Why are the O Du people afraid of the sound of gongs?

(Baonghean.vn) - The sound of gongs is not the expected sound of the O Du people living in Nga My commune, Tuong Duong district (Nghe An). When someone beats a gong, it is a disaster for the whole family, even the whole clan. The sound of gongs is believed to disturb Then (Heaven's house) and bring disaster.

The women of the O Du ethnic group

The O Du community is one of the 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam and is only found in Tuong Duong district. Before 2006, the O Du people lived in Xop Pot, Pung Ca Moong, Kim Hoa villages in Kim Da commune. In some communes, the O Du people lived mixed with the Thai and Kho Mu people. Since 2006, the O Du people have relocated to live in Vang Mon village, Nga My commune. Their old villages have been submerged in the Ban Ve hydroelectric reservoir.

A house said to be most similar to the ancient architecture of the O Du people in Vang Mon village, Nga My commune (Tuong Duong).

Today, the Odu culture has almost completely disappeared. Only the oldest people can remember more than 200 words, but many of them are borrowed from Thai. They have only retained a few customs, the most typical of which is the fear of gong sounds.

Mr. Lo Van Phuc, one of the few remaining elders in the village, said that the O Du people now maintain the custom of not beating gongs or drums. The gongs only sound once a year. That is when there is thunder at the beginning of the year, the homeowner will beat the gong three times and then hang it in a solemn place, near the ancestral altar. From then on, no one is allowed to touch it for a whole year.

Money basket, fish basket, seed basket of the O Du people at the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology

The O Du believe that disaster will come if anyone accidentally or intentionally beats the gong on a normal day. Beating the gong on a day without thunder at the beginning of the year will cause each person in the family to fall ill, leading to death. Then it will happen to relatives. To avoid disaster, those who violate the forbidden custom will have to slaughter pigs, even buffaloes and cows, to make offerings to Then (Heaven) to ask for forgiveness. The offering ceremony is usually very expensive, so few people dare to violate the customary law.

According to Mr. Lo Van Phuc, the fear of gong sounds is related to the worship of Heaven of the O Du people. This custom started from the concept that the beginning of a year begins with the first thunder. The son of Mr. Lo Van Tinh - Secretary of the Vang Mon village Party Cell said: In the past, the O Du people made an oath to never beat drums and gongs on normal days. They only beat three times when they heard the first thunder of the year. From then on, it became a custom.

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