The unique Khau Bua Sa festival of the Thai people in Western Nghe An
(Baonghean) - To show gratitude to their parents, from the 15th of July to the 8th lunar month every year, Thai families in Nghe An will hold a worship ceremony, called Khau Bua Sa, roughly translated as Fruit Festival.
According to the customs of the Thai people in the Southwest of Nghe An, the 7th lunar month of each year is considered a taboo month, because this is the time when ancestors must go to heaven to work for "Po Then", and can only return to the lower world in the 8th lunar month.
Diverse offerings
In the past, when people's lives were still difficult, the ancestral worshiping mascots had symbolic value, such as the cricket symbolizing the buffalo on the offering tray. Since ancient times, the Thai people believed that the cricket was a mascot that brought prosperity to the people. Until now, the cricket as an offering still exists in some Thai families in Ky Son district.
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| On the ancestral altar, there must be banh chung and grilled fish. Photo: Lu Phu |
Now, when the lives of people in some villages have improved, the offerings of Khau Bua Sa are much more diverse. Normal houses also display a full range of self-produced agricultural products, while well-off families buy more modern items. With the concept that the more offerings to the ancestors the better, the offerings tray often includes fruits, fish, meat, wine, etc.
Mr. Kha Van Hung in Xop Tu village, My Ly commune, Ky Son district - the head of the household who is preparing a month-abstinence ceremony said: "Other holidays and Tet can be organized quickly or roughly depending on conditions, but the Khau Bua Sa ceremony must be organized carefully and completely, because the ceremony is for our grandparents and ancestors. If it is careless, then that child is unfilial.
On these days, every family has to do it. If there are 3 siblings in a family, but they have all moved out and lived on their own, then all 3 siblings still have to organize it in turn, one day per family.
Offerings for wandering souls
Each clan celebrates the Khau Bua Sa festival at a different time. Even in each region, the Thai people have a different way of calling this day.
For example, the Thai people in the communes of Thach Giam, Tam Thai, Xa Luong, and Luu Kien (Tuong Duong district) call this ceremony Long Kieng; the Thai people in Con Cuong district call it Long Cam; and the Thai people in the highland communes of Ky Son often organize it earlier, each clan starting from the 15th day of the 7th lunar month onwards, because according to the concept of the Thai people here, the month is calculated according to the moon, so they call this custom Khau Bua Sa.
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| The Khau Bua Sa Festival is an occasion for relatives and friends to sit together and strengthen their bonds. Photo: Lu Phu |
In the Khau Bua Sa offering tray, there are usually 3 trays, because according to the Thai people's concept, in addition to worshiping the ancestors of the paternal and maternal families of the homeowner, there is an additional outdoor offering tray for the deceased who have no children to return to, no place to eat. This is a traditional custom that the Thai people have passed down to this day" - Ms. Vi Thi Quyen - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Ky Son district shared more.
The Khau Bua Sa Festival is an occasion for families and siblings to reunite, for children living far away to remember and show their gratitude to their grandparents and parents, and is also an opportunity for friends and close neighbors to get closer and unite, because according to the Thai people's concept, the more people participate, the more blessings and luck they will bring.
