Loc Binh preserves traditional costumes in schools

(LSO) – Facing the risk that traditional ethnic costumes are gradually disappearing from the lives of the people, the party committee, the local government of Loc Binh district has been implementing many practical measures to preserve the cultural beauty of traditional costumes, first of all in schools.

Mr. Do Cong Trung, Head of Education and Training Division of Loc Binh district said: “Following the direction of the District People’s Committee, from the beginning of the school year 2020-2021, the division has built a plan to preserve and promote the beauty of traditional costumes in schools, which enhances communication, raises awareness of officials and teachers. At the same time, we have reviewed and selected 4 communes that still retain the traditional costumes of the Nung, Dao, San Chi ethnic groups (Thong Nhat, Minh Hiep, Ai Quoc, Mau Son) to direct the construction of pilot models at 8 schools in the area with many practical activities such as scientific research, teaching tailoring, wearing ethnic costumes on a day per week.”

Teachers and students of Nhuong Ban Primary and Secondary School wear San Chi costume on every Wednesday

Accordingly, the People’s Committees of communes and schools focused on propagating and raising awareness of officials, party members and the people, especially teachers, parents and students about the meaning and importance of conserving the ethnic costumes as well as the traditional cultural beauty of each ethnic group expressed through the outfits. Since then, it helps the young generation to love and preserve the traditional culture of their peoples, first of all, by wearing their ethnic costumes. From the beginning of the school year 2020-2021 up to now, the whole district has organized 37 propaganda campaigns with more than 4,960 turns of participants. Mr. Hoang Phuc Vuong, Rector of Ai Quoc Semi-boarding Ethnic Primary School said: “The school has 142 students who are all Dao ethnic. In order for students to love and be aware of preserving traditional costumes, from the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year, the school has hold 5 propaganda campaigns for 550 parents and students to participate; encouraging them to make ethnic costumes for their children to wear at school as uniforms on every Monday of the week and on holidays. At the same time, they have brought the content of traditional costumes into lessons so that students can understand, enjoy and love their ethnic costumes.”

Along with the propaganda, school administrators have launched a movement of sewing and wearing national costumes on specified days. For example, Minh Phat Semi-boarding Ethnic Secondary School has 157 over 157 students wearing ethnic costumes on every Tuesday; Mau Son Primary School has more than 100 students wearing Dao ethnic costumes every Monday etc.

Hoang Van Dung, Grade 9, Nhuong Ban Primary and Secondary School said: “Every Wednesday, we are dressed in San Chi ethnic costumes to school, to participate in folk games such as pushing sticks, tug of war , blindfolded to catch goats … In addition to class hours, we also can visit the families of some elderly people in the village to learn how to cut and sew ethnic costumes. My friends and I feel very excited and proud of our ethnic costumes.”

At the same time, the school administrators encourage teachers to sopport students to research and learn about traditional costumes in order to participate in science and technology competitions at all levels. According to the statistics of the District Education and Training Division, at the science and technology creative contest for high school students in the school year 2020-2021, there are 9 over 28 research topics on ethnic costume culture. In particular, the topic “How to make costumes of San Chi ethnic people in Thong Nhat commune”, “Preserving the tradition of dyeing indigo clothes of San Chi ethnic groups for students of Xuan Duong Semi-boarding Ethnic Primary and Secondary School” won the 4th prize in the science and technology creative contest students at district level.

Although it was just implemented from the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year, wearing traditional costume to school receives the positive response of all teachers and students’ parents. Currently, the district has 8 schools with more than 1,300 teachers and students wearing traditional ethnic costumes every week. These are the initial success for the party committees and authorities of Loc Binh district to continue researching and preserving the beauty of traditional costumes as well as propagating, disseminating, and replicating to schools, agencies and units in the province.

“Traditional education, encouraging students to wear ethnic costumes to school is a meaningful activity to preserve and promote the ethnic cultural identity that Loc Binh has been implementing, the initial success is typical for replication”. Mr. Nguyen Phuc Ha, Director of Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism