Speaking at a ceremony marking the official UNESCO certificate of recognition of the practices held on Sunday night in the northern Nam Dinh province, Vietnamese Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Ngoc Thien said Vietnam will hold numerous activities to improve awareness, especially of the youth, in preserving and promoting the Mother Goddesses beliefs.
The worship is based on an ancient system of beliefs in the incarnation of various deities channeled through mediums and believed to provide good health and prosperity. Vietnam submitted the dossier on the Practices Related to the Vietnamese Beliefs in the Mother Goddesses of Three Realms for UNESCO recognition in 2015, but the evaluation process was delayed until the end of 2016.
Nam Dinh, some 80 km south of Vietnamese capital Hanoi, is considered the largest pilgrimage center for those who practice Mother Goddesses worship, with 287 temples and vestiges relating to the beliefs across the province.
In addition to Practices Related to the Vietnam Beliefs in the Mother Goddesses in Three Realms, so far, Vietnam has had 10 other UNESCO-recognized intangible cultural heritages, including Hue Imperial City's royal court music (certified in 2003); the Space of Gong Culture in the Central Highlands (2005); love duets and ceremonial singing (both in 2009); Giong festival (2010); Xoan singing (2011); Hung King worshipd rituals (2012); don ca tai tu (southern traditional music and song) performance (2013); Vi and Giam folk songs of Nghe Tinh (2014); and the tug of war (2015).