Published:  00:00 Sunday - November 08, 2009

Forty troupes from inside and outside the country will attend the International Gong Festival in the Central Highland province of Gia Lai from November 12-15.

Artists from Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Laos and Myanmar will bring their gongs to the event.

The festival will take place in Pleiku City to celebrate Central Highlands gong culture, which was recognised by UNESCO as a unique part of the world’s heritage in December, 2005.

During the festival, many activities will be held including religious ceremonies accompanied by gong orchestras, contests, seminars and exhibitions.

Artists and people from provincial ethnic groups, including the Jrai, Ybrom and Bana will take part in the rain worship and New Year ceremonies and performances held in the city’s parks and tourism areas.
Two exhibitions will display photos, artifacts and bonsai from Central Highland ethnic groups.

In anticipation of the festival, a three-month show of French documentary photos of the Central Highlands Gong culture opened at the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology in Hanoi on November 6.
The ninety photos have been selected from French archives for the exhibition and most of them were taken during the 1930s-1960s period.

Gong music is deeply rooted in the culture of most East and Southeast Asian countries.

Gia Lai and other Central Highland provinces plan to conduct gong-playing classes in the future for young ethnic people and encourage the masters to teach them.