Culture researcher Hoang Hoa receives the title People’s Artist, April 19, 2019. (Photo: VOV)

Hoang Hoa now lives in Phu Thong town, Bac Kan province. At the age of 89, he is still passionate about doing research on Tay and Nung cultures.

“The Tay and Nung ethnic people boast rich cultural values including worshipping rituals and Then singing. I even cried when translating their documents into Vietnamese,” said Hoa.

Hoang Hoa developed an interest in Tay and Nung cultures 60 years ago while working for an art troupe in Bac Kan province. His research includes folk songs, proverbs about love, wedding poems, funeral customs, and other rituals of the Tay and Nung people, as well as their festivals. Hoa is researching Slan Slanh temple where the Long Tong (Going to the Field) festival originated.

He has also written plays and poems in the Tay language, some of which have won first prize at the National Television Festival. Hoa spent nearly 2 years doing research on Tay and Nung wedding poems.

“Writing and doing research are indispensable in my life. Those cultural values are in danger of being forgotten, so I want to preserve them,” he said.

Poet Duong Khau Luong, Chairman of Bac Kan province’s Literature and Art Association, said Hoang Hoa’s research has greatly contributed to the cultural treasures of Tay and Nung ethnic people.

“The culture and traditions of the Tay and Nung ethnic people are starting to be lost. Hoa’s research is important for preserving the culture, and teaching the younger generations about their traditions,” Luong added.