Spring has filled Mong ethnic minorityvillages in the northern province of Hoa Binh with peach and plumblossoms and the melodious sounds of the khen (panpipe), colouringthe Lunar New Year (Tet) festival.
Mong peoplecelebrate Tet during the entire twelfth lunar month each year, a monthearlier than the Kinh do. The festive atmosphere can be felt as theyexcitedly prepare for the festival.
In Pa Co Convillage, Pa Co commune, Mai Chau district, villagers are busy making “banh day” (round sticky rice cake), a traditional cake served as themain dish during Tet.
Like the “banh chung”(square glutinous rice cake) of the Kinh group, banh day istypically used to worship their gods and ancestors. In Mong beliefs, theround banh day symbolises the moon and the sun, believed to be theorigin of living beings on earth.
The process ofmaking banh day brings a flurry of activity to every Mong village.Women are in a hurry to steam the sticky rice, the main ingredient ofthe cake, which is then poured into a wooden gutter and grinded into apulp by the men.
The pulp is then rolled into smallballs and covered with banana leaves. The Mong put six pairs of banhday, representing the 12 months of a year, on the altar as an offeringto their ancestors, God and the Harvest God.
According to Hang A Pao, a native, the Mong have meat and cake duringthe first three days of Tet as it is believed that eating vegetableswould lead to an overgrowth of weed and thus a poor crop yield in thenew year.
Throughout Tet, a fire is continuously burning in the stoves of every household to keep warm and drive evil away, he said.
Before Tet, household items are covered in “new clothes”, or a kind ofpaper made from bamboo trees, believed to bring good luck to the wholefamily, said Pao.
Traditional games are anindispensable component of the festival. Dressed in colourfultraditional costumes, men and woman flock to large fields to play folkgames and listen to khen performances.
Playingthe khen is one way for a Mong boy to court his love interests. Dressedin traditional costumes, Mong boys show off through playing the khenand dancing. Engagements and weddings are common after Tet as a resultof relationships developed in these folk games and cultural practices.
The living conditions of Mong people have recentlyimproved thanks to increased production, and more and more new housescan be seen across the villages.
Laughter and cheer continue echoing in Pa Co Con village, together with exchanged wishes for a good new year.-VNA
Mong peoplecelebrate Tet during the entire twelfth lunar month each year, a monthearlier than the Kinh do. The festive atmosphere can be felt as theyexcitedly prepare for the festival.
In Pa Co Convillage, Pa Co commune, Mai Chau district, villagers are busy making “banh day” (round sticky rice cake), a traditional cake served as themain dish during Tet.
Like the “banh chung”(square glutinous rice cake) of the Kinh group, banh day istypically used to worship their gods and ancestors. In Mong beliefs, theround banh day symbolises the moon and the sun, believed to be theorigin of living beings on earth.
The process ofmaking banh day brings a flurry of activity to every Mong village.Women are in a hurry to steam the sticky rice, the main ingredient ofthe cake, which is then poured into a wooden gutter and grinded into apulp by the men.
The pulp is then rolled into smallballs and covered with banana leaves. The Mong put six pairs of banhday, representing the 12 months of a year, on the altar as an offeringto their ancestors, God and the Harvest God.
According to Hang A Pao, a native, the Mong have meat and cake duringthe first three days of Tet as it is believed that eating vegetableswould lead to an overgrowth of weed and thus a poor crop yield in thenew year.
Throughout Tet, a fire is continuously burning in the stoves of every household to keep warm and drive evil away, he said.
Before Tet, household items are covered in “new clothes”, or a kind ofpaper made from bamboo trees, believed to bring good luck to the wholefamily, said Pao.
Traditional games are anindispensable component of the festival. Dressed in colourfultraditional costumes, men and woman flock to large fields to play folkgames and listen to khen performances.
Playingthe khen is one way for a Mong boy to court his love interests. Dressedin traditional costumes, Mong boys show off through playing the khenand dancing. Engagements and weddings are common after Tet as a resultof relationships developed in these folk games and cultural practices.
The living conditions of Mong people have recentlyimproved thanks to increased production, and more and more new housescan be seen across the villages.
Laughter and cheer continue echoing in Pa Co Con village, together with exchanged wishes for a good new year.-VNA
