Yen Bai (VNA) - On the 12^th🐭 day of every lunar new year, the Thai people celebrate the Xen Dong Festival, known as the "forest worship" ritual, to honour their ancestors and seek blessings for the village's peace, prosperity and happiness.

Xen Dong, a distinctive social and spiritual tradition of the Thai people in the western part of the northern mountainous province of Yen Bai, recently gained recognition as a national intangible cultural heritage in the category of social customs and beliefs. The decision was signed by Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung. For the Thai people, preserving sacred and watershed forests has long been a tradition. It is considered a duty and responsibility of everyone, and over time, it has become a fundamental rule of their village. The Thai people here, from their ancestors to the present day, constantly remind one another: "Preserve the forests for everlasting growth, so the springs will forever flow". They believe that only those who remember these words can truly be considered a member of their community.

According to village elders, the Muong Lo region was once wild and covered with dense forests. The local lives were hard, with year-round toil but little to eat. They could only grow rice along the stream banks, but pests destroyed their crops, and droughts caused frequent crop failures. They couldn't survive in the forests, which were believed to be home to dangerous wild animals. Then, one day, a couple from Tibet began clearing the land and transforming the wilderness into fertile fields. Many locals joined them, making a living alongside the couple. After a few years, the community prospered, their bellies no longer empty, their homes secure against the rain. But when the couple passed away, the fields withered, and the harvest failed. The locals later believed that when those had originally cultivated the fields died, the fields would also die with them. Desperate, the villagers turned to the deities, offering their produce and goods to pray for divine intervention. Their faith was rewarded: the fields flourished once more, and prosperity returned to the village. Since then, on the anniversary of the couple’s death, the villagers hold a worship ceremony in the sacred forest to honour the couple and thank forest spirits for bringing prosperity and happiness to the community. The festival begins with a forest worship ritual held beneath a centuries-old banyan tree. The villagers traditionally slaughter a buffalo and prepare three ceremonial offerings to honour the deities. Three shamans, responsible for each of the offerings, invite a representative of the local community to drink a glass of solidarity wine.

The Xen Dong worship ceremony is like a dialogue between the three shamans and forest deities, allowing the gods to witness the people's sincerity and bestow a year of favourable weather, prosperity, and happiness. Once the forest worship ritual concludes, everyone returns to Vieng Cong village to perform a ceremony at the Vieng Cong Fortress. This site is linked to the legend of Cam Hanh, a local Thai hero who, along with the villagers, fought against the Yellow Flag invaders from the North to protect the village in the 19th century. Finally, the shamans and other participants perform a ceremony to honour the village founders at the home of the highest-ranking official in the commune. This ritual aims to report that all the village’s ceremonial procedures have been completed and to ask for blessings for a prosperous and auspicious new year for the villagers. As the ceremonial rites draw to a close, the festival begins in earnest. The air fills with the rhythmic beat of traditional music, the vibrant hues of Thai costumes, and the joyous laughter of folk games. Xoe dancing, Khap singing, bamboo pole dancing - these are the heart and soul of the Xen Dong Festival, a celebration of culture, community, and the timeless spirit of the Thai people./.