Kin Pá feast for the Thai New Year
(Baonghean)Each ethnic minority group in Vietnam has its own way of celebrating Tet (Lunar New Year) with different rituals and activities. For the Thai ethnic group in the mountainous district of Con Cuong, the most unique feature is the Kin Pa feast.
After a year of hard work, every time Tet (Lunar New Year) arrives, people are busy preparing by cleaning their houses, buying new clothes, preparing peach blossoms, the New Year's tree, the five-fruit tray, the betel nut and leaf plate, and food supplies for the Tet feast. On the 30th day of the lunar month, according to tradition, all members of the Thai family wash their hair, and the fire in the hearth must be kept burning. This custom signifies bidding farewell to the misfortunes of the old year and welcoming joy and happiness in the coming new year.
To prepare for the New Year's feast, before the 30th day of the 12th lunar month, the men of the family must go to rivers, streams, or ponds to catch fish. They choose the largest fish, slit it open from the back, clean out the intestines, skewer it onto a bamboo stick, and grill it over charcoal until cooked. This is called the "head fish" or "head of the feast." Smaller fish are left whole, wrapped in dong leaves or banana leaves, and steamed. Some fish are pounded together with onions, sticky rice, and wild banana stems to make moọc (a type of Vietnamese sausage). Usually, the men of the family are responsible for catching fish, preparing fish, preparing chicken, and butchering pork, while the women usually take on the tasks of steaming sticky rice, wrapping cakes, and making moọc. In the Thai people's feast, fish is an indispensable dish offered to ancestors and deities.
A traditional Tet (Lunar New Year) feast of the Thai people in western Nghe An province. Photo: PV
Besides fish, various types of sticky rice cakes, such as the "bánh chưng" (sticky rice cake with buffalo horn-shaped filling), and large sticky rice cakes made in pairs, symbolize the wish for everyone to find a partner, a happy family, and a harmonious marriage. These cakes are made from fresh sticky rice, with an average of several dozen cakes per family. If a family has many children and grandchildren, they may make hundreds to express gratitude to their ancestors and to heaven and earth for blessing them with favorable weather, a bountiful harvest, and a wish for a successful new year, prosperity, happiness, good health, and mutual love among family members.
The feast on the morning of the first day of Tet, called the "Kin pá feast," is arranged on a tray or on a basket that the family usually uses to store and dry rice. The feast includes various cakes, sticky rice, grilled chicken and fish, pork, pork offal, a bowl of honey, a bowl of cold water, and a bowl of dipping sauce. In addition, a set of men's clothing and a set of women's clothing, complete with earrings, bracelets, and necklaces, are prepared for the ancestral worship ceremony. After the feast is prepared, the whole family carries it to the altar. This custom expresses the gratitude of the descendants to their ancestors; as the year ends and Tet approaches, the descendants have prepared a plentiful and complete feast to offer to their grandparents and ancestors, hoping for prosperity and peace in the coming year. The father of the family or the shaman will recite prayers and express the wishes and aspirations of the descendants.
After the offerings are made, the descendants bow five times before the ancestral altar. Before eating the Kin Pá feast, the Thai people hang a net on a pole, attach packages of grilled fish and other seafood to it, and recite prayers of thanks to the river and stream gods for providing schools of fish so they can catch them for delicious meals, hoping for a bountiful harvest of shrimp and fish this year.
Next, the whole family gathers together to eat, celebrate the New Year, and wish for good fortune. Grandparents and parents peel the croissant-shaped cakes for their children and grandchildren, hoping they will have the strength of an ox. Adults toast each other with a glass of wine to start the new year, wishing for a year of joy and harmony. After the feast, everyone in the family gives each other New Year's greetings and sings folk songs to thank heaven and earth, to thank their ancestors for blessing their descendants, to celebrate a new year with a bountiful harvest, and to thank the Party and the State for their care and attention to the people's lives.
The Kin Pá feast on the first day of the Thai New Year not only showcases the unique culinary culture of the ethnic group, but also reflects profound beliefs and humanistic values—values that need to be preserved and developed, not only for cultural tourism purposes but also to be passed down to future generations.
Bao Ngoc - Thu Trang (Con Cuong Radio Station)
