EXPLOITING THE SYMBOLS OF THE NÕ AND NƯỜNG IN THE TRÒ TRÁM FESTIVAL FOR DESIGN OF CULTURAL TOURISM SOUVENIRS AND COMMUNITY LIVELIHOOD DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

In the context of sustainable tourism development linked to the creative economy and community livelihood transformation, exploiting local cultural values to develop souvenir products with local identity is becoming an urgent requirement. However, at many cultural destinations in Vietnam, souvenir products are still poor in symbolic content, lack distinctiveness, and do not reflect the depth of the local cultural heritage. The Tro Tram Festival in Phu Tho is a unique folk cultural heritage, in which the symbolic pair of Nõ - Nường holds a central position in fertility beliefs, reflecting the concept of procreation, the harmony of yin and yang, and the aspiration to maintain life of traditional agricultural communities. Using document research, cultural symbol analysis, and a heritage-based design approach, this article clarifies the cultural value and symbolic meaning of Nõ - Nường in the space of the Tro Tram Festival. Based on this, the study proposes a direction for transforming traditional symbolic elements into contemporary visual language for the design of cultural tourism souvenirs. The proposed design principles focus on simplification and abstraction of form, while preserving the core cultural meaning of the original symbols, ensuring aesthetics, applicability, and suitability for the current tourism market. The research results show that exploiting the Nõ - Nường symbol not only contributes to diversifying the souvenir product system at the destination but also provides a basis for transforming intangible cultural heritage into a creative economic resource, thereby supporting the preservation of traditional values, enhancing local cultural recognition, and promoting sustainable livelihood development for the local community.