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Massive volume: A treasure trove of Tay Nguyen epics are on display at the sixth HCM City book expo at Le Van Tam Park in District 3. — VNS Photo Quynh Hoa |
HCM CITY — The Viet Nam Academy of Social Sciences officially opened a display of bound volumes containing the epics of ethnic groups in Tay Nguyen (the Central Highlands) on Wednesday.
The 60,000 page collection, Treasure Trove of Tay Nguyen Epics, comprises 73 volumes containing 85 works printed in the original ethnic languages with translations in Vietnamese.
From 2001-2007, the Viet Nam Academy of Social Sciences carried out a VND17 billion (US$920,000) project to produce the collection.
The collection includes 30 epics from the Ba Na ethnic group, 26 of the Mo Nong, 10 of the E De, four of the Xo Dang, three of the Ra Glai and two of the Cham.
Viet Nam Guinness Book Centre has recognised the Tay Nguyen collection as the largest collection of it kind.
The ministry also approved two other related projects, firstly to summarise six epics of E De, Mo Nong and Ba Na for small publications in bilingual form to present to ethnic minority compatriots in Tay Nguyen. Then to produce publications of a further 25 epics. So far 10 of them have been completed including three from the Xo Dang.
Scholars from China, India, Japan, Malaysia, and Thailand said they were amazed by the diversity and abundance of Tay Nguyen Epics.
The collection has been nominated for recognition by UNESCO as a masterpiece of oral and intangible cultural heritage of the humanity.
Dr Dinh Gia Khanh said the value of the epics lays in their portrayal of intelligent workers as traditional heroes.
During the project, researchers discovered epics of many other ethnic minorities in the Central Highlands and surrounding areas such as Cham ho roi, X-Tieng, Xe Dang, Co Ho.
There are 388 artists who can sing, perform folk arts and tell epics, living in the provinces of Binh Phuoc, Dac Lac, Gia Lai, Kon Tum, and Lam Dong. — VNS