Society

Part 2: The New Year begins with thunder

Nam Phong • September 1, 2025 11:34

After a half-century hiatus, in recent years, the New Year Thunder Ceremony has been regularly held by the O Du people in the village. The recognition of this ritual as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage has revived the unique cultural features of this small ethnic group that were once thought to be forgotten.

Content:Tien Hung - My Ha;Technique: Nam Phong • September 1, 2025

After a half-century hiatus, in recent years, the New Year Thunder Ceremony has been regularly held by the O Du people in the village. The recognition of this ritual as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage has revived the unique cultural features of this small ethnic group that were once thought to be forgotten.

In Vang Mon village, Mr. Lo Van Tinh (78 years old) is not only the "O Du history treasurer", a prestigious person of the village, but he is also a shaman - the person who organizes the rituals in the village. Mr. Tinh said that no one in the O Du people remembers exactly when the ritual of welcoming the first thunder started. They only remember that this is their most important and biggest ritual of the year.

After 50 years of not holding it, Mr. Tinh is one of the rare O Du people who still clearly remembers the details of this ritual. "Our thunder welcoming ceremony is similar to the Lunar New Year in the lowlands. It is the biggest holiday of the year," Mr. Tinh said, adding that the thunder welcoming ceremony in the O Du language means "Cham phtrong" associated with the worship of the god of thunder. The O Du people believe that when the first thunder appears, that is when a new year begins, and then they will hold the first thunder welcoming ceremony to welcome the new year, showing respect and gratitude to the gods and ancestors, praying for a year of favorable weather and all good things.

The O Du people in the past could be said to be a tribe whose lives depended on thunder. All important events, big and small, in the family, in the clan and even the common work of the community all started with thunder. Thunder means the new year has come. Thunder means a new planting season has begun. The O Du people count the time of the year starting from the day of the first thunder.

“Comparing to the current calendar, usually around November, the thunder will stop, which signals the end of the year. After a few months without thunder, around February, sometimes as late as March, there will be the first thunder. When the first thunder is heard, the shaman will inform the community, then start choosing a good day to hold the ceremony. Usually, it is the day after the first thunder appears,” Mr. Tinh said.

Before moving to Vang Mon for resettlement, the first rituals of the New Year thunder welcoming custom were held at Mr. Tinh's grandfather's house in Xop Pot village (old Kim Da commune), lasting for many days. In recent years, when this ceremony was restored, the time was limited to only 2 days, with many ceremonial activities, at the shaman's house, at families and at the Vang Mon village community house.

The ceremony begins with the shaman of the O Du village beating the gong to inform the whole community. Everyone then brings their daily-use items to the stream to wash them, meaning to wash away the bad luck of the old year, clean the items to prepare the offering tray to offer to the ancestors and gods. After that, everyone goes home to prepare traditional dishes to display the offering tray, preparing for the worship ceremony.

According to the beliefs of the O Du ethnic group, the shaman has a very important position and has a great influence on the spiritual life of the village and is considered a messenger of the gods. Therefore, the Thunder Ceremony is always held at the shaman's family first, then the families in the village perform it. To prepare for the ceremony, the shaman wakes up early in the morning to prepare the necessary costumes and items. The shaman's costume is usually a set of coarse cloth clothes, a bronze gong and two rattan tables to prepare offerings for the ceremony. Some families in the village also prepare delicious dishes to bring to the shaman's house to contribute to the gods.

“The ritual at the shaman's house usually takes place in the afternoon with the custom of worshiping ancestors indoors, worshiping the thunder god outdoors, making offerings, and tying strings on the wrists of the family's descendants. In addition to the above rituals, the shaman also performs a number of other rituals such as the ceremony of conferring the title of profession. However, currently, because there are no people to learn the shaman profession, this ritual is no longer performed and is at risk of being lost,” said Mr. Lo Van Cuong (62 years old, Vang Mon village). He added that the ritual of welcoming the first thunder of the year is an occasion for the O Du people to remember their ancestors, thank the gods and pray for a peaceful year. This is the most important ritual of the year, so every family is excited.

According to Mr. Cuong, to prepare for the thunder ceremony at home, the children in the family have also prepared the items and offerings for a long time. The offerings are mainly products produced by the family themselves, or caught and collected from nature associated with their lives. The ceremony at home is usually organized by the head of the family, if the family has the conditions, they can invite a shaman to help with the ceremony. The end is the ritual of tying a thread around the wrists of everyone in the family with the wish that the gods and ancestors bless the children in the family to have a healthy new year, free from illness, and have the health to work in the fields, fish, hunt, etc.

In addition to the above main ceremonies, depending on the conditions and needs of the family, there will be some other rituals such as: Ceremony to send the soul of the deceased to the ancestors: In case the family has a person who died before the thunder, the ceremony to send the soul to the other world will be held after the thunder; Ceremony to enter the family name and officially name the newborn child. Families with a newborn baby in the year will wait until this occasion to hold the ceremony to enter the family name and name the child.

The community's first thunder welcoming ceremony of the year is the most important and large-scale ceremony, demonstrating community cohesion and communal living. In the past, the O Du people often chose a large enough open space in the village or on the stream bank to hold the ceremony. Currently, in Vang Mon village, Nga My commune, the government has invested in building a community house, so the annual festival is held here. When a good day is chosen, the village organizes a thunder welcoming ceremony for the whole community. According to the O Du people's concept, only by worshiping outdoors can one communicate with the gods in the best way, and the gods can also hear their requests more clearly and bless them with a peaceful new year without illness.

In the past, the O Du people did not organize a procession but only performed the ritual of worshiping the gods at the festival ground. Nowadays, to meet the needs of the community, the people organize an additional procession. The procession procession is also quite simple, the main components are the O Du ethnic community from other places and ethnic minorities from neighboring areas. As the procession moves, they shout out the long "O" sound in unison with the meaning of inviting the gods and ancestors to attend the New Year's ceremony. At the end of the ceremony, the villagers and visitors eat and drink together and participate in folk games and cultural arts. During the Cham Phtrong New Year of the O Du people, it is bustling with the joyful sounds of typical musical instruments such as the tung tinh (a bamboo zither), and so on throughout the ceremony, the O Du people and visitors immerse themselves in the music and fun. They gather in groups, walk around the offering tray and use bamboo tubes to hit the ground to create sounds like thunder. In addition, the O Du people also use pointed sticks to knock on the ground symbolizing the activity of making holes to sow seeds with the wish for a new year of bountiful crops...

Mr. Lo Kham Kha - Chairman of Nga My Commune People's Committee said that the thunder welcoming ceremony of the O Du people is a typical cultural heritage that needs to be preserved and conserved along with the fate of an ethnic minority. "Therefore, including this ritual in the list of National Intangible Cultural Heritage is very worthy and necessary so that the ritual can be cared for, restored, preserved, and promoted in value, along with preserving the customs and practices of the smallest ethnic group in Vietnam", Mr. Kha said.

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