The O Du people in Van Mon celebrate Tet (Lunar New Year).
(Baonghean.vn) - The New Year's offering tray of the O Du people must be full of products from the mountains and forests such as rat meat, squirrel meat, bamboo-cooked rice, purple sticky rice wine, and khau hang (a type of traditional dish) to offer to the sacred spirits who have nourished the ancestors of the O Du people for generations.
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| These days, the Tet holiday atmosphere has permeated every corner of Van Mon village - Nga My commune - Tuong Duong district, where the O Du ethnic community lives. Photo: Thanh Cuong |
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| Local products such as rat meat, squirrel meat, sticky rice cooked in bamboo tubes, purple sticky rice wine, khau hang (a type of stew), and, of course, a young rooster for the New Year's offering are also prepared by the O Du people in Van Mon. Photo: Thanh Cuong |
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| Dried rat and squirrel meat is prepared by the O Du people for the New Year. Photo: Thanh Cuong |
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| Traditionally, the O Du people relied primarily on animals from the forest and fish from the streams for their livelihood. Forest rats and squirrels were two of the main food sources in their daily meals. Photo: Thanh Cuong |
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| Even rat and squirrel meat has become a dish offered by the O Du people to the sacred spirits that have sustained their ancestors for generations. Photo: Thanh Cuong |
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| Photo: Thanh Cuong |
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| The offerings are carefully and thoughtfully prepared by family members themselves, with the utmost sincerity. Photo: Thanh Cuong |
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| The offering tray is placed in a prominent position in the main house, where the ancestral altar of the O Du people is located. The head of the household is accompanied by a shaman who performs the ceremony. In the New Year's prayer, they ask their ancestors, heaven and earth, mountain spirits, and forest spirits for favorable weather, abundant harvests of rice and corn, many children, and to always remember the gratitude owed to their ancestors for giving them life. Photo: Thanh Cuong |
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| After the ceremony, family members and relatives take turns approaching the offering table to partake in the blessings, exchanging good wishes, and praying for good health and a bountiful harvest in the new year. Photo: Thanh Cuong |
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| The O Du people are very hospitable; they believe that if strangers visit during Tet (Lunar New Year), they will have good luck all year. Therefore, while offering sacrifices to their ancestors, the shaman also prays for guests to have a year filled with joy. Photo: Thanh Cuong |
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| Furthermore, the hosts are very hospitable to their guests. Guests are invited to eat, drink, and stay overnight. Before leaving, the O Du people also give guests gifts such as bamboo tubes of sticky rice and bottles of homemade glutinous rice wine. Photo: Thanh Cuong |
