Strange custom of holding 'full month' ceremony for buffaloes and cows in Nghe An

(Baonghean.vn)- People in some rural areas of Nam Dan district (Nghe An) still preserve the custom of celebrating "full month" for buffaloes and cows. After buffaloes and cows give birth, people hold a party to invite neighbors to join in the fun, congratulating the family's buffalo or cow for giving birth to a "baby". This custom has existed for a long time and people see it as an opportunity to strengthen the relationship between neighbors and the community.

Mr. Pham Tho Thanh, hamlet 11, Nam Xuan commune (Nam Dan) with his newborn calf a few days ago.

Full month ceremony for buffaloes and cows

It is called "full month" but in fact people hold the festival right after the buffalo or cow gives birth to a calf. When the buffalo or cow gives birth, people wait to collect the placenta and process it into a typical dish on this important day.

As the "capital of the business", buffaloes and cows are always taken care of very carefully by farmers, especially during pregnancy. The gestation period of buffaloes is more than 10 months and that of cows is more than 9 months. After the buffaloes and cows give birth, they will give birth and the owner will perform some traditional rituals according to the beliefs of the people in the area.

Usually, the man in the house will light an incense stick on the ancestral altar to pray for the mother cow to have a lot of milk and for the calf to be healthy. Then, he will use a new towel to dry the calf so that it can quickly stand up to suckle, and at the same time, peel off the horny layer under its hooves to make it stronger later.

Mother cow and newborn calf

The thing that cannot be ignored is that the homeowner needs to get the "flower" from the newborn buffalo or cow. Local people believe that if the first time a buffalo or cow gives birth to a male, the mother buffalo or cow will eat the flower, then the next time it will give birth to a male and vice versa. People do this so that the buffalo or cow does not "give birth to only one offspring".

Special dish in the "full month" ceremony.

Normally, the weight of each buffalo flower is about 2 - 3 kg. They are usually prepared by boiling. The ingredients to prepare this dish include fresh lemongrass, pepper, salt, fresh chili, roasted peanuts and some necessary spices. In addition to the stir-fried buffalo flower with lemongrass, the host will buy some more foods, mainly drinking dishes, to enrich the menu at the party. But a pot of pig head porridge is a must.

Mr. Pham Tho Thanh's family, hamlet 11, Nam Xuan commune (Nam Dan) invited neighbors to attend the calf's "full month" celebration.

Buffalo and cow flowers are often processed into many different dishes, but mainly stir-fried with lemongrass.

Mr. Nguyen Huu Son's family in Hamlet 4, Nam Anh Commune, Nam Dan District (Nghe An) just held a full month ceremony for their calf a few days ago and said: "Here, there are families who hold a full month ceremony for a buffalo as big as their children's engagement ceremony. My family also had a party with 10 liters of rice wine and 8 kegs of beer to celebrate the full month ceremony to celebrate the birth of a female calf. I find these occasions very joyful, they only happen once in a while, so anyone who has the means tries to do it. There is no other reason than to create closeness, solidarity, and neighborhood solidarity and to congratulate the homeowner on prosperity and wealth."

Pham Dong