The Tang Phan village holds a rice wine festival.
As the afternoon sun faded behind the mountains, the village of Tang Phan, Na Ngoi commune, Ky Son district, reflected its image in the Khe Nang stream, shimmering like a watercolor painting. Night fell. Electric lights illuminated the vast mountain forest, illuminating the entire area. Tonight, families in Tang Phan village celebrated with a rice wine festival, commemorating the new rice harvest. From the afternoon, every family prepared offerings to the spirits and gathered their finest rice wine to share with the officers and staff of the 4th Economic-Defense Brigade, celebrating a year of favorable weather and a bountiful harvest.
(Baonghean)As the afternoon sun faded behind the mountains, the village of Tang Phan, Na Ngoi commune, Ky Son district, reflected its image in the Khe Nang stream, shimmering like a watercolor painting. Night fell. Electric lights illuminated the vast mountain forest, illuminating the entire area. Tonight, families in Tang Phan village celebrated with a rice wine festival, commemorating the new rice harvest. From the afternoon, every family prepared offerings to the spirits and gathered their finest rice wine to share with the officers and staff of the 4th Economic-Defense Brigade, celebrating a year of favorable weather and a bountiful harvest.
Greeting us at the entrance to the village, the village headman, Mr. Kha Hai Bien, insisted on inviting everyone into his house. At that moment, the family was performing the ritual of offering the new harvest rice. Dressed in black, with a white face towel draped over his shoulders, and surrounded by fragrant sticky rice, a boiled rooster, and a plate of grilled fish placed in the corner of the living room beneath the ancestral altar, above the head of the bed, Mr. Kha Van Cuong, Mr. Kha Hai Bien's father, knelt and prayed in all directions. The prayer thanked the mountain and river gods, and heaven and earth for granting the family and the village a bountiful harvest, and prayed for a bountiful crop, protection from animals, and for the children to remain healthy...
At this point, a bonfire was lit in the middle of the house, and the jar of rice wine was opened, a straw inserted, and water poured into it. Mr. Kha Hai Bien took on the role of Cham to conduct the first round of the rice wine ceremony. Amidst the applause of the crowd, Cham used a buffalo horn with holes drilled in it to scoop water from a bucket, letting it slowly flow into the jar of wine until the required amount was used up. After the opening ceremony, everyone in the family and the officers and staff of the 4th Economic-Defense Brigade drank rice wine and danced to the music playing from the speakers next to the wall cabinet. A while later, knowing that there were distinguished guests, many villagers gathered at Mr. Kha Hai Bien's house to join the rice wine festival. In the flickering firelight and the aroma of the rice wine, everyone's faces were radiant and rosy. After the group dance around the bonfire, the Lam Vong dance took place, with young men and women dancing to the melodious music, exchanging affectionate glances.
Officers and soldiers of the 4th Economic-Defense Brigade and the people of Tang Phan village.
Enjoying the rice wine festival.
Having just had a few sips of rice wine and wanting to witness the nighttime beauty of Tang Phan village, at the invitation of village head Kha Hai Bien and Colonel Nguyen Xuan Dieu, I visited several families in the village. Every house had its granaries full of rice, packed into sacks and piled high. Some families were also celebrating the New Year with offerings of rice and enjoying the rice wine festival. Visiting the home of the village elder, Luong Van Viet, after the traditional rice wine ceremony, he told us about the rice wine drinking culture of the Thai ethnic group and shared: "To date, all 90 families in the village have sturdy stilt houses, nearly 100% of households own motorbikes, and almost every house has a television. All children of school age attend school, and especially last October, our village was recognized as a 'Cultural Village'."
On the way back to his unit, Colonel Nguyen Xuan Dieu said: “Performing tasks in the border region is still very difficult. The Party Committee and the unit's command have determined that, first and foremost, we must help the people overcome poverty and live in peace. To date, the ethnic people in the project area have learned to raise livestock and produce some crops and animals for the Tet market, and many villages have been able to grow two rice crops a year. Along with that, we have advised the local Party committee and government, and propagated and mobilized each household to develop and preserve the beautiful traditional features and cultural identity of their ethnic groups, building a new life in the residential area. Currently, 14 villages in the Ky Son Economic-Defense Zone have achieved the title of cultural village, and some customs and traditions of the ethnic groups have been effectively preserved and promoted.”
Despite many difficulties, the atmosphere of welcoming the new year has reached every family in the Ky Son Economic and National Defense Zone these days. A new, prosperous spring is coming to the ethnic people at the foot of Phuxailaileng with unique festivals that reflect the rich traditions of the Vietnamese people in a new way of life.
Phung Ngoc Thang (HT: 5NK - 129 Vinh)
