Gau tao, which means outdoor play in H’Mong language, is the traditional New Year festival of the H’Mong. Annually, a H’Mong village will meet and select a family to host the festival, which is usually held after the second day of the first lunar month and lasts between one and three days.
Nhay lua (fire jumping), a harvesting festival, is an original cultural activity of the Pa Then. Held right after Tet (lunar new year festival), the festivity, which reflects the Pa Then’s strength and wish to conquer nature, aims to win support from the god of fire for favourable weather, bumper crops and happiness. The god of fire is also believed by the Pa Then to expel evil spirits and save people from misery, bringing them peace and prosperity. The festival starts with lighting a fire for a deity worshiping rite conducted by a sorcerer who, surrounded by young men, sits on a bench, beating two iron objects to create repeated sounds. The young men then sit on the bench in turn, starting to get into a trance. Bending down and shaking their bodies, they start jumping and within moments, turning strong and jumping into the fire without feeling hot. Some even lay down in the fire before jumping out. Pa Then people believe the duration a man can jump in a fire depends on his strength bestowed by deities, which keeps him from being burned.
H’Tend, the festival of the H’re, who lives mostly in central Vietnam, takes place in the second or third lunar month. Before H’Tend, people prepare food, clean their homes and villages, set up cay neu (new year tree) and prepare musical instruments and clothing. On the first day of H’Tend, H’re people conduct a rite to clean their homes, expel evil spirits and receive fortune and happiness. This rite is followed by an offering ceremony to deities and ancestors who are believed to join family members celebrating the new year and protect them. After these two rites, villagers make sticky rice cakes and kill pigs and chickens as offerings for a buffalo worshiping ceremony held the next day. This ceremony is held at dawn right at the buffalo stall to pray for good health for the cattle. After that, people have a party together, drinking ruou can, chatting, playing gongs, dancing and playing traditional games. On the last day of H’Tend festival, people clean homes to welcome guests. During H’Tend, people wish one another good health, success and prosperity.
Khai ha (going down the field) is a big festival of Muong Bi group in Hoa Binh northern mountainous province. Held annually right after Tet to review the old year and mark a new year, the festivity is a chance for Muong Bi people to show their respect for gods and pray for a year of peace and prosperity. According to Muong Bi custom, only after khai ha can people go down the field to prepare a new crop and go to the forest for hunting and picking up forest products. People attending this festival all bring along a rice ball. The festival consists of two main parts: the offering ceremony conducted at the village temple and festive activities. An original trait of khai ha is the formality to repair Lo canal, the one irrigating the whole region. Each family sends a member to dredge and clean up the canal. After that, people have a meal together, eating food offerings shared to them and drinking ruou can. Festive activities open with the gong performance by Muong girls, followed by folk games such as crossbow shooting, tug of war, top playing, sac bua (gong playing) competition and responsive singing.
In the second lunar month, Thai people hold Xen Ban, Xen Muong, one of the group’s biggest festivals in memory of founders of Muong, the land of the Thai. Starting the ceremony is a procession of the offering tray from the village head’s home to the communal house. Leading the procession are the village head and other dignities, followed by young people carrying four gongs and a drum together with pan-pipes and flutes. Then come old villagers in colourful costumes, bringing bows and arrows and taking two buffaloes as the sacrifice. Finally are the village’s guards also in colourful costumes and red hats, carrying matchlocks, swords and spears on their shoulders. The procession is followed by the sacrifice ceremony conducted by a sorcerer. After that young people join dancing and singing contests, archery competition and play nem con. After the festival, Thai people refrain from receiving strangers, farming and going to forest for several days. Every house is closed with green tree branches hung outside.
Annually on the day of the dragon of the first lunar month, the Giay in Sa Pa, Lao Cai northern province, opens Roong Pooc(going down the field), the festival dedicated to the Jade Emperor, fairies and deities, praying for their blessing for prosperity, peace and fine weather throughout the year. Giay people believe if they fail to celebrate Roong Pooc in a year, they will encounter numerous difficulties in that year, suffering misfortunes such as illness and natural disasters.
