Tet offerings of Thai people in Nghe An

(Baonghean.vn)- Ancestor worship is highly valued by the White Thai (Southwest Nghe An). In the Tet offering tray, whether the family is rich or poor, chicken and a pig's head are indispensable. Cakes are also important offerings. Among them, some types of cakes associated with beliefs have quite unique forms. Here we would like to introduce three types of cakes:

1. Stick cake

The ingredients include sticky rice and green dong leaves or banana leaves. The cake is long and cylindrical, hence its name. The stick cake is boiled together with the square cake on the 30th day of the Lunar New Year, then tied to a sugarcane stick to symbolize that the ancestors will have a stick to walk on during the New Year and visit friends. The cake is only taken down on the 7th day of the first lunar month, the first day of summer. However, for some clans, the offering tray is not taken down until the 23rd day of the first lunar month. This is determined by the beliefs of these clans.

Although the shape of the stick cake seems simple like a stick, it also requires the baker to be skillful and persistent in practicing to be able to wrap the cakes in an eye-catching shape. If you are "greedy" and put in too much rice, the cake will be difficult to boil, and if you tie the string unevenly, you can only produce rough sticks and it will be difficult to get the desired stick cake.

2. Croissants

This is also a very important offering cake for the White Thai people, it is also cooked together with the pot of banh chung on Tet holiday. On the afternoon of the 30th, the cake is placed on the ancestral altar, placed in the most solemn place. The croissant cake is only taken off the altar on the evening of the first day of summer.

Croissant is also a popular gift during the New Year. It is often associated with wishes for a prosperous and prosperous New Year, “money follows the water, rice follows the stream” as the Thai people sing in a folk song. In addition, this type of cake is also given as a gift to the sick. The recipient will understand the deep, sincere meaning of the giver. “Get well soon”. A meaningful word of encouragement for the sick.

The name of the croissant comes from its straight shape, pointed at one end like a young buffalo horn. The way to make it is quite simple. You just need to roll the dong leaf into a long funnel shape and then put a moderate amount of rice, some beans and meat into the funnel as filling. Finally, you fold the mouth of the funnel so that it is closed, square and use soft string to tie it. So you have a beautiful croissant.

3. Molasses cake

There is nothing special about this cake in appearance. It resembles the Kinh people's sticky rice cake. This cake is kneaded from sticky rice flour mixed with regular rice flour (to avoid the cake being too sticky), and molasses to create sweetness. Molasses cake is used as an offering on the first day of summer to ask for permission from ancestors to lower the sugarcane tree. The tray of molasses cake on the first day of summer is also the last offering tray during every Lunar New Year of the White Thai people in the southwest of Nghe An.

Ha Phuong