The custom of worshiping the fields of the Khmu people

Life on the fields of people in the highlands of Nghe An. Photo: Huu Vi

The Khmu community resides mostly in Ky Son and Tuong Duong districts. Their residential areas are usually higher than the Thai and lower than the Mong, so their practice of cultivating upland rice also depends on geographical features.

The Khmu people choose to cultivate land on different slopes and in the past, the form of cultivation was very backward. According to research by Associate Professor Ninh Viet Giao, the main agricultural tools of the Khmu people in the past were machetes, axes, etc. Only a few places knew how to use hoes. The stick used to poke holes for seeds is their most familiar agricultural tool. At first, it was a picking stick, only used temporarily, later it became a farming tool. This is also an item used by the Thai people in ancient times, called "cha lum".

According to Mr. Ninh Viet Giao, the Khmu people cultivate their fields according to a strict “calendar”. These are studies based on facts from many decades ago. Nowadays, these principles have changed and are more similar to the “agricultural calendar” of the Thai people.

Offering tray of the Khmu people in Ky Son. Photo: Lu Phu

According to the concept of the Khmu people in Bao Thang commune, Ky Son district, the best time to clear the fields is when the first rains of summer begin. After clearing the fields, wait for the sun to rise to burn and till the fields. Mr. Cut Pho Manh, an elderly person in Cha Ka 1 village, Bao Thang commune, shared: Before the clearing season, people often look for a place with relatively flat terrain to choose a field. To avoid disputes, the person choosing the field cuts a tree into a cross shape, attaches it to the end of a stick and sticks it into the ground to mark it to others that "the land has an owner". Then they go to clear the fields with their family. The day to find a place to clear the fields as well as clear, till and harvest the rice is chosen by people who understand the calendar in the community. They are usually shamans and sorcerers.

The day of sowing is considered the beginning of a new crop. After choosing a good day, a woman in the family will go to the field to sow the first rice clumps. The male breadwinner or someone in the community who understands the customs and is trusted by the homeowner will go to the field to make an exorcism charm called “ta leo” and place it in the middle or upper corner of the field. “Ta leo” is woven from bamboo strips in the shape of a lattice. The “ta leo” is also very familiar in the spiritual rituals of the Thai people. For the Khmu people, the “ta leo” has the meaning of warding off evil spirits and wild animals from disturbing the rice plants and the farmers.

Next to the “ta leo” tree, people planted a clump of sowing trees. We also did not know the meaning of this clump of sowing trees. The Khmu people in Bao Thang commune also explained that sowing trees on rice fields is important.

After planting the "ta leo" tree and sowing rice, people perform a ritual to worship the gods who control the mountains and forests to bless the farmers with good health and pray for rain so that the rice seeds can germinate. They ask the gods of the mountains and forests to bless the rice plants with good health so that mice, birds, and wild pigs will not know the way to find and dig up the seeds to eat.

During the weeding season, a ceremony called “xê hrê” or offering to the fields is held. At the field guard hut, people slaughter chickens to offer to the gods to thank the supernatural forces for protecting the rice plants. During the ceremony, people use bamboo strips to form cicadas, birds, and squirrels and set them up in the middle of the field to pray that wild animals and pests will not destroy the rice. After the ceremonies are over, the farmers have fun. They eat meat and drink wine on the first offering day of the field season. The ceremony is more joyful when it takes place in the space of young rice and cool green forests.

Offerings to the gods on the day of the field worship. Photo: Huu Vi

The second ceremony in a Khmu farming season is the celebration of the new rice. The Thai people usually celebrate the new rice at home, but the Khmu people perform this ceremony in the fields. On this day, a group of households farming nearby hold worship and celebrate together in the most convenient hut.

An offering platform was set up. On the platform hung rice stalks, dishes such as chicken, pork, mooc made from squirrel meat, and spiced broken rice wrapped in banana leaves and steamed. Skirts, shirts, and fabrics were also offered to the gods. The new rice celebration is the biggest joy for the Khmu people living on the fields.

Nowadays, the Khmu people in some areas celebrate the new rice harvest at home like the Thai people. We can witness this when we visit Khmu villages in Tuong Duong such as Luong Minh and Yen Na communes. In addition to the new rice harvest celebration, the Khmu people in Yen Na commune also have a ceremony of bringing rice into the warehouse. In this ceremony, people slaughter chickens to worship the house spirit (if the rice warehouse is built near the house), the spirit of the rice warehouse (if the warehouse is built in the forest)...

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