(Baonghean.vn) – Two boys have to disguise themselves as girls and go to houses in the village to ask for luck and fortune for their family to have a prosperous business. This is an interesting custom in the housewarming ceremony of the Khmu people in Keng Du commune, Ky Son district (Nghe An).
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| The house is an asset and a special space, so the housewarming ceremony becomes an important ritual in the Khmu community. In the community, a housewarming ceremony is a joy for the whole village. During a trip to Hat Ta Ven village, Keng Du commune, we had the opportunity to witness a housewarming ceremony of a villager. Photo: Ho Phuong. |
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| There are many rituals in the housewarming ceremony of the Khmu people in Keng Du commune. The ceremony is very methodical and elaborate, and the festival is also very exciting. Photo: Ho Phuong. |
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The kitchen is the most important place in the Khmu house. There are two stoves in this room, one for daily cooking, the other is called the "main kitchen". This is where important rituals take place during holidays, housewarmings, and ancestral worship ceremonies... Only family members are allowed to sit in this kitchen. This space is taboo for guests, sons-in-law, and even married daughters are not allowed to enter. The Khmu believe that sons-in-law are guests, and that married daughters have become different people from their family, so they are no longer allowed to sit in the "main kitchen". Photo: Huu Vi. |
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| The sound of gongs and drums is indispensable in the housewarming ceremony of the Khmu people. Photo: Huu Vi. |
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| Everyone danced and sang together in the homeowner's new house. Photo: Huu Vi. |
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| The most unique and fascinating ritual in a housewarming party is the act of men and women dressed as women, along with adults and children, beating gongs to each house in the village to "ask for luck". Whatever the homeowner gives, they receive. It could be a bunch of vegetables, corn, a hot chili, a little salt... Photo: Ho Phuong. |
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| Two young men in the village wear traditional Khmu women's costumes. They "wear" skirts, shirts and head scarves. One carries a gong and beats it as he walks, and when he arrives at someone's house, he shouts: "Please give a gift!". Photo: Ho Phuong. |
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| In the group, there is a child carrying a basket on his back, and gifts will be put into that basket. Every time people receive a gift, they cheer happily. Photo: Huu Vi. |
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| The gongs resounded in rhythm with the steps of the procession from house to house. Whenever a family member was slow in giving gifts, the children pretended to shout and “demand”. This was just a symbolic activity to add to the fun, but it did not matter what gifts people would receive. Photo: Huu Vi. |
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| After going around every house in the village, the group of "beggars" returned with what they had asked for to give to the homeowner. This was the final ritual of the housewarming ceremony. Afterwards, the villagers returned to the rice wine festival. Photo: Ho Phuong. |
Phuong - Vi
