Lò (Nghĩa Lộ and Văn Chấn districts)

in Yên Bái province to visit the fatherland of the ancestral land

In recent decades, the research achievements of the Tai study haveshared the historical identities of the process of forming the Tai people inViet Nam, as well as the cultural and historical sources of the Tai people ingeneral At the same time, it was affirmed that the Tai people innorthwestern Viet Nam were the result of a strong diaspora in theNorthwest around the beginning of the second millennium AD As ĐặngNghiêm Vạn had stated: "It is the huge movement of the Tai ancestors intoIndochina It is a great historical development, upsetting the wholesituation of the distribution of Northwestern Viet Nam as well as on theIndochina ” (Đặng Nghiêm Vạn 2001, p.403) Tai people in Yên Bái

province make up about 53,104 people (according to the 2009 Censusdata), belonging to two groups: White Tai and Black Tai Particularly,Mường Lò (including Văn Chấn district and Nghĩa Lộ town) make upabout 90% of the total Tai people in Yên Bái, a few remain in Trạm Tấudistrict and Mù Cang Chải district.

Tai people in Lai Châu province make up about 131,822 people whoare mainly White Tai, accounting for 34% of the provincial population(403,200 people with 20 ethnic groups - according to the statistics inNovember 2011), residing in almost all districts The highest concentration

is in Phong Thổ and Than Uyên districts

Tai people in Sơn La have about 572,441 people - mainly Black Tai,accounting for 53.2% of the provincial population (about 1,080,641 people,with 12 ethnic groups - according to the April 2009 survey number),residing in almost 11 districts, concentrated in Mai Châu and Quỳnh Nhaidistricts

Tai people in Điện Biên province have about 186,270 people,accounting for 38.4% of the provincial population (about 557,400 peoplewith 19 ethnic groups - according to 2016 survey data), residing in almostall districts and towns in Mường Lay and Điện Biên cities

The Tai (Black Tai and White Tai) carry many different families: Bạc,

Bế, Bua, Bum, Cà (Hà, Kha, Mài, Sa), Cầm, Chẩu, Chiêu, Đèo, Điều, Điêu,

Hà, Hoàng, Khằm, Leo, Lèo, Lềm, (Lâm, Lịm) Lý, Lò, (Lô, La), Lộc(Lục), Lự, Lường, (Lương), Manh, Mè, Nam, Nông, Ngần, Ngưu, Nho,Nhật, Panh, Pha, Phia, phìa, Quàng (Hoàng, Vàng), Quảng, Sầm, Tạ, Tày,Tao (Đào), Tạo, Tòng (Toòng), Vang, Vi (Vì) Xa (Sa), Xin

to live and jointly explore the fields for cultivation

Literature texts and oral folk stories state that when Tai peopleappeared in Mường Lò, this basin was divided into three areas: Mường Lò

Luông (i.e Mường Lò is a central area); Mường Lò Gia referred to asMường Gia and Mường Lò Cha for short as Mường Cha Therefore,Mường Lò is also called Mường Xam Lò (Mường Ba Lò) In the history ofTai people, Mường Lò is the birthplace of Lò Lạng Chượng, who later ledTai people to conquer new lands: Đà river, Mã river and deeply penetrate

to the regions The land in the Northwest region ended with theconstruction of a central hall in Mường Thanh field (Điện Biên Phủ citytoday), turning this place into a place to attract Tai people from manyregions to reside

3 Characteristics of Ethnic Culture

Tai language belongs to the Tày - Tai language group and belongs tothe South Asian language line The word Tai appeared a long time - when

Lò Lạng Chượng proclaimed Lord of the Mường, opened and exploitedMường Lò, established the Tai society, planned customary law then in

Mo Mường epic recorded in ancient Tai this incident in the Tai old script

on bamboo, paper, or bark Today, in Mường Lò and in other localities,very few people know how to write and read the Tai ancient words

The Tai community is concentrated in the Mường village in thevalleys, not far away from each other, adapting to the school of cultivation

of wet rice, cotton, and brocade weaving Thanks in part to the tradition ofwet rice civilization of the Tai people, which has a famous field of Mường

Lò (Yên Bái), Tú Lệ or Mường Than (Lai Châu), Mường Tấc (Sơn La),Mường Thanh (Điện Biên) before Wet rice is the main food source,especially the Tai people use a lot of sticky rice Tai people have a lot ofexperience in building water dams, creating ditches, building up canals tobring water into the fields Part of the income is due to livestock andaquaculture Rice fish is an element of Tay - Tai culture The traditionalhandicraft of the Tai people is to make cotton padding, brocade fabric withpatterns, vibrant color and good quality

The traditional economy of the Tai people is generally a farming andlivestock economy With favorable natural conditions around the year, theclimate is favorable and combined with traditional cultivation techniques(the Tai people are famous for cultivation techniques such as "leading to

water canals" by ditch system - phai - lái - lín, in which the water wheel is

a great invention of the Tai people in taking advantage of the water itself tobring water from low to high, by the method "Fire-Cultivation-Hydroponic" - (burning straw Rice husk, plowing for agriculturalcultivation) along with cultivation, animal husbandry is also stronglydeveloped in almost every family, such as buffaloes, cows, goats, horses

Besides cattle, poultry and water products is the main food source that israised to improve daily meals - especially during holidays, rituals andfestivals The main source of food for the compatriots has been brought tolife, and today, the fishing profession is still quite popular among Taipeople residing near rivers and streams with many skilled fishingtechniques.

The Tai people in most villages are interested in developing manytraditional handicrafts (typically cotton, weaving), first of all to serve theconsumption needs of the family, then use to exchange goods with otherpeoples

The Tai people in most villages live stilts houses In the house, it isworth noting that the column - the place where the altar for the dead orancestor is placed This place is the only man who can enter Tai stilthouses were previously mainly used by pine trees and pine boards, todayunder development, roofing materials have gradually been replaced by newmaterials such as tile, and cement and iron

The Tai families often have 3 to 4 generations to live together inharmony Today each family usually has from 1 to 3 generations, largefamilies "four generations" no longer exist The Tai family is highlypersistent, the couple live faithfully, are less contradicted by the values inthe family tradition that are regulated and adjusted by strict customary laws.The custom of the husbands staying in the wives’ families is still popular,until the young couple have children to return to their husbands' houses Thewedding ceremony was prepared for many months ago, the groom's familytook care of the offerings and asked, the bride's family took care of 3 sets ofblankets and pillows to go home to the groom on the wedding day There areenough blankets, cushions and pillows for parents-in-law When the blackTai girl is not married, the chignon is leaned back, when she is married, the

hair is straightened up, called a tằng cẩu The crane ceremony is very sacred

and moving as soon as the bride comes to her husband's house Believe thetradition of the Tai people in Mường Lò (Nghĩa Lộ, Văn Chấn, Yên Báiprovince), Mường So (Phong Thổ, Lai Châu province), Mường Lay (ĐiệnBiên province) is very rich and diverse

In addition to worshiping ancestors (phi hươn), the Tai people also

worship other gods such as worshiping the gods of the Mường, the field ofrice fields, worshiping the Then gods of the families with the masters

The Tai people have a rich treasure of folk art Folk songs, folk dance,folk cultural activities are held regularly in daily life of people "Khắp",

"Then" is performed in Spring festivals, singing to lovers, at weddings, andfunerals.

The Tai people have traditional musical instruments that are stillcirculated like mouth organ (khèn bè) and 7 kinds of Pí (flute) are veryspecial like "Pí Tót" is a type of flute with only one hole, "Pí Pặp" is theflute used to call each other confided, "Pi Rạ" used straw to blow, etc

Talking about the cultural activities of the Tai people in thenorthwestern provinces generally refers to summer festivals, games andfolk dance, which highlights the Xòe dance - a intangible cultural heritage.For the Tai people, the festival of the year is very diverse and characterized

by the Tai culture Folk festival is an essential part of the cultural andreligious activities of the Tai people, with a cycle of one year, the people

have many big festivals with village community characteristics such as: Xên Bản festival, Xên Mường, Xên Đông, Rain Fesstival, Harvest Festival, Xên Lẩu Nó, so on and in the family there are rituals for worshiping "tám khuôn",

rituals for "tám tế na", “tám khuôn quai” and other rituals related to ancestorworship and family rituals The celebration of "Síp xí" at the fifteen day ofJuly is one of the biggest festivals of people Tai A series of festivals extendsfrom the beginning of the year to the end of the year, from the festival towelcome the Spring, the hunting and the fishing activities At any kind offestival, it is indispensable to have the Xòe dance that attracts people

Tai folk literature is quite rich, lively and attractive In addition to thefamous love songs such as "Sóng trụ xôn xao" (Admonishing the Lover),

Tản chụ siết sương the history books, the history in Tai such as: Quắm

Tố Mương (story of the Mường), Cầm Hánh Tạp sấc Klơng (Cầm Hánh

fought against the enemy with the yellow flags) recorded for thegeneration of births to know about the history of the huge immigration andcultural traditions of Tai people

Stream bathing is a long-standing practice of Tai people especiallyfor women and girls In Yên Bái, the places of Nung springs and hotsprings in Sơn A, Tú Lệ is the place where cultural activities take place,creating a basis for the development of community tourism (homestay).Tai people are one of the ethnic groups considered to be quitesophisticated in dressing, even from a young age, the girls were instructed

by their mothers to tie up "Xài ẻo" to grow up with the "Eo kíu Meng Po"body - (bottoming out arched back) Before taking part in the fun outsidethe dress, the Black Tai women also paid attention to "Tằng Cẩu" and wristrings, rafters (silver wire) The ceremony for the day of "Tằng cẩu" is held

quite elaborately, solemnly in most of the Black Tai’s villages Black Taigirls pay attention to Piêu scarfs White Tai girls are concerned about faceshades, hair, and "mắc pém" on their chests Men are simpler, they are lessinterested in costumes, less involved in the dance of the group or othergames that catch fish from streams and traps of birds.

Culinary activities of Tai people are also quite sophisticated in theway of processing, arranging, using spices and ingredients, spices thatfollow that dish Tai dishes are often processed quite meticulously withprocessing techniques, so as not to lose the typical flavor of the dish Thereare many types of Tai processing such as grilled, blue, sticky, baked,steamed, boiled, dried, fried, and raw Fish dish is quite popular food in thedaily activities of the people in which the grilled fish "Pa Pỉnh tộp" is afamous traditional specialty of Tai people

Tai people (especially Tai people residing in big Mường region likeMường Lò, Mường Thanh, Mường So, Mường Lay are always proud oftheir ethnic history, with a tradition of heroic and proud struggle, is anagricultural resident with a long-standing wet rice civilization Associatedwith the destiny of the nation over the course of building the country andkeeping the country for hundreds of years, Tai people always united withthe peoples of the country to rise up to eradicate hunger and reducepoverty, contributing to making their localities more prosperous

VIII Results of the inventory

The survey collected many types of data, which can be divided intotwo main categories: quantitative data (collected using quantitativemethods, such as questionnaires to gather statistics from privateindividuals) and qualitative information (collected using retrospective andethnographic methods)

Information was collected on: 1/ The name of the element andidentification of the Xòe activity; 2/ Activities of Xòe art in contemporarysociety; 3/ Basic characteristics of Xòe art activities; 4/ The transmission ofthe Xòe element; and, 5/ Issues in the process of safeguarding andexploiting the cultural values of the current and historical art of Xòe Dance

of the Tai people

1 Name of the heritage and identification of the Xòe Tai activity

1.1 Heritage name

The heritage is called different names by the different communitiesand performance troupes that perform the dance The different names forthe heritage are as follows:

- Múa Xòe (Xòe Dance)

- Xòe Tai (Xòe of the Tai People)

“Xòe”, but almost no Tai people have called it by this ancient name inrecent decades According to Lò Văn Biến, the most commonly used name

of this heritage is “Xòe Dance of the Tai People”, probably because themajority of the population are already familiar with the term as it is themost commonly used name in mass media (television, radio, andpublications and books on the ethnic culture of the Tai people)

1.2 Identification of the Art of Xòe Dance of the Tai People

1.2.1 The process of birth and existence

As mentioned previously, during the process of immigrating to andconquering new lands from the North to the South of Viet Nam, and insettling in the Northwest region of the country, the Tai people brought withthem their myths and stories, fairy tales, folk songs, beautiful brocadepatterns, embroidery on pillows and clothes, Piêu scarfs, and the Xòedance Over centuries, the Tai people have constantly developed and builttheir own ethnic culture, including a rich, diversified and very famoustradition in Xòe folk art According to the ethnographer, Cầm Trọng:

“Once upon a time, when the Tai armies marched, their leaders wore a redrobe, and at the foot of the skirt, there was a line of decorative patterns invibrant colors The army was very knowledgeable about the sword and theshield from then on gradually a dance appeared called "Xé lảng, xé pén" -sword dancing, shield dancing (Cầm Trọng, 1978) Xishuanbannaprefecture (Yunnan, China) is considered the original homeland of the Taipeople, where their dances, bare hands or holding shields, holding swords,holding sticks, are the most popular among the 22 different kindsperformed in 12 Tai villages

Thus, before coming to Viet Nam with the postures and movements ofwar, Tai people created similar dances, or simulated hunting and gatheringactivities, or efforts to cope with storms, flood and beasts to both protectthemselves and earn a living It is from the clapping of hands around thefire, the roar of the forest every time there is joy or danger or when it isnecessary to increase the vitality of the people, the Tai people have createdthe Xòe dancing movements with labor tools and activities, such as hats,sticks, towels, fans, gourd guitars, and so on.

In considering the birth of the dance, folklore researcher, Đỗ Thị Tấc,stated that Xòe was first linked with religious activities Xòe is a dance thatcontributes to expressing Tai conceptions of the universe and about humanlife, through the ritual activities of priests and the participants of the mainpractice, who are the sick or those who have faith in the gods The religiousXòe dance performed during Then rituals is the most concentratedexpression of the dance form (Kin Pang Then Festival), with the dancemovements depicting the making of offerings, praying to the gods, andinviting souls to return to the sick people Accompanied by the dancemovements are the lyrics that reflect human life and points of views aboutthe universe and people

People from Mường Lò district and Nghĩa Lộ town, and thesurrounding area, often call their dance art old Xòe A number of seniorpractitioners (75-85 years old) currently living in Văn Chấn district andNghĩa Lộ town still call the Xòe dance form of their ethnicity Xe cáu Ké(old Xòe) The younger generation generally also call it old Xòe Thepractitioner Lò Văn Biến said: “Calling Xé cáu ké or old Xòe because you

do not know who named it, only know that the old Xòe comes from yourgrandfather, grandmother, ancestors, and that during all the gatherings,there is never a lack of the performance of the old Xòe In the old days,during holidays, festivals and festive days, working days or after a hardharvest season, after building a house, or making the kitchen roof, Xòeperformance were held Xòe was so active and important in communityactivities They held each other's hands to encourage, unite and help eachother to overcome difficulties in life or share joys, sorrows and theachievements of their labor Xòe is a strong, attractive dance It attracts allpeople to participate, regardless of age, male and female, rich and poor,regardless of social status The Xòe stimulates production and entertainsafter hard hours working During the Xòe, people are brought together in ajoyful atmosphere, holding hands to forget all worries and tiredness Xòehelps to balance life and create excitement among people, who show their

compassion to each other more, love life more, and enthusiastically workmore productively Xòe is to get closer to each other and from then on,people have greater love for their village and homeland”.

"Xòe" means dancing with movements that symbolize humanactivities in ritual, culture, life and work Xòe is performed at rituals,weddings, village festivals and community events

There are three main types of Xòe: ritual Xòe, circle Xòe, andpresentational Xòe Rituals Xòe and presentational Xòe are named afterprops used during particular dances, such as scarf Xòe, conical hat Xòe, fanXòe, bamboo pole Xòe, music Xòe, stick Xòe, and flower Xòe The mostpopular form is circle Xòe, wherein dancers form a circle in harmony witheach other

The basic dance movements of Xòe include raising the hands up,opening the hands, lowering the hands, clasping the hands of the nextperson following rhythmic footsteps, slightly arching the chest and leaningbackwards The musical instruments of gourd lute (tính tẩu), shawm (kènloa), mouth organ (khèn bè), drum, gong, cymbals, reed flute (pí pặp),bamboo-tube percussion (bẳng bu) and small round-shaped rattle are used

to accompany dance, which follows rhythms in even meters (either 2/4 or4/4) The typical melodies played on the instruments use the followingintervals: major second, major and minor third, perfect fourth and perfectfifth Dance movements, though simple, symbolize wishes for communitymembers to have a good life and live in solidarity

Gentle dance moves blend with instrumental music, vocals, fitting blouses, the jingling of silver jewelry hanging around the waists ofTai women and creates an art form imbued with the cultural identity of theTai in the northwestern region of Viet Nam

tight-In recent years, the young generation has brought to life new Xòe dancetypes through many forms and gestures The rhythm also reflects the newsentimental nuances of contemporary Tai people From the Xòe dancing ofchildren to elderly people, boys and girls exchange feelings without words,but with a smile in their eyes and clenched fists, leaving a warm hand in thehearts of visitors; the Xòe brings passionate and unforgettable feelings Themovement of the Xòe dance also shows such emotion

The present day Xòe movements and types have new gestures due tothe variations of the dominant movements inherent in the traditional Xòedance The development of the contemporary Xòe dance is based on thetraditional Xòe movements showing continuity throughout the generations

Some movements have been modified, and props are used, such as scarfs,fans, hats, and flowers Each village has a performance troupe, formedunder the instruction of the main practitioners in the village, and the troupeperforms at cultural events, festivals, and competitions Nghĩa Lộ town, inparticular, currently (2017) has a performance troupe of up to 1,500 people,mobilized from the Xòe troupes in the villages surrounding the town, withthe main purpose of performing during the holidays, New Year and largecultural festivals in Yên Bái province, as well as for participating in theNorthwest Ethnic Group Festival and Tourism Festival

1.2.2 Methods and performance contexts

The expression of the Xòe of the Tai people is associated withdifferent types of social activities Depending on the contexts (certaincultural space), Xòe styles are practiced to suit the living atmosphere andthe meaning of the performance’s nature

Up until now, the Tai people in the villages have mainly practiced sixbasic Xòe dance styles, which are popular in all cultural activities of thecommunity, as follows:

i Xòe Khắm khăn mơi lẩu - Raise a scarf to offer wine

The first movement: With both hands dancers lift the scarf to signifythe raising of two cups of wine The shrug of the foot moves one to twosteps to the right, to the left, and to the right again, while shrugging down.The hands move gently toward to the two sides Two rows of both sidescome out and move forward

The second movement: The hands move like in the first movement,moving left to right, in the same direction as the foot, softly shrugging thelegs Now, both rows are making movements; the second row is in place,the first row sits down, and the hands are still in the same position

The third movement: The arms and legs move the same as in the firstmovement, while the two rows move, swapping places, up and down The fourth movement: The two rows join each other in one horizontalrow, with each pair moving towards the center From their positions in thefirst movement, each pair of arms and legs move forward, before dancerskneel down and raise their scarves to invite the drinking of wine After theperson is invited to finish drinking, the dancers continue to Xòe, changingplaces so that other couples can invite the win, continuing in the manneruntil every couple has invited the drinking of wine by the end of theperformance

ii Phá xí Xòe - The four directions.

The first movement: Each pair of dancers weave their hands together

to the left, then to the right, with their legs stepping to the rhythm of

1-2-3-4 On the fourth rhythm, dancers lay one foot next to the other foot, andraise their hands up at both sides This movement is repeated multipletimes

The second movement: Four people join together, and intertwine theirhands and step their feet as in the first movement, before crossing theirhands, placing them close to their body, and turning to continue to Xòe ineach of the four directions

The third movement: Each dancing pair split off one by one like in thefirst movement, hand in hand, turning around, combining the firstmovement to turn around to the and left and right

The fourth movement: Dancers revert back to the first movement untilthe end of the Xòe performance

iii Đổn hôn Xòe Dance - Moving forward and stepping back

The first movement: The scarf is lifted up using two hands, before it isswung to cross both sides of body while the feet step to the rhythm of 1-2-3-4 On the fourth rhythm, dancers draw their legs and place one foot next

to the other and shrug gently The two rows of dancers then come out toform a circle

The second movement: Facing towards to the circle, each pair ofdancers swap their positions, while moving their arms and legs as in thefirst movement

The third movement: The dancers continue to move their arms andlegs as in the first movement in the circle until to the end of the Xòeperformance

iv Nhôm khăn Xòe - Tossing scarf

The first movement: Dancers move their feet in single steps, with theirscarves around their neck At the second beat, the footsteps are flexed, thefoot is stamped on the side, and the two ends of the scarf are flungupwards, while moving into the circle

The second movement: Dancers turn to face into the circle, movingtheir arms and legs in the same manner as in the first movement

The third movement: Dancers move back and forth to form a smallercircle inside the large circle, moving their arms and legs as in the first

movement Dancers switch positions with each other as the circle movesuntil the completion of the performance.

v Ỏm lọm tốp mư Xòe dance- Clap hands in a circle

The first movement: The two rows of dancers come together to create

a circle, their legs stepping to the beat of four With their two hands raised

on both sides, the dancers clap their hands on the fourth beat and jumplightly into the air, raising one foot up to 45 degrees

The second movement: Dancers move in the circle with the arms andlegs moving the same as in the first movement

The third movement: Dancers intersperse into the circle to create asmaller circle inside, continuing to move their arms and legs as in the firstmovement Alternately, dancers form two circles (One small circle and onelarge circle outside the smaller circle) and at the end they completely moveout of the circle and Xòe performance ends

vi Ỏm lọm khắm khăn Xòe dance - Holding hands in a circle

In this version, dancers line up in a circle holding hands and then thecircle of Xòe is gradually expanded When there are many participants,men and women stand alternately in two or three different circles to danceXòe The circles move in opposite directions The movements of the circlesconsist of two main steps and two additional steps The first step is takenbackward, then a step up is made with the front foot, then following a lightstamping and backing up of the back leg, the front leg pulls back with thefeet following the rhythm Along with the rhythm of the feet, the hands areheld tightly together as they are raised and lowered simultaneously with thesteps, with the dancers walking and moving back and forth to the rhythms

of drum, gongs and gourd guitars Such movements are repeated multipletimes and the circle is gradually expanded as more and more people come

to join in the Xòe

The costumes worn by the Tai people while dancing Xòe in a circleadd to the traditional beauty The Tai women look particularly gracefulthanks to the colorful blouses that they wear with silver butterflies, spidersand cicada-shaped buttons running down the split at the front of the chest,tightly-fitted to the body and combined with a long tubular, deep-coloredfabric skirt; the waist tied with green silk strips Silver barbed wire attachedwith rattles, butterflies, mites, and fishes worn by Tai women on thewaistband of their skirts creates added charm during their performance ofthe Xòe When participating in Xòe on feast days, Tai women also wearblack dresses, armpits or pullovers, blouses with open chests of butterflies,

waist extractions, and puffy shoulders with cloth decorated on the ribs.Black Tai women wears a Piêu scarf, striking with its colorful embroiderypatterns, and her hair battered up on top of her head (Tắng Cẩu), signifyingher married status (with obligatory, unique and attractive Tắng Cẩu) Inrelation to the Tai men's costume, their pants are cut in the chân què style,with a waistband that was previously tied with a string (although today,these pants are less popular) Chest-cut blouses are also worn with pockets

on both sides, an extra bag on the left breast, plaited buttons with clothstraps, and straight collars with only low legs without a lapel The mostpopular clothing color is indigo Tai men wear long black shirts with splitarmpits over the top of a white shirt on feast days

In the past, all Xòe performed in village festivals (xên bản, xên mường…) associated with rituals were presided over by a Mo (shaman

master) People participating in Xòe were also considered as "havingdestiny" to be chosen by Then and Mo (shaman masters) to Xòe RitualXòe signifies the deep gratitude for heaven and earth to the gods - thosewho created the village, the Mường living area, blessed the villagers withprosperity and happiness, eliminated plagues, ensured good harvests of riceand corn, sufficient rainfall, favorable wind and air, and no natural disasters

or epidemics The ritual Xòe dedicates a devotion to the gods

1.2.3 Props used in the Xòe dance

According to Mr Đinh Văn Cửu, the Xòe of the Tai people hasquietly developed Previously, the Xòe dance mainly focused on scarfdancing Gradually, due to economic and cultural exchanges among thelocalities, the people learned to revitalize the traditional songs, practicingmore dances They used objects familiar to the Tai people as props Thenames of such props become the name of each type of dance, according tothe artistic meaning of the performance content and different culturalvalues These are the types of Xòe that have become famous and familiar

with most of the village performance teams: Xe cúp (conical hat Xòe), Xe

vi (fan Xòe), Xe khăn (scarf Xòe), Xe mák hính (small round-shape iron rattles Xòe), Xe pooc (flower Xòe), Xe mạy (stick Xòe), Xe tính tẩu (gourd guitar Xòe) The dances of each of these instruments is accompanied by

teams with the trumpets, gourd guitars, rattles, small and large drums, and

bamboo percussion instruments (tăng bẳng).

It is possible to identify the characteristics of the Xòe types that usethe following props:

a Xòe khăn (dance with scarf)

According to the old people, the Tai people used to practice the Xòeactivities mainly using a scarf, weaved in a colorful silk pattern People

believe that the scarf is a product of labor, and that it carries with it bothmaterial and spiritual values created by the Tai people Most of the Xòe areassociated with the use of a scarf, specifically lifting the wine-tasting scarf

(Khắm khăn mơi lẩu), or Xòe Đổn hôn (crossing the scarf with the steps forwards and backwards), or Nhôm khăn style (tossing scarf on the head or

to the sides) The Xòe uses a scarf in moving with the body, with themovement of legs, with the postures, angles, facial expressions, and eyesthat make up the lines of Xòe with the scarf Scarves are also used as props

in some other Xòe movements The scarf is considered a respectable item

of the people This is expressed by guests during community culturalactivities or on holidays, who often throw and donate scarves to show theirfriendliness During interviews, practitioners in the districts of Nậm Nhùnand Phong Thổ (Lai Châu), Mộc Châu (Sơn La), and Nghĩa Lộ (Yên Bái),noted that scarves play important roles in the dance and rituals When theXòe takes place in front of a shrine, a shaman master performs a ritual, andhis followers gracefully dance, changing their dances according to thedifferent ritual enactments When the two dancers' arms cross to each side,the scarf symbolizes the paddle used to propel the boat towards the upperRed River to find the homeland When the scarf is crossed and raised abovethe head, it symbolizes the ladder that is put up to welcome the souls of thedeceased to attend the ceremony with the children and grandchildren.When the scarf is twisted, spinning with the rhythm, it becomes a symbolfor the horse-riding whip used to see off the soul of the deceased

White Tai women, who do not generally wear the Piêu scarf very often,use long silk scarves in their dance, while Black Tai women, who often wearscarves on their heads, use ones with beautiful patterns in their dance

b Xòe nón (Conical hat Xòe): The conical hat Xòe dance performed

in in Mường Lay district (Điện Biên province) is adapted from the Xòefrom Phong Thổ district (Lai Châu province), and includes movementssuch as taking hats to the sides, shrugging, bringing the hats to the back,tilting the sides of the head, plunging the hats, turning the hats on the head,and sitting against the hat in front of you It also involves participantscreating their own movements, such as lifting hats, tipping heads, liftinghats behind your back, tipping, and turning your hats in front of your chest

c Xòe quạt (fan Xòe): There are two styles of fan Xòe, one involving

one fan and one using two fans The one fan dance is often accompaniedwith a scarf The dancer holds the Xòe fan in the right hand and the scarf(folded) in the left hand In two fan dancing, fans are held in both hands inperforming the Xòe, demonstrating the grace and flexibility of theperformers

d Xòe sạp (Stall Xòe): Initially, stall Xòe involved the participation of

only a few people because it utilized only two bamboo or other types ofpoles Later, more bamboo poles were gradually introduced, so that manypeople could join the dance In the present-day dance, two large, straightand long bamboo trees are made into long stalls, while smaller bamboo(about 3-4cm in diameter and 3-4 meters in length) are made into multiplepairs of shorter stalls During the dance, two stalls are put just far enoughapart to guard the ends of the stalls, with stalls placed parallel to each other

at a distance of about 30-40cm The dancers divide themselves into a topfloor and a dance group, each of which has a lineup of couples, with moreand more couples joining in to make the team richer and livelier

e Xòe music (Xòe mák hính) (small round-shaped rattles Xòe): In

this version, the dancers wear music rattles (from three to five small ironround-shaped rattles) on the middle finger of most often their right hand,but something also their left The music is made from the back of the hand

In performing the dance, footsteps are used as in Phong Thổ, Mường Lay

to make a fast walk During the dance, the hands are stacked on top of eachother, with the right hand on top of the left From this posture, the handsshake the rattles to the sides, opening their hands nearly 45 degrees, thenthe two hands stroke into the beginning posture In the process of shakingthe rattles to make the sound, they mainly use the back of the hand in order

to create musical rhythm

f Xòe chai (bottle Xòe): Xòe chai is a dance using bottles as props.

The bottles are usually kept cleverly balanced on top of the dancers, whocombine flexible movements to invite the drinking of wine

1.2.3 Heritage practice space

Xòe is organized in villages of Tai people in four provinces innorthwestern Việt Nam, including Văn Chấn and Mù Căng Chải and TrạmTấu districts, and Nghĩa Lộ town in Yên Bái province; Phong Thổ, Sìn Hồ,Nậm Nhùn, Tân Uyên, Than Uyên, and Mường Tè and Tam Đườngdistricts, and Lai Châu city in Lai Châu province; Mường La, Thuận Châu,Mai Sơn, Sông Mã, Yên Châu, Sốp Cộp, Bắc Yên, Vân Hồ, Phù Yên,Quỳnh Nhai, Mộc Châu districts, and Sơn La city in Sơn La province; andĐiện Biên, Mường Chà, Điện Biên Đông, Tuần Giáo, Mường Ảng, TủaChùa, Mường Nhé, Nậm Pồ and Mường Lay districts, and Điện Biên Phủcity in Điện Biên province Mường Lò (Yên Bái), Mường So (Lai Châu),Mường Lay, and Mường Thanh (Điện Biên), however, are considered asthe main centers of the Xòe

In Yên Bái province, Xòe is practiced in 4 districts / towns, with 15communes / wards, and 102 villages / hamlets of Tai people The totalnumber of people practicing in 180 performance troupes is 1,200, includingpeople of all ages and characteristics In 2015, there were two practitionersawarded the title of Meritorious Artists, namely Lò Văn Biến and Điêu thịXiêng

In Sơn La province, there are a total of 1471 Xòe Tai practitionersperforming across 119 villages in six districts, incorporating people ofdifferent ages, performing different roles, such as the Xòe artists (thosepeople with many years of dancing experience), instrument players,practitioners, and young people practicing the dance A number of thesepeople are currently regularly practicing the Xòe in Tai performance troupes

in their villages According to the inventory, six practitioners across the sixdistricts were awarded the title of Meritorious Practitioners in 2015

In Lai Châu province, Tai communities living in the districts of PhongThổ, Sìn Hồ, Nậm Nhùn, Tân Uyên, Than Uyên, Mường Tè, Tam Đường,

as well as Lai Châu city, organize Xòe activities through 100 villageperformance troupes, encompassing more than 1,200 participants In 2015,four people were conferred the title of Excellent Artist by the state

In Điện Biên province, Tai Xòe dancing is practiced in ten districts,incorporating 150 villages and 1,273 teams of practitioners The totalnumber of prominent Tai Xòe performance teams across the four districts

of the inventory was 94 Tai Xòe teams, with a total of 966 artisans,musicians and regular Tai Xòe practitioners As conferred by the state atthe time of the survey(August 2016), Điện Biên province has three Tai Xòeartists awarded the title of Excellent Artist;Mào Văn Ết, Lương Thị Đai,and Hoàng Thím, who has already passed away

The space in which Tai people organize a Xòe dance event is flexible,and not fixed to one location In the past, spaces used for dancing activitiesincluded in the homes of families with large stilt houses, or in the homes offamilies celebrating a special event (wedding, new house, birthday, etc.),wishing to invite villagers to come and share their joy Dancing also tookplace right next to the fields or on the banks of streams in the midst of tiredlabor sessions The most popular space used for organizing entertainmentactivities for the community, however, are the spacious empty yards in theresidential area of the villagers

Later, due to improvements in socio-economic conditions in Viet Nam

in general and the villages in particular, most villages had a cultural house,

which was used for meetings and the organization of activities making upcommunity life These activities included the performance of Xòe by thevillage dance teams In addition, depending on the reason for organizingXòe, the performance may take place in different wide or narrow spaces(celebrations and grand ceremonies are generally held in the commune'ssquare and/or stadium, whereas guilds are organized at the commune hall).When asked about the occasions during which a Xòe dance event isorganized, 94.9% of the communities said that they regularly dance during

a wedding ceremony or to celebrate the construction of a new house; 86.2%regularly dance during a feast on holidays organized by the government;70.4% dance Xòe during traditional festivals; 63.6% said that the dance isorganized as a mass activity at other festivals; 60.2% said it is organizedaccording to the daily schedule of the clubs and arts teams (60.2%); and54.1% said it was performed during holidays Fewer interviewees reportedXòe being performed during religious rituals (12.4%), with only 8.4%reporting that it was regularly danced during such rituals Even more rarewas the performance of Xòe during funeral ceremonies, with only threevillages in Vân Hồ district, Sơn La province, and two villages in Nghĩa Lộtown, Yên Bái province, still practicing it during such occasions as in theinterviews of the practitioners Lường Văn Châu, Hà Văn Kiểm and Vi VănPhúc in Nà Bó and Bó Hiềng villages, Ma Păng commune, and practitioner

Hà Thị Lánh Men commune, Vân Hồ district (interview on March 22, 2018)

2 Characteristics of the Art of Xòe Dance of the Tai People

2.1 Characteristics of practitioners

The custodians of Xòe Dance are the Tai community members(which include Black Tai and White Tai - distinguished by their differentcostume colors), who mostly live in the provinces of northwestern VietNam (Yên Bái, Lai Châu, Sơn La and Điện Biên provinces), as well asbeing scattered across the provinces of Hòa Bình, Thanh Hóa and Nghệ

An The people who practice the Xòe are Tai residents, regardless of theirgender, age, occupation or working status, that are available to participate

in Xòe activities

Members of the Tai community who practice Xòe activities are first ofall the shaman masters (Tào, Mo, Phựt, and Then masters), and then thesick people being cured by the masters and accepted as "adopted children”

- i.e disciples Each year, these people gather at their master’s home toperform rituals and express their thanks to the gods Masters are peoplewhose destiny is to perform the ritual, inherited from his family (from

grandparents and parents), with the ability to communicate with the gods.They are knowledgeable about ritual practices, knows how to Xòe, andmake offerings and transmissions to their disciples during rituals held attheir shrine, or home of their disciples, to heal, ward off evils, andgenerally improve their lives

Those who grasp the practice of Xòe and have the skills to instruct theTai community members in it are often educated, intellectual andknowledgeable about ethnic customs They are able to practice, preserve andcreate dances from the their grandparents, and are respected and trusted by thecommunity It is those who have been trained in professional arts at culturalschools, or who seek out and study the art of Xòe, and master the skills ofdancing, who also play the role of instructing other people how to Xòe

Many people who hold and practice the Xòe in the Tai community arealso gifted at music and know how to play musical instruments, includingthe drums and the other ethnic instruments

The most popular Xòe style is a collective dance with at least eightpeople or more (enough for a Xòe performance troupe), often formed bygroups or performance troupes, clubs or association organizations (e.g.,Women's Union, Elderly Association, Career Association, Youth Council,Youth Union, or each class at the school at all levels)

The practice of Xòe dance is not limited to the community of onelocality (village/hamlet), but it is always available to and encourages non-locals, according to different social relations or people of other ethnicgroups, to participate in the performance Those who practice the Xòe inassociation with religious activities are often organized by the ritualmasters, with the participation of disciples and the community (mainly Taipeople) who have faith in the gods This group of practitioners is oftenintertwined as a congregation, a group of disciples, who voluntarily cometogether to perform the Xòe during rituals at the masters’ house ( Tào, Phựtand Mo masters) or sometimes at the home of a sick or troubled person inthe village

The Xòe circle performance is often held during cultural events,festivals, or the everyday activities of a certain group of people (e.g.,holidays, birthdays, housewives, weddings)

The art of Tai Xòe in northwestern Viet Nam is mainly for womenand female dancers are the main practitioners with their gentle, flexiblemovements The participants in the Tai Xòe, however, generally do notdistinguish between age, occupation, political statues, gender, social status,

or religious beliefs With the Xòe is held by Then shaman masters, theparticipants are mainly people suffering illness or are experiencing trouble,and who join the Xoe to thank the gods, or who take in the rituals to pray tothe gods for a peaceful life, propensity and good health.

The practice of Tai Xòe is organized in almost all villages of Taipeople in many different localities The mountainous provinces ofnorthwestern Viet Nam (Yên Bái, Lai Châu, Sơn La, and Điện Biênprovinces) are home to the highest populations of Tai people (Black Taiand White Tai people), and include the localities considered as the center ofXòe, such as the Mường Lò area (Nghĩa Lộ town and Văn Chấn district,Yên Bái province), Mường So (Phong Thổ and Lai Châu districts, LaiChâu province), and Mường Lay and Mường Thanh (Mường Lay town, andĐiện Biên and Mường Thanh districts, Điện Biên province) These areas areconsidered the largest Xòe practice centers, associated with a long history ofmigration to and residence by Tai people in Viet Nam (from the 11th centuryonwards) The venue for Xòe is usually a Community House, VillageCultural House, or in one of the large beautiful houses of a person from thevillage Ritual Xòe is usually held at the home of the masters or at the home

of the sick or the person in need of the spiritual help In addition, Xòe ispracticed at playing places, usually suitable spaces at work or tourist sites

3 The Value of the Art of the Xòe Dance of the Tai People

People in all Tai villages (as mentioned above), regardless of age,gender, occupation, political beliefs, social status, ethnic group or religiousbeliefs can participate in a Xoe performance In addition to the Xòe for theshaman's followers, or the advanced Xòe for experienced practitioners, thecircle Xòe is for collective practice by everyone By inviting people toparticipate, Xòe shows mutual respect between members of the Taicommunity and the people of other communities Therefore, Xòe dance is ameans of communication to connect communities, and has become asymbol of solidarity, a crystallization of life experiences and creativethinking in the life and daily activities of the Tai people The Xoe allowsparticipants to feel closer together and has really become the representativecultural maker of the Tai people in Viet Nam The survey data collected inthe areas of the heritage inventory shows that up to 97% of the populationthink that Xòe helps create entertainment for the community, as well aswith expanding relations within village communities and regions 75.8% ofpeople surveyed consider Xòe art a valuable in creating solidarity andcommunity exchanges in villages 57.6% of people said that the art of Xòehelps fulfil the needs of people practicing their beliefs and customs, while

55.6% think that the art of Xòe expresses local folk beliefs These resultsshow that the art of Xòe is increasingly aimed at generating entertainmentvalues in the spiritual life of Tai communities in the Northwestern region ofViet Nam.

Xòe dance plays an important role in Tai community life, as a form ofentertainment after a hard day’s work, helping people to be happy, relaxedand improve their health, so that they can continue to work moreeffectively Xòe dance is a cultural resource, connecting communitymembers to create collective strength This demonstrates the connectionbetween intangible cultural heritage and sustainable development.According to the local tradition, Tai people know how to use naturalresources in a sustainable way In Xòe, traditional musical instruments andceremonial trees made from natural products, such as wood, bamboo andlocal agricultural products, also convey the message of Tai behavior tonature in a sustainable way

Xòe dance has becomes a cultural resource for the Tai community tocontribute to tourism development and economic growth, as well asexchange relations with ethnic peoples at home and abroad

Xòe Dance contributes to enriching folk dance art, and the process ofcreation and diversification of intangible cultural heritage capital ofVietnamese multi-ethnic national community

4 The Art of Xòe Dance of the Tai People in Contemporary Society

During the discussions with people from the inventory areas in thefour provinces, most of them said that after 1954 and up until the 1980s,cultural and artistic activities of villages were most at risk, as well as someindividual’s activities, depending on the individual needs of certain groups

of people in the localities The main causes of this were as follows:

- Due to the war, especially the war against the Americans Duringthis period, the community was unable to practice and organize culturalactivities as they could do during peace time

- Due to wartime, rituals, festivities, and the spiritual belief practices

of individuals and collectives, during the 60s and 70s of last century, wereprohibited, with people required to concentrate more on services against the

US Air Force In this historical context, all forms of religious activities andcommunity cultural activities were prohibited

- After 1975, although the country was at peace and unified, themechanisms and cultural institutions had not yet recovered properly and

promptly Nearly two decades later, the economic conditions of life in themountains was still extremely difficult, and the communities had noconditions in which to organize cultural activities, and most traditionalcultural activities had not been given much attention, restored orperformed.

- From 1995 up to now, thanks to the policies of the Party and theState, the cultural activities of village communities have received theattention of the authorities and cultural management boards from theprovince to the commune/ward level The reality of community culturalactivities is expressed through the following forms of organization andactivities

Firstly, the communities have paid attention to the prestigiouspresence of local practitioners They have also enhanced awareness ofactivities, such as learning folk songs and dancing, to satisfy personalinterests and practice during cultural events, festivals and New Yearholidays

Secondly, the authorities and cultural management cadres at thecommune and district levels collaborated with community members inestablishing performance troupes, attracting individuals who were capable

of dancing and singing This has contributed in safeguarding the Xoèheritage and ensuring its vitality

Thirdly, some local and/or professional artists have established theirown performance troupes that encourage community members to learn andtake part in the Xoe performances

Fourthly, at the commune and district levels (and in recent years, alsowith the participation of the provincial and central levels), Xoe and singingcompetitions have been annually organized annually in the differentlocalities This has stimulated awareness and development of basic culturalactivities The establishment of district cultural centers, in particular, hashad significant implications for the development of cultural activities at thegrassroots levels

Fifthly, due to economic development in most localities, communitiesnow have the ability to organize art and cultural activities in their spirituallife, which has contributed to the revitalization of folk expressions, such asXoe dance and the other traditional genres

Of those surveyed, 100% of the people said that the activity of Xòedance in general, and traditional Xoè in particular, is currently the maincultural activity of Tai people, meeting the needs of exchanges and

entertainment for all generations The Tai people enjoy the dance and itmakes their life more exciting, especially at the beginning of the New Yearand during their free time after the harvest The survey results show quite avariety of activities in community cultural life, of which the Xòe danceplays a leading role as a spiritual and cultural activity indispensable in thecommunity life of the Tai people.

5 The transmission of the Xòe Dance

Most Tai village communities living in the areas of Yên Bái, LaiChâu, Sơn La, and Điện Biên provinces have the desire to attend danceactivities during cultural events and festivals In most villages, thetransmission of Tai art knowledge and skills is mainly through oral means,

as well as direct practice, which takes place at the following three levels:

In Tai families, children learn how to Xòe from grandparents andparents From a young age, the children follow their parents to the rituals atthe masters’ house, to celebrate and participate in festivals, and wereinstructed by the adults to dance The masters passed on to their childrenand grandchildren the religious professions

At the community level, during the rituals, the masters teach Xòe totheir disciples During collective Xòe dances, gifted and seniorpractitioners that know Xòe well instruct other participants how to Xòe, theway to move, swing their hands and feet to the beat, and how to use props,such as hats and scarves, sticks, music instruments, and so on Artists andprofessional choreographers also join in to hand down their knowledgethrough oral transmissions to individuals and in classes

In schools, all levels and classes organize extracurricular activities topractice Xòe Many schools invite practitioners to teach From a statemanagement perspective, the authorities at all levels and relateddepartments regularly organize competitions and cultural festivals to raiseawareness and understanding of Xòe, enhance exchanges, and share skills

in practicing Xòe among individuals and communities

The main force directly involved in the practice of Xòe danceactivities has been the youth and middle-aged people The performancetroupes, head by the main practitioner, has become the core force for allforms of local cultural activities and transmissions

Through the questionnaires of the inventory, 85% of respondentsconfirmed that the young generation and descendants of families invillages/neighborhoods are enthusiastic and excited to participate directly

in cultural activities that incorporate Xòe dance Random interviews of

children (aged 10-15), who have participated in local cultural activities orschools, said that they always enjoy learning to dance

- 80% of the discussion groups said that at present, children do nothave time to attend the cultural activities of the villages The reason for this

is that the time they spend in class and at home accounts for 70%, and thetime spent to support their families is at least 30% (because most villagesstill have economic difficulties, except for some communes of townshipsand towns where the district is located in a town or city) The currentmanner in which children learn to dance is mainly through three forms:Learning from programs broadcast on television; Learning from the directteaching or oral transmission of parents (or people who know how to danceand sing in the village); or studying it during extracurricular programs atthe school

Currently, performance troupes are supporting part of the training andteaching expenses, and places for them to live, as well as facilitatingexchanges between villages/hamlets, or participating in competitions andcultural events organized by the government

Cultural management agencies are also currently active in producingmany kinds of music and dance music to promote the heritage of thepeople This also serves as a document for learners of Xòe in the villages

In recent years, several communes/wards have actively createdfavorable conditions for local practitioners to teach dance and singing tochildren in preschool, primary and secondary schools In-school teachingmethods are taught by part-time teachers, or teachers with modern musictraining, during extracurricular activities

The members of performance troupes have became a practicalteaching force in the villages, bringing remarkable results in thetransmission of the dance

6 Some Issues in Safeguarding the Xòe Dance

6.1 The status and positive effects of the heritage

- The majority of cultural and arts activities in general, and the dancepractice in particular, have been given attention and restored by theauthorities and cultural management sectors in the provinces, includingthrough the construction of community culture houses and promotion ofcultural and spiritual life (establishing performance troupes in most Taivillages, organizing cultural competitions during celebrations and LunarNew Year, etc.) Due to the difficult economic conditions of the localities,

and different subjective and objective circumstances, however, the number

of traditional art activities is often limited, and mainly concentrated in thetowns and cities

- The awareness of safeguarding and maintaining the traditional forms

of cultural activities in general, and the dance in particular invillages/hamlets/residential areas mainly belong to middle-aged and oldergroups of people, expressed through their participation in the performancetroupes, as the nuclear human source for each local region Retired cadresand soldiers in the localities have been particularly enthusiastic in takingresponsibility for safeguarding and promoting the cultural heritage of theirhomeland

- The establishment of performance troupes invillages/hamlets/villages over the most recent ten years has attracted theattention of the public According to the general direction of the authoritiesand cultural managers at all levels, the performance troupes have been thecore force in transmitting the cultural heritage to the younger generation.The results of the investigation into the local safeguarding measuresthat are currently being implemented to ensure the vitality of and promotethe performance of the dance in life show that: 1) the most popularsafeguarding measure is the village cultural arts organization, accountingfor 88.0%; 2) 6 2 % of respondents selected measures to organize regularexchanges in the villages and with other localities; and 3) 53.0% ofrespondents chose measures that encourage group practice activities

Over 30% of respondents said that in recent years, the locality hasbeen implementing the measures to safeguard and promote the performance

of the Xòe in life, such as: expanding extracurricular activities at schools atall levels; building facilities to create regular living spaces; and developingmechanisms for rewarding and supporting practitioners

- In most villages/hamlets/residential areas, radio and television hasincreased the time given to the introduction of the folk songs and danceactivities of typical performance troupes As a result,, people have a betterunderstanding of ethnic cultural heritage, of which the most prominent isthe Tai heritage According to the people, this has provided families withmore forms of lively education for their children to be proud of, enhancedsocial awareness, culture and arts, and led to a more moral lifestyle ingeneral

- Through the number of inventory questionaires from 400 villages /hamlets / residential areas of four provinces among authorities and cultural

management cadres at all levels, the survey results show that 85% ofpeople are satisfied with the local authorities at the commune and villagelevels This clearly shows that there is consensus to maintain the festival, aswell as to Xòe dance in a sustainable way, and produce positive outcomes

in the process of promoting the values and meanings of the culturalheritage

- Initially, the commune-level administration had a close associationwith the community under the motto of providing support in themanagement of the performance troupes According to the results of theinventory, 90% of the community members agree with the initial step oflocal government in the process of revitalizing, safeguarding andpromoting the values of the current Xòe dance

6.2 Some risks come from the current status of the heritage

- 95% of representatives of villages, hamlets and residentialcommunities participating in the discussion groups confirmed that the level

of collecting and recording historical and religious culture expression andcultural heritage is still limited in the majority of localities There is asignificant reason why the number of people who know Tai characters is sosmall Indeed, in some local areas, there are no people that know the Tailanguage

- 80% of respondents participating in the discussion groups said that,

at present, there is a percentage of young people from primary schoolthrough to secondary school who are at risk of not reading and speakingtheir own language Exchanges and relations between Tai families andschools and society mainly utilize the Vietnamese national language andscript This is one of the leading factors restricting the safeguarding andtransmission of ethnic cultural heritage

- 70% of the respondents said that the Xòe dance performance hasbeen significantly impacted by the available performance space, spare time,props, costumes, and musical instruments

- 95% of the discussion groups proposed to increase the role ofgovernment at all levels in organizing cultural events and collecting,recording and publishing documents on intangible cultural heritage related

to local traditional culture in general, and Xòe dance activities in particular;

in addition to supporting open Tai language classes in the localities

- At present, most of the villages with active traditional culturalactivities receive little financial support, which has some effect on theorganization of Xòe performances 100% of survey respondesnt suggested

that authorities at all levels should pay more attention to supporting thetransmission and restoration of the traditional ethnic culture invillages/hamlets.

The survey results show that most of the performance troupes directlyinvolved in transmitting the Xòe dance, especially the practitioners whounderstand the heritage, have little support from the local government Notenough attention is paid to most senior practitioners with long-standingreputations (either deceased or very old) in relation to subsidizing orhonoring their time As a result, a part of the heritage, and knowledge aboutethnic cultural heritage, is at risk of disappearance, causing loss of Taicommunity culture in particular, and the nation's culture in general

- 90% of people said that the authorities at all levels are still not activeand creative in mobilizing the interest of different non-governmentalorganizations to safeguard and promote local cultural heritage values Thismain limitation in mobilizing socal resources has affected the safeguarding,transmission and promotion of heritage and community tourismdevelopment

- In fact, the connection between local schools and the safeguardingand promotion of the cultural heritage values of villages/hamlets is notstrong Information and education are still limited and does include thedeep involvement of community members At present, the favored method

of transmitting ethnic cultural heritage in many primary and secondaryschools is to invite a practitioner to teach it, who decides on the content ofthe lesson In some localities, however, the teaching of dance is still largelydependent on the awareness and ability of music teachers and whether theyare passionate about the heritage

- 100% of the representatives of the Tai ethnic community thatattended the workshop on the Xòe dance inventory in the four provincesagreed to cooperate with the authorities and managers at all levels in thedevelopment of the Xòe dance dossier to be submitted to UNESCO forconsideration and recognition on the List of the Intangible CulturalHeritage of Humanity A number of practitioners wrote letters in the Tailanguage expressing their consensus to develop the dossier with the support

of the authorities and cultural management boards at all levels

6.3 The role of the Community in Safeguarding and Promoting the Art of Xòe Dance of the Tai people

The Art of Xòe Dance has great meaning in the spiritual life of Taipeople in particular, and ethnic minorities in general Therefore, in the past,

Xòe art has been nurtured and protected by all levels and sectors in theprovinces of Yên Bái, Lai Châu, Sơn La and Điện Biên, in order tomaintain the Xòe dance tradition.

In Yên Bái province, community cultural activities are expressedthrough the following forms of organization and activities:

- During the period prior to 2005, local cultural departments did notorganize cultural events at the regional level in which Xòe dance wasperformed within villages and communes The Xòe was still practicedregularly by the community during village festivals, however, including thecircle Xòe, scarf Xòe, bottle Xòe, fan Xòe, conical hat Xòe, flower Xòe,and couple Xòe These Xòe dances are based on the gestures and rhythms

of the traditional dance styles

-Since 2005, tourism programs and cultural weeks have beenorganized more frequently, allowing the Xòe to expand in size, form andstyle During this time, Xòe has not only been performed in every village,commune and ward, but also in the whole area, with the participation ofthousands of people in the circle Xòe In addition, the practitioners havepopularized the six ancient styles of Xòe in the community, so the art ofXòe has been restored and gradually developed In recent years, theawareness of the value of the heritage has also been enhanced In the recentpast, members of local communities organized many activities to widelydisseminate this heritage practice, such as: organizing classes to introducethe six ancient styles of Xòe in the villages; and inviting practitioner LòVăn Biến (86 years old of Nghĩa Lộ town), and a number of otherindividuals, to restore the ancient Tai Xòe by teaching members of theperformance troupes in Nghĩa Lộ town, and in the communes, wards andvillages This is a typical example of the revitalization of the traditionaldance From schools in Nghĩa Lộ town to communes such as Nghĩa An,Nghĩa Phúc, Nghĩa Lợi, Phường Tân An, Trung Tâm, Pú Chạng, and CầuThia, and villages and hamlets of the Mường Lò region, a number ofperformance troupes have been developed, with each village and communehaving at least one Xòe troupe with an increasing number of participants Xòe is a key element in the cultural and artistic activities of the region.The Xòe has expanded very rapidly in terms of the number of participants.The members of performance troupes not only learn from practitioners, butalso exchange knowledge and skills and learn from each other All troupesare now performing the six traditional dances together with other Xòedance styles, such as the circle Xòe, scarf Xòe, bottle Xòe, fan Xòe, andconical hat Xòe In 2013, in Nghĩa Lộ town, the compilation of the

"Ancient Xòe dance of the Tai ethnic people in Nghĩa Lộ - Mường Lò" waswritten by Mr Lò văn Biến, representing a useful document fortransmitting Xòe to the local people He also instructed the Xòe music to

20 people from August 21 September 10, 2014 Up until now, two musicgroups have mastered the melody and rhythm of the musical instrumentsplayed during the performance of the six Xoe dance styles From August 1

to October 7, 2014, Mr Lò Văn Biến instructed a group of teachers (sevenpeople) over a total of six days The teachers were taught about the origin,meanings and movements of the six basic Xòe dances Up until now, 48core performance troupes have been established in Nghĩa Lộ town,incorporating 384 people from 7 communes and wards, including members

of the Elderly Association, Women's Union, Youth Union, as well aspreschool, primary and secondary students In addition, there are two coremusician troupes incorporating 20 people Annually, Nghĩa Lộ townorganizes grassroots level competitions, which encourage a large number

of Tai people to participate Each village establishes performance troupes,trained by main practitioners, that regularly perform Xoè in exchanges withother localities Nghĩa Lộ - Mường Lò has a Xòe troupe of up to 2013persons, who come from the local Xòe village troupes in order to perform

on holidays and during large cultural festivals held in the province In

2013, 2013 dancers performed the largest Xoe circle at Nghĩa Lộ townstadium

Up until now, the art of Xòe of the Tai people in has become anindispensable spiritual heritage of the community of Nghĩa Lộ town(Mường Lò) This art form is not only for social activities, but goes deepinto the subconscious of the people in the region

In Lai Châu province, the authorities and Tai ethnic communities havequite effective mechanisms and policies for encouraging the maintenanceand promotion of the Xòe heritage Although these policies focus primarily

on promoting Tai cultural values in general, they have also partlyencouraged and promoted the values of the Xòe dance The organization andestablishment of performance troupes in most communities haveinadvertently promoted the national cultural values and created theopportunity to safeguard and promote the other heritage elements Theresults of the quantitative survey show that the villages organized theperformance troupes (94.0%) In addition to promoting various types ofcultural activities according to the policies of the Party and the State, thevillage/hamlet performance troupes are also a platform through which topractice and promote the cultural forms of the ethnic community Other

measures employed in the villages to promote the activity includeencouraging practice activities in groups (56.0%); Organizing andinteracting more frequently (51.0%); Building facilities to create living space(49.0%); and Rewarding and supporting the main practitioners (44.0%).Some individuals and practitioners have actively participated inteaching and safeguarding the Xòe Ms Đỗ Thị Tấc, for example, investedher own money in building a row of stilt houses for displaying Tai culturalheritages and teaching the Xòe to the community in Than Uyên town (LaiChâu province) Other folk practitioners, such as Lò Văn Sao (68 years oldfrom Mường Cang village, Than Uyên town) and Hoàng Ngọc Xíu (78years old from Nà Củng village, Mường So commune, Phong Thổ district),have recorded and published documents about the origin of Xòe,, the dancestyles, context of the performance, and the related folklore expressions InNậm Nhum district, some ritual masters regularly instruct their discipleshow to celebrate and thank god during rituals In Phong Thổ and ThanUyên districts, folk practitioners and community members, who areknowledgeable about Xòe, participate in teaching the younger generation inpreschool and high school classes.

In Sơn La province, the awareness of government officials, especiallyfrom the provincial cultural offices, on the value of the Xòe dance hasincreased This has led to the government’s continuous efforts andinterventions over the past ten years in the restoration, safeguarding andtransmission of the Xòe dance Establishing a program for the development

of performance troupes in most Tai villages/hamlets in the province hasbeen a particularly effective activity The report of the province in 2014showed that it had more than 3,000 troupes at the village/hamlet level(which are provided funding from the local government of two millionVietnam Dong per year per troupe) A strong awareness of the importance

of the Xòe is also crucial for the province when the safeguarding of theXòe practice is closely linked to the safeguarding and promotion ofcustoms and cultural values of the Tai festivals, practices, rituals, cuisine,costumes, musical instruments, and craftsmanship

In Điện Biên province, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourismhas developed a program to organize the celebration of the historic victory

at Điện Biên Phủ in even years and ethnic cultural festivals, as well asprovide organizational guidance in celebrating the festival dedicated to thehistorical figure, Hoàng Công Chất, in Bản Phủ temple, as well as othertraditional festivals, such as Kin Pang Then The Xòe dance is performed atlocal cultural and social events, attracting large numbers of people from

outside of the performance troupes, such as tourists, to join In recent years,with the support of programs funded by government and non-governmentalorganizations (through national target programs and with Danish funds), anumber of projects have been implemented on safeguarding folk dance andtraditional instruments This is considered as one of the most importantmotivations contributing to the safeguarding of folk-dance arts, as well asthe musical instruments and other cultural heritage elements To date, ĐiệnBiên province has established 1,273 performance troupes invillages/hamlets, most of which are the performance troupes of the Taiethnic group, considered to be the main force behind maintaining anddeveloping the Xòe This has contributed to the safeguarding anddevelopment of the Xòe, not only by the local ethnic people, but alsotourists, who go there and enjoy participating in the Xòe Each member ofthe performance troupe has a sense of responsibility and a passion for theaesthetic value of the art form that his father passed down Thus, they arehappy to continue to introduce the cultural heritage to domestic and foreigntourists In order to create favorable conditions for the activities of theperformance troupes, each year, the national target program of the Culture,Sports and Tourism office financially supports them in purchasingloudspeakers, drums and costumes

Currently, the acquisition and inheritance of the Xòe for the youngergeneration has many limitations In recent years, however, the coordinationprogram between sectors implementing the program entitled "Building aPositive Student Friendly School" have integrated folk performance art,including Xòe, into extracurricular programs This is very valuable insafeguarding the Xòe Điện Biên province is a border province adjacent toChina and Laos, so it often has art performances and cultural exchangeswith other provincial unions and associations from these two countries TheXòe dance has thereby been introduced widely to foreign provinces,especially the Xòe circle style, with its deep meaning for Tai people andsymbol of union The Provincial Party Executive Committee issuedResolution No 09/NQ/TU, dated December 20, 2012, on the program ofsafeguarding the heritage and development of ethnic groups in Điện Biênprovince This is associated with the Socio-economic Development Planfrom 2015 to 2020, with the main task of safeguarding ethnic cultures;economic development and promoting the cultural identity value of ethnicgroups, and enhancing the role of social factors to participate in thesafeguarding and development of ethnic cultures The People's Committee

of Điện Biên Province issued Decision No 401/QD-UBND, dated June 12,

2013, approving the safeguarding and cultural development of ethnic

minorities in Điện Biên province, associated with the economicdevelopment plan from 2015 to 2020 Therefore, in the coming time, ĐiệnBiên province will continue the safeguarding and development of ethnicculture, of which Xòe is among the elements that imbue the culturalidentity of the local people.

The Xòe heritage has been included in the National List of IntangibleNational Cultural Heritage, with its names and decisions of the Ministry ofCulture, Sports and Tourism

- The Art of Xòe Dance of the Tai People in Điện Biên province underDecision No 3820/QD - BVHTTDL in 2013

- The Art of Xòe Dance of the Tai People in Yên Bái provinceaccording to the Decision No 1877/QD-BVHTTDL in 2015

- The Art of Xòe Dance of the Tai People in Lai Châu province underthe Decision No 1877/QD-BVHTTDL in 2015

- The Art of Xòe Dance of the Tai People in Sơn La provinceaccording to the decision No 1877 / QD-BVHTTDL in 2015

Hanoi, 5 - 12 - 2018

Rapporteur

Professor, Dr Bui Quang Thanh

(The leader of the inventory team)

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