Khanh Hoa people have been attached to Holy Mother worship religion for a long time. There are more than 20 monuments worshipping Thien Y A Na Holy Mother in Khanh Hoa. Ponagar Temple is regarded as the center of this religion in the province. These monuments of worship are the potential for promoting spiritual tourism associated with this worship religion.
Khanh Hoa people have been attached to Holy Mother worship religion for a long time. There are more than 20 monuments worshipping Thien Y A Na Holy Mother in Khanh Hoa. Ponagar Temple is regarded as the center of this religion in the province. These monuments of worship are the potential for promoting spiritual tourism associated with this worship religion.
At the seminar on practicing worship of Thien Y A Na Holy Mother in Khanh Hoa organized recently by Khanh Hoa Provincial Department of Culture and Sports, the delegates paid much attention to making the Holy Mother monuments of worship a tourism product. According to PhD Hoang Cam, deputy director of Institute of Cultural Research (under Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences), the practice of worship religion at Ponagar Temple is very diverse and rich. The formation of different religious beliefs among Kinh people and between Kinh and Cham people was built based on the process of negotiation and generosity among groups of people. Associate Professor, PhD Nguyen Thi Hien (Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts Studies) affirmed that the practice of Holy Mother worship religion is seen as an intangible cultural heritage with indispensable values and functions for communities and religious followers.
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The values of Holy Mother worship religion in Khanh Hoa has been confirmed and existed vividly in the spiritual life of the people. Among more than 200 monuments worshiping Thien Y A Na Holy Mother in Khanh Hoa, there are 19 monuments that often attract a large number of local people and tourists, including Am Chua Monument, Suoi Do Pagoda, and Ponagar Temple.
Connecting the cultural and religious values of Holy Mother worship religion and tourism activities is a necessary step to promote the values of monuments and contribute to the development of local tourism. It requires the directions of local authorities and investment in facilities and tourism services to preserve and well exploit those cultural and religious values to promote tourism.
In order to popularize the Holy Mother worship monuments, the provincial Department of Culture and Sports should introduce these monuments and religious festivals to tour operators and travel agencies and closely cooperate with them to include the religious activities relating to the monuments in their tourism programs, as said by Associate Professor, PhD Mai Thi Kieu Phuong (Khanh Hoa Preservation Association of Cultural Heritage and Spiritual Tourism).
At the seminar, the delegates agreed that the Holy Mother worship religion in Khanh Hoa combines different types of cultures of Vietnamese and Cham people. Consequently, Khanh Hoa
is a suitable place to develop spiritual tourism, which can even be built into a signature tourism product of the province.
It can be seen that the preservation and promotion of the values of Holy Mother worship religion are a necessary requirement. Integrating the values of religion with tourism is also a way to promote the practical effectiveness of cultural resources in the development of the local socio-economic.
Giang Đinh
Translated by H.N
