Deep Within, There Is a Source - The Origin of Fond Memories...
Along with the Tham Bua Festival - a traditional cultural festival held in mid-January every year, since 2004, the Tham Co Ngun Festival - Pha Xang Mountain Climbing Festival - a festival originating from the custom of visiting caves at the beginning of the year by the Thai ethnic people in western Nghe An, has been officially included and become a cultural and sporting festival of the people of Muong Chieng Ngam region in northwestern Nghe An.
(NAO) -Along with the Tham Bua Festival - a traditional cultural festival held in mid-January every year, since 2004, the Tham Co Ngun Festival - Pha Xang Mountain Climbing Festival - a festival originating from the custom of visiting caves at the beginning of the year by the Thai ethnic people in western Nghe An, has been officially included and become a cultural and sporting festival of the people of Muong Chieng Ngam region in northwestern Nghe An.
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The festival is held over three days, from the 8th to the 9th of February in the lunar calendar, at Tham Co Ngun in Chau Binh commune. This is a large cave that extends deep into a limestone mountain in the Pha Xang complex, associated with the legend of the faithful love of Nang Don - a beautiful and virtuous girl from Muong Chieng Ngam. Due to the customs binding her and her lover, a poor young man from the Muong, they entered the cave and turned into stone together...
The Tham Co Ngon Festival is held in even-numbered years, following the tradition of every two years, for the people of the Muong land, especially Thai boys and girls, to visit the cave to stroll around and reminisce about the love story of Nang Don. Along with the cave-visiting tradition, there are cultural and artistic activities, and traditional martial arts competitions such as bamboo pole dancing, xoe dance, throwing the ball, archery, and tug-of-war.
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Especially during the festival days, tourists and local people of the Muong region organize mountain climbing expeditions with the ultimate goal being Pha Chang peak – the highest of the 11 mountains in the area. The Tham Co Ngun Festival in 2008 was the third and sixth official festival to be restored and organized in a lively and bustling atmosphere from the 8th to the 9th of the second lunar month (March 15th and 16th, 2008), attracting tens of thousands of locals and tourists from various localities in the region. From the Tham Bua Festival to the Tham Co Ngun Festival – Climbing Pha Xang mountain, people from "nine villages and ten Muong regions" come together again to enjoy the melodious Lam Vong dance of their ancestral land.
Text and photos: Le Ba Lieu
