The Xang Khan Festival has become a National Cultural Heritage.

(Baonghean.vn) - The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has just issued a Decision on the announcementNational List of Intangible Cultural Heritage, including the Xang Khan Festival of the Thai people in Nghe An province.

The Xang Khan Festival (also known as Kin Chieng Booc May, depending on the characteristics of each region) of the Thai people in Nghe An province (including the districts of Que Phong, Quy Chau, Quy Hop, Tuong Duong, Ky Son, Con Cuong, and Nghia Dan) is one of the 7 intangible cultural heritages announced on this occasion.

The shaman performs a ritual praying for a prosperous and united new year for the villagers. Photo: Minh Thai

The Xang Khan Festival is a joyous occasion for the Muong people in general and the families of the shamans in particular. The festival is a time for people from all over the village to express their gratitude to the shamans who cured their families of illnesses. It is also a day for young men and women to meet, and some have even found their spouses through this festival.

After the ritual, the shamans and villagers dance around the flower tree (which contains Booc May). The festival becomes more lively as night falls with interesting performances by the shamans as well as all the attendees of the Xang Khan festival.

Locals happily perform the bamboo pole dance during the Xang Khan Festival. Photo: Minh Thai

According to the elders in the Thai ethnic minority villages of western Nghe An province, the Xang Khan festival dates back to ancient times. In those days, when "the earth was like a banyan leaf, the sky like a snail's shell, and the mountains and forests like a chicken's footprint," Xang Khan was organized by shamans. Because each shaman learned from a different teacher, and each village and region had different economic conditions and living standards, the way the Xang Khan festival was organized varied from place to place.

The Xang Khan Festival is a unique folk religious festival of the Thai people, contributing to satisfying the cultural needs, especially the spiritual culture, of ethnic minorities in general and the Thai people in particular.

Minh Thai