Showroom featuring Vietnam’s spiritual mascot opens in Ninh Binh
A showroom featuring the “Nghe”, the spiritual animal mascot of Vietnam, has opened at the Hoa Lu cultural space in the northern province of Ninh Binh.
Experts discuss features of Nghe - the spiritual animal mascot of Vietnam (Photo: VNA)
Ninh Binh (VNA) – A showroom featuring the“Nghe”, the spiritual animal mascot of Vietnam, has opened at the Hoa Lu culturalspace in the northern province of Ninh Binh.
Representatives from the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, scientists,historians, and cultural researchers attended the event, which was part of activitiesfor the National Culture, Sports, and Tourism Festival 2018.
The showroom will display sculptures, paintings, and sketchesof the Nghe, a cultural and historical symbolof Vietnam in various regions. The works will focus on highlighting the imageof the spiritual animal in the Dinh temple cultural space in Hoa Lu, Ninh Binh.
In Vietnamese culture, sacred animalsare those originating from legends or are created and used as cultural symbolsto deliver ideas and belief in their psyche and religion. They embody thenatural forces and hold characteristics of mysterious supernatural powers thatdominate humanity and the universe. One of them is the Nghe, a pure mascot forthe Vietnamese people which appears in folk verses, such as “Eachbeing has one profession/The Peacock is for dancing and the Nghe is forguarding”. The Nghe is a mixture of various sacred animals, with the body of adog, the head of a lion, and the power of a dragon, as well as resemblinga phoenix.
In the spiritual life of the Vietnamese people,the Nghe animal is important like other mascots, such as dragons and phoenixes,because it symbolises intelligence and such it is placed at both sacred sitesand houses.
The event has contributed to help locals, as well as domestic and foreignvisitors, gain insight into Vietnam’s cultural symbols, while promoting and honouringthe traditional culture values of the Hoa Lu ancient capital in particular, andof Vietnam in general.
The showroom will stay open until November 11.–VNA
Statues of traditional sacred animals guarding the gates of temples, pagodas and relics are gradually replacing fiercer looking animals designed in China, but made in Vietnam.
Some 200 images and artifacts related to “Nghe” – a sacred animal in the ancient culture of Vietnam – are on display at an exhibition that opened in the central city of Da Nang on August 15.
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Coming to the Vietnamese booth, visitors had the chance to take part in a bamboo dance, a workshop on painting woven bamboo or rattan, or quizzes about Vietnam.
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Experts discuss features of Nghe - the spiritual animal mascot of Vietnam (Photo: VNA) 
