By Ciara Mina
To officially launch the 2025 Festival of the Ba Chua Xu Goddess at Sam Mountain, Vietnam received the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s (UNESCO) recognition inscribing the festival as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The event comes after the festival was formally recognised by UNESCO during its 19th session on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
UNESCO recognition a first for Vietnam province
The Ba Chua Xu Festival is the first festival in Vietnam’s An Giang province to be recognised by UNESCO.
Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister, Mai Van Chinh, as well as current and previous party and state leaders plus Vietnam’s Mekong Delta province delegates, attended the occasion.
Speaking during the event, the deputy PM urged An Giang’s authorities and related ministries to protect the heritage site’s cultural area in order to guarantee the festival’s ongoing vitality and impact.
Additionally, he emphasised and promoted the significance of educating people – both residents and visitors – about the festival’s value to contribute to the preservation of its unique identity.
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Ba Chua Xu Festival
The festival is a celebration of Ba Chua Xu, a revered goddess in Vietnamese folk religion believed to protect and bless the people. It takes place every year from the 22nd to the 27th day of the fourth lunar month.
The celebration involves giving thanks to the deity through religious rituals, song, and dancing. The preparation and presentation of offerings, a bathing ceremony to replace the goddess statue’s attire and jewellery, and a palanquin parade are some of the festival’s main features.
The festival’s customs and rituals are passed down among families and communities through practical experience and festival participation.
Understanding the cultural significance of the event, An Giang province has been involved in overseeing the Ba Chua Xu Festival of Sam Mountain since the 1980s.
Since then, the province has consistently focused on spearheading and guiding efforts to conserve, safeguard, and promote the value of cultural heritage.
It views the festival as a crucial undertaking that generates identity and internal strength in the province’s development process.
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