Tay and Nung people celebrate Thanh Minh festival

4/11/2019 - 10:33:38 AM

The Thanh Minh (grave-visiting) festival, which falls on the third day of the third lunar month, is one of the most important festivals of the Tay and Nung ethnic groups as it is a celebration to remember the credits of parents, ancestors and the dead.

Families preparing trays of offerings for ancestors at Thanh Minh festival

In the Tay and Nung people’s belief, Thanh Minh festival is a time for family reunion, no matter where they are living or working far from hometown, they always return home ahead of the festival to join their other family members on the occasion.

One day ahead of the festival, each family prepares a tray of offerings, the more number of households the family has, the more abundant their offerings will be.

In the northern province of Cao Bang, from early in the morning of the opening day, people flock to the hillsides and mountain sides, where the graveyard and cemeteries are located, carrying their offerings, such as boiled chicken, pork, fruits, votive papers, eggs, wine, and coloured sticky rice, including the two indispensable colours of black and red.

The colours of the sticky rice are made from leaves grown in the locales’ gardens. Not only producing natural and eye-catching colours, the leaves also bring a distinctive aroma to the dish.

As a celebration to pay tribute to the dead, the villagers also clean up and burn incense for unmarked graves during the festival.

After the visiting ritual, the family members gather together to enjoy the offerings and hold exchanges with other families.

The festival is also observed among Tay and Nung ethnic communities in Binh Phuoc, Binh Duong, and other South-eastern provinces, during which worshippers prepare ‘may nhuong’ (steamed bamboo shoots filled with minced pork) as an essential offering for their ancestors.

Source: NDO

Bringing art to remote areas - promoting ethnic culture

Hoa Binh city - Vibrant community activities at cultural houses

Building a cultural conservation area for Muong ethnic group in Luy Ai hamlet

Phong Phu commune, Tan Lac district of Hoa Binh province, is widely regarded as the cultural heartland of the Muong ethnic group. Among its many traditional communities, Luy Ai hamlet (formerly Ai hamlet) stands out as a rare location where the customs and way of life of the Muong Bi people remain largely intact.

Truong Kha temple festival celebrates Muong cultural heritage

The Truong Kha temple festival, a distinctive cultural event held every three years in Vu Ban township, Lac Son district, returned recently with vibrant rituals and folk traditions of the Muong people. Located next to the Buoi River in the Muong Trao fields, the Truong Kha Temple is dedicated to the three Kun Dol deities, revered for teaching farming techniques, irrigation, weaving, and protecting the harvest.

Hoa Binh city residents enjoy upgraded cultural houses

The demand for spaces serving community activities of residents in various areas across Hoa Binh city has been satisfied as local cultural houses now feature modern, spacious facilities thanks to the effective implementation of Resolution No. 49/NQ-HDND issued on December 28, 2021 by the city People's Council, which approved the plan for reorganising, converting, and allocating land for the construction, repair, and expansion of cultural houses in Hoa Binh’s villages and residential areas until 2025.

Enhancing cultural and spiritual life in remote and ethnic minority areas

At the end of May, the Hoa Binh Provincial Ethnic Arts Troupe organized a series of performances for residents in Region 2 and Region 3 communes across the province. Bringing art to ethnic communities in remote, isolated, and especially disadvantaged areas has become a meaningful activity. These are not merely artistic performances but also journeys to disseminate cultural values, enrich spiritual life, and contribute to preserving the cultural identity of ethnic minorities.