Over 300 documents, images and artifacts on the distinctive Cong Chieng (gong culture) of Viet Nam's Central Highlands are currently on display at an exhibition that opened yesterday at the Viet Nam Museum of Ethnology in Dak Lak on February 3.
The exhibition marks the 86th anniversary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (February 3, 1930-2016) and also welcomes the Lunar New Year 2016.
‘Gong Heritage in the Central Highlands Cultural Space' presents the gong culture of ethnic groups in Dak Lak in the past and today.
It also hopes to promote the preservation of gong culture, which was recognised as a UNESCO world intangible cultural heritage in 2005.
The exhibition will run until June.
Gongs have been used for more than 3,000 years in Viet Nam and have played a key role in ethnic communities’ culture.
Because it is seen as a tool that helps connect them with heaven, gong culture is an inseparable part of the ethnic minority people’s spiritual life.
Gongs are played to celebrate special occasions, including house warmings, the birth of a baby, weddings, ritual parades and funerals.