Lost in the Xang Khan festival in the Western Nghe An region on the occasion of April 30 holiday

Hundreds of people went to see the Xang Khan festival at Mr. Lu Thai Phuc's house, Dinh Yen village, Yen Hoa commune, Tuong Duong district (Nghe An) on the morning of April 30. Photo: Huu Vi

Xang Khan is a festival organized by shamans to pray for peace in the village. Shamans who have practiced for many years often have their “adopted children”. Sometimes they are also shamans themselves. In this festival, there is a shaman who is the master of ceremonies and also the host, the person who organizes the festival. In addition to the adopted children and shamans in the area, there are also people in the area and neighboring villages.

Knowing that there was a festival, we immediately set off to Dinh Yen village, Yen Hoa commune (Tuong Duong). This village is located on National Highway 48C, about 200 km west of Vinh city. This land was formerly called Muong Xieng Men, the area of ​​the Thai people. The master of ceremonies is shaman Lu Thai Phuc, 71 years old and has been a shaman for 28 years.

Shaman Lu Thai Phuc is the organizer of the festival. Photo: Huu Vi

We arrived just as the day was beginning. The sound of gongs and drums echoed from the house along the highway, making for a lively atmosphere. The shaman seemed quite professional as he had previously sent out invitations to villages where he had relatives.

In front of the shaman Phuc's house, tables and chairs were set out, with sumptuous meals placed to welcome guests. A heart-shaped money box was placed solemnly in a convenient location. The host went out to the sidewalk to warmly invite guests. The festival was likely attended by several hundred guests.

The Xang Khan tree is the center of the festival. This 9-story bamboo tree simulates the spiritual and physical life of the Thai people. Photo: Huu Vi

The main space is the outside of Mr. Phuc's family's house. Stepping through the entrance, you will immediately see the Xang Khan tree, which is also the center of the festival. The tree consists of a tall bamboo trunk, surrounded by sticks, with flowers, leaves, birds, fish, and shrimps carved from cassava cores and foam boards at the ends. They are dyed green, red, purple, and yellow, the favorite colors of the Thai community in Nghe An. We can also see these colors in the skirts and embroidered scarves of Thai women.

The Xang Khan tree has 9 floors, symbolizing the spiritual villages of the Thai people. The bottom floor is the land village, the top floor is the Heaven village. The bottom floor also displays jars of rice wine next to the tree. In addition, there are also models simulating male genitalia.

The airplane, a modern vehicle, also appears in the Khan Gas station. Photo: Lo May Hang

Within reach was a bamboo trellis with decorative umbrellas and umbrellas for festival-goers to participate in the Xang Khan performances. When we arrived, a number of performances simulating the daily activities of a community were taking place, including activities such as knife forging, hunting, and even a phallic dance depicting the scene of husband and wife living together to develop the species.

Knife forging scene, simulating traditional daily work in Thai villages. Photo: Lo May Hang

The shaman goes hunting at Xang Khan stage. Photo: Lo May Hang

Bamboo dance at the Xang Khan festival in Dinh Yen village. Photo: Huu Vi

Mr. Lu Thai Phuc said: Xang Khan has 24 performances. It starts with singing describing a spiritual level according to the concept of the Thai people called Muong Mon and ends with the performance of carrying wine to the Heavenly Muong. Of the 24 performances, only 9 performances can be seen, meaning they are performed next to the Xang Khan tree. The rest are all "happenings" in the spiritual Muong. We can only imagine through the shaman's songs.

According to Mr. Lu Thai Phuc, in the past, the festival took place over two days. Nowadays, the shamans shorten it to one night and one morning.

Before that, from 1am, the ceremony of erecting the Xang Khan tree took place, then many performances took place throughout the night. And it lasted until noon to end. Mr. Phuc also shared that it takes 8 years for him to organize the ceremony once, while Xang Khan festivals are usually spaced 3 years apart. Such a festival is usually organized by the homeowner himself. Other shamans and adopted children usually only support with rice wine, rice... For each Xang Khan ceremony, he has to slaughter 1 goat, 1 cow and 2 pigs. Not to mention the cost of hiring people to make the Xang Khan tree. The cost of the festival can be up to 20 million VND.

According to Thai people’s belief, organizing the Xang Khan ceremony is the shaman’s “duty” to the divine forces they worship. If they do not perform the Xang Khan ceremony, the shaman believes that they may be made to suffer and the ceremony will not go smoothly in the future. After each Xang Khan festival, the shaman is often more confident in performing the ceremony because he has been “enthroned”.

At the end of 2017, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism classified Xang Khan into the list of intangible cultural products. Currently, the Thai people in Nghe An have 2 spiritual cultural activities in this list. In addition to Xang Khan, there is also the Nine-Chain Temple ritual of Que Phong district.