(Baonghean.vn) - According to the customs of the Thai ethnic group (Hang Tong) in western Nghe An province, a deceased person has four main spirits: one returns to their ancestors, one ascends to heaven, one remains in the cemetery, and one is still missing, a spirit imprisoned in a prison with nine dungeons in the celestial realm. Therefore, within 1-3 years from the date of death, the family must perform the "Pang Rua" ceremony to redeem the spirit imprisoned in the celestial prison and bring it back to be worshipped at home.
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| Before the Páng Rối ceremony, the family must clean the graves thoroughly. |
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| After returning from the cemetery, the family prepares a meal to invite the deceased to eat with them and announces that the ceremony will be held the next day. |
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| The shaman's offering tray includes: 4 bowls of rice, 2 eggs, 4 cups of rice wine, 9 silver ingots, and 1 beeswax candle. |
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| The ransom offerings included: 1 pig, 4 chickens, 2 pieces of cloth, 2 silver ingots, 2 silver bracelets, 2 jars of rice wine, 1 knife, 1 pack of sticky rice wrapped in a black cloth, 9 pieces of betel nut, 1 length of white cloth, and 1 set of clothes. |
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| According to the shaman, redeeming a ghost requires four steps: First, the shaman summons spirits from heaven to assist and witness the ceremony; second, the shaman's spirit and the son's spirit bring a chicken to meet Mr. Tun Tam (the gatekeeper of heaven) to ask permission to pass through the gate; after being granted permission to pass through, the shaman's spirit and the son's spirit bring offerings to redeem the ghost; and fourth, the shaman's spirit and the son's spirit search among the nine prison cells to find which cell is holding the ghost and bring it back. Completing these four steps takes at least four hours. |
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| The shaman performs a ritual inviting the ancestors to drink rice wine. |
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| To verify whether the ghost and spirit have returned home, the shaman will drop rice onto two eggs. If two grains of rice stick to the first egg and one to the second, then the ghost and spirit have returned home. To double-check, the shaman will drop rice onto the eggs a second time. If the result is the same, the shaman will take a sword and the son's shirt (the shirt used to wrap around the sword hilt) and stick the tip of the sword into the bowl of rice. If the sword stands upright, it means the spirit has returned home. |
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| Before performing the (short) ritual for the whole family, one family member or a shaman is asked to perform the "Chằm phí hươn" ritual (informing the family elder so that the ritual can be performed for the whole family). |
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| When the work was finished, everyone gathered around the dinner table. |
Dinh Tuan
