KON TUM — More than 1,000 school students in the Kon Tum City of the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum have participated in a festival dedicated to gongs and traditional xoang dancing.

More than 1,000 school students in Kon Tum City have participated in a festival dedicated to gongs and xoang – a popular dance of ethnic groups living in the region. — VNA/VNS Photos Khoa Chương

Organised by the city’s Education and Training Division, the student festival features 1,076 students in 16 teams; 304 are in gongs, and 249 are in xoang dance teams. Other students have engaged in an ethnic costume showcase.

The festival is a way for students to learn more about gongs, one of the most recognised traditional cultural features of the Central Highlands, giving them the tools and the know-how to preserve and promote the nation’s cultural values.

School students, in ethnic traditional costumes, reenact farming activities at the festival.

The head of the division, Thái Khắc Hòa, said the festival helps raise awareness among the younger generations about the role of gongs and ethnic xoang dances, especially in traditional festivals and rituals.

The festival is a useful way for students to learn more about the distinctive culture of the Central Highlands region.

Several schools in the city have encouraged students to wear ethnic costumes at the national flag-hoisting ceremony on Mondays and in extracurricular activities. In addition, students are taught to play gongs or perform xoang dances.

A group of students demonstrate the new rice celebration of the Jrai ethnic group in the Central Highlands area.

All 16 teams participating in the event have presented lively performances. As a result, the festival organiser awarded 46 prizes to excellent teams and individuals.

Students at the festival play gongs.

The festival is part of activities to celebrate the upcoming 40th anniversary of Vietnamese Teachers’ Day (20/11/1982 - 20/11/2022). — VNS