People in the mountainous region of Quy Chau enjoy the Long Tong festival at the beginning of the year.

The festival of going to the fields is a unique and distinctive cultural feature of the Thai ethnic group in Nghe An, popular in the districts of Quy Chau, Quy Hop, and Que Phong. This is one of the most anticipated early spring festivals for the people, connecting spirituality with cultural and artistic life and production labor.

Performances from the Thai Culture Club's Performance Team of the villages. Photo: Luong Nga

According to the Thai people, every early spring, after the Lunar New Year is over, the time when the seasons change and this is the most suitable time to plant rice. At this time, the village's shaman will choose the best day for everyone to organize the Long Tong Festival.

The festival begins with a ritual to worship gods such as Pu Xua, the mountain god, the forest god, the heroes who founded the village... with the wish to pray for a year of favorable weather to grow rice and corn, for the pond to be full of fish, for the village to be warm, prosperous and happy...

People enjoy gong performance, carving and bamboo dancing to show solidarity and unity in the Thai community. Photo: Luong Nga

Fast rice planting competition. Photo: Luong Nga

At the festival, a ceremony to worship the gods took place in Dong Minh village, Chau Hanh. The offering tray could not lack chicken and traditional cakes of the Thai people such as buffalo croissant, banh it, banh han. All are made from upland sticky rice.

After completing the spiritual ritual, the strongest young men of the village took the strongest male buffalo to the field to plow, and the Thai girls went to the field together to compete in rice planting.

The competition included 5 teams from all villages in the commune. Dressed in traditional costumes, Thai women quickly planted rice while the villagers cheered and cheered./.

Luong Nga