Ba Chua Xu (Holy Mother of the Realm) Festival on Mount Sam was officially inscribed onto the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity on December 4, during the 19th session of the Intergovernmental Committee of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.
The Ba Chua Xu Festival on Sam Mountain is a traditional celebration that has been passed down through generations in Chau Doc, the southern province of An Giang.
The festival is typical of the culture of people in southern Vietnam, influenced by interactions with the Khmer, Chinese, and Cham communities.
It honors Ba Chua Xu – the local goddess - and provides an opportunity for people to show their respect, gratitude, and reverence to those who have contributed to the nation.
In 2014, the festival was recognised as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage.
With this inscription, the Festivalღ becomes Vietnam's 16th UNESCO-recognised Intangible Cultural Heritage, and the second in the Mekong Delta (along with Southern Vietnamese Đờn ca tài tử (southern amateur singing) music.
It also is the first traditional festival in the Southern region to receive this honor./.
