Discovering Muong Quang: Last article: Missing the past

(Baonghean) - Muong Quang - that name has long been no longer officially used. And, there are many festivals today that have disappeared from the spiritual life of the people here.

Even sacred places like temples and shrines quickly disappear when religious rituals are no longer maintained. This is perhaps also a matter of concern, when spiritual and cultural values ​​of the past are at risk of being lost.

"Dream of going to the festival"

Speaking of the old man Lang Van Ngo in Mong 3 village, Cam Muon commune, Que Phong district, he is a rare person who can still fully visualize the ancient Muong Quang picture. He said: In the past, in Muong Quang, there was a very special "Ho xo Pha Pu" festival because it only existed in this ancient Muong. Like the village worship festivals, this was simply a spiritual activity but it was closely associated with Mo Phan, the founder of Muong Quang. This festival is an opportunity for the people in the Muong to remember the merits of Mo Phan.

There is a half-true, half-fictional story that when Mo Phan got old, his ears became hard of hearing. Whenever the villagers wanted to report something to him, they had to go to Me Mon cave and speak loudly. People called it the "ho xo" sound. Until now, few people still understand the meaning of the "ho xo" sound, they only remember that this festival was held in Nam Choc village, where Pha Pu is located. According to folk legend, after Mo Phan died, the villagers buried him on one of the highest mountains in the region. People believe that from this mountain, he could see and still control the entire Muong Quang area.

The “Pha Pu Lottery Lake” festival is held annually by the villagers to commemorate Mo Phan and his contributions to the village. On the festival day, the villagers slaughter pigs to worship Mo Phan. According to Mr. Lang Van Ngo’s memory, this festival is usually held in the 7th lunar month. Like some other festivals in Western Nghe An, after 3 years of holding a small festival offering only pigs, the whole village has a big festival offering buffaloes.

The master of ceremonies in the Muong festivals is called “Dam” and a person who assists in the worship is called “Cha”. “Cha” is the person who carries out any task assigned by “Dam”. Basically, the “Ho xo Pha Pu” festival is different from other festivals only in its purpose and the prayer. During the worship, “Dam” will say the words “Ho xo”. Only by saying this will Mo Phan hear and come to the festival. However, it has a special meaning in the minds of the Muong Quang people, perhaps because it is closely related to the founder of the Muong, Mo Phan.

The place of worship of Nguoc, the person who passed on the weaving profession to the Muong Quang people, is now dilapidated.

Like many festivals mentioned in previous articles of the topic, the "Pha Pu Lottery" festival no longer appears in the spiritual life of the Muong Quang people for many reasons, including the previous policy of eliminating superstition. Another reason why the festivals are no longer maintained is because they are too costly. There are festivals that require the sacrifice of buffaloes, which greatly affects the economic development of the community. And there is another objective reason that the new trend of society also greatly affects traditional festivals in general and in Muong Quang in particular. Nowadays, young people have very different ways of interacting with each other compared to the traditional way. The development of transportation makes the space of the Muong village cramped for young people. They have known and been attracted by modern pleasures. The development of information technology and the internet makes geographical distance no longer a barrier. Many young people have learned to go online to find a partner and there have been many ethnic minority couples who have found love thanks to social networks. Perhaps that is why festivals like “Căng Kỉm” (sim hill) and the Tham Me Mon festival have been lost for decades. This leaves regret for those who used to be attached to these romantic and wild festivals. Mr. Lo Van Quy, resident of Tin Pu village - where the “Căng Kỉm” festival takes place, confided: “In the past, I used to wait until Tet to go to the Me Mon cave festival, and in the middle of the year there was the Cang Kỉm festival. Now that the festival no longer exists, I still sometimes dream of going to that festival.”

Missing the old festivals is also a common sentiment of people like Mr. Lang Van Ngo or Mr. Lang Van Tuan, a cultural officer of Quang Phong commune. He said that he had thought about proposing to restore some festivals but conditions did not allow it.

Fading traces...

Not only festivals but also famous landmarks that were considered sacred lands in community life have now faded away. During a recent visit to Cam village, an elder took me to Pom Lac Quai and told me that now no one recognizes this place that was considered the boundary between heaven and earth. The mound and temple of yesteryear are now just an empty space and there are almost no signs for people to recognize it.

In the minds of the Thai people in Muong Quang, Pha Pu Mountain in Nam Choc Village, Cam Muon Commune is the resting place of the founder of Muong Quang. Mr. Vi Van Hoi said that on the mountain there is a stone cave that the ancients chose as the burial place for the head of Muong Mo Phan. Right at the entrance of the cave there is a stone statue, unknown whether it was created by nature or carved by the ancients. People believe that the statue is a portrait of Mo Phan. Some people also believe that the stone statue is the incarnation of Mo Phan. After his death, his body turned to stone.

Children of Ban Cam embroider skirts.

“In the past, when you looked up at the cave entrance, you could see him tilting his head to look down at the village. But no one knew who destroyed it. It was so sad.” According to Mr. Hoi, about ten years ago, the stone statue disappeared from the cave entrance. The villagers thought that a local person had destroyed the statue and sold it to local stone enthusiasts. Mr. Hoi was not the only one who regretted the stone statue. In the past, when they learned that the stone statue had been destroyed, many people in the village were very indignant. Mr. Lang Van Ngo said that he felt sad because the villagers had not protected scenic spots such as the stone cave on Pha Pu mountain and even the Mother Mon Shrine in Chieng village, Quang Phong commune. Many beautiful stalactites in the cave were also destroyed by people with poor awareness.

However, when coming to Muong Quang today, people can still feel quite deeply the characteristics of an ancient space and lifestyle. According to our records in Cam village (Cam Muon commune), children who are only nine or ten years old are still diligently embroidering. The day we visited this Thai village was in the middle of summer, the children took the opportunity to embroider their traditional dresses. Muong Quang mountain girls are still aware that they must prepare beautiful dresses so that when they get married, they will have something to wear to their husband's house. If they can prepare a dress to wear to their husband's house, it will be a source of pride for Thai brides. These touches show that the old lifestyle has not completely disappeared in Muong Quang.

Huu Vi - Dao Tho