Cultural features of the Khmu community: Lesson 3: Buffalo sacrifice to ancestors

(Baonghean) - In the previous article we talked about the house and the sacred kitchen of the Khmu people. There is a ritual in the sacred kitchen called “eating buffalo” that every man in his life must organize at least once.

There is an ominous sign, must slaughter the buffalo.

A rather attractive storyteller in the Khmu community in Cha Ca 1 village, Bao Thang commune (Ky Son) is Mr. Xeo Pho Manh. Like Mr. Cut Van Dao in Ca Da village that we mentioned in the first article of the topic, Mr. Manh is also a prestigious village elder, a famous shaman in Bao Thang (Ky Son).

On a quiet, hot afternoon, Mr. Manh's story made the atmosphere in the five-room wooden house less stuffy. Knowing that we wanted to hear about the Khmu people's customs, the old man seemed excited, his aged face suddenly relaxed. After pouring a cup of medicinal water made from a wild plant that is said to make you "eat rice" to invite his guests, Mr. Manh began the story about the "buffalo eating" ceremony. In the life of a grown man, he must once perform this ceremony for his ancestors. "This ceremony is like joining the army. Anyone who has not done it is considered as not having fulfilled their duty to their ancestors," Mr. Manh shared.

Then offering containers in Mr. Xeo Pho Manh's house.

For those who have not yet performed the “buffalo eating” ceremony, the ancestors can “remind” them by creating something strange that the breadwinner of the family encounters. For example, he may see a snake or a pangolin crawling in the field fire. The fire is burning fiercely but it still lives normally. The Khmu people here believe that it is the ancestors returning to bring bad omens, so they immediately go to a shaman to “see” for help. If the shaman says: “parents come back to eat buffalo”, then that family must organize a buffalo sacrifice ceremony as soon as possible.

Although he is 65 years old, Mr. Xeo Pho Manh only performed the buffalo sacrifice ceremony 3 years ago. He remembers that day in the afternoon when he returned from the field, as soon as he stepped onto the stairs, he saw a red streak like chicken blood stretching along the steps to the house, all the way to the door of the room with the family's sacred kitchen. Being a shaman, he counted on his fingers and mentally calculated that the "house ghost wanted to eat the buffalo". After the people who were knowledgeable about spiritual matters in the village also agreed that it was necessary to sacrifice the buffalo to the ancestors, Mr. Manh returned home to prepare for the "buffalo eating" ceremony. This is an expensive ritual, so not every family can do it. Therefore, it takes a long time to prepare. Every day, he must always remind his ancestors that he does not forget what he has to do just because the family is still poor.

Before breakfast to go to the fields and when eating dinner, the Khmu people have the custom of preparing food for their ancestors. “Whatever people eat, the ghosts eat”, food and rice are served on trays, placed on the altar and then prayed to. The promise of a buffalo sacrifice is also repeated to let the ancestors know that they still remember, sooner or later the descendants will slaughter a buffalo to repay the birth and upbringing of their deceased parents and grandparents. Because of poverty, many people have to “postpone” from year to year.

An expensive ritual

Even if it takes one or several years to prepare, the buffalo sacrifice ceremony must eventually take place. People believe that the "buffalo eating" ceremony is to thank grandparents and parents, the people who directly raised us. In addition to ancestors, the gods, the Thens in heaven, also take part in the buffalo eating ceremony. According to Mr. Xeo Pho Manh, the Thens are also the ones who give birth to, nurture and protect us from birth until death. That is when people have finished their duties in the human world and the Thens call them back to the heavenly world.

The “buffalo eating” ceremony must be held on the death anniversary of the deceased who was the breadwinner of the family, for example, the father or grandfather of the homeowner. For the Khmu people in Bao Thang, the death anniversary is also a day of abstinence. On that day, people take a break from work, go to the fields, go to the forest and other economic activities. If they go out of the house, they must not close the main door because it is believed that if the door is closed, the ghost of the house will not be able to come back to the house to eat the death anniversary. Of course, the day of the “buffalo eating” ceremony is also a sacred day.

Preparing for the “buffalo eating” ceremony is a feat. First, a buffalo for sacrifice has been raised and awaited by the homeowner. Those who do not have a buffalo must buy one. As for the Cut family in Ca Da village (Bao Thang - Ky Son), they sacrifice a cow instead of a buffalo. Small bamboo or rattan baskets have been woven and awaited. Usually, during the ceremony, there must be 3 small baskets hung on 3 beams to hold meat for the Thens. The outer beam right at the main entrance to the house is the place of Then Lo. This is the god who created life for humans. The meat basket hung on the next beam connecting the outer room and the second room is the part of Then Lieng, the god who gives people food and clothes. Whether a person is full or hungry, rich or poor, is all given by Then Lieng. The basket hung on the next beam is the part of Then Chu, the god who protects people from all difficulties and disasters throughout their lives.

Early in the morning of the buffalo sacrifice day, bamboo sticks, whittled down to the size of fishing rods, are prepared and planted at night on the paths leading to the village. A thread is hung on the end of each stick, and a bracelet woven from bamboo is tied to the other end. The purpose of this is to let the ghosts of the village know that there is a buffalo sacrifice coming back.

On the “buffalo eating” day, people, ghosts and Then do not use bowls and chopsticks as usual. Before that, bamboo tubes were carved to make wine cups and rice bowls. Rice, soup and buffalo meat were all served in bamboo and rattan bowls. The Khmu people call them “chốc”. Large baskets replaced rice pots.

At the appointed time, the shaman will read the ritual to "kill the buffalo" (phăn thrac - Khmu language). After the buffalo meat is cut into large pieces, it is carried to the family's sacred kitchen to cook. Normally, this kitchen is forbidden, outside guests are not allowed to come, but on this day everyone can come and go freely. The ceremony to invite the ancestors to eat the buffalo also takes place in this kitchen. The person performing the ritual here must be the homeowner. If you do not know how to perform the ritual, you must learn it from the shaman beforehand. Even if you cannot memorize it all, you must remember the basics.

After the ancestors have finished eating, it is the Thens’ turn to make offerings. Then Chu, the god who protects human life, is offered first. Then comes Then Lieng, the nurturer, and finally the offering to Then Lo, who has the merit of bringing humans to life in the human world. The buffalo offering ceremony takes place for 3 consecutive days. At breakfast and dinner, the family’s ancestors and the Thens are offered buffalo meat. There are 6 offerings in total during the ceremony.

Mr. Xeo Pho Manh shared that: To hold a buffalo eating ceremony is very expensive, especially in the current economic conditions, a buffalo for the ceremony costs about 20 million VND. However, because of the "responsibility" to the ancestors and the Then, Khmu men, from adulthood to old age, must organize it at least once. That is why some families have become poorer after the "buffalo eating" ceremony.

Huu Vi - Dao Tho