Joyful harvest festival

(Baonghean.vn) -On the morning of February 7th (the 8th day of the lunar calendar), Chau Hanh commune (Quy Chau district) held the Rice Planting Festival, also known as the Loong Tong Festival, at the Na Ta field (Ben Dua), Minh Chau village.

The shaman performs the ritual.

Farmers in Minh Chau village compete in rice planting at the Rice Planting Festival.

This is one of the traditional festivals of the western districts of Nghe An province, held at the beginning of the new year to pray to the guardian deities for blessings and good fortune in the coming year.

The festival is divided into two parts: the ceremonial part and the festive part. The ceremonial part includes traditional rituals where people offer to the gods trays of food they have prepared themselves, including: brocade fabrics, boiled chicken, bottled wine, rice wine, and various meatballs made from chicken, shrimp, and fish. The village shaman prays to the household gods (the gods who watch over houses and govern the village fields), the mountain god, the river god, and prays for favorable weather, abundant crops, protection from birds, animals, and insects, good health for the villagers, and a prosperous and happy life. Following the ceremonial part is the lively and joyful festive part with the participation of hundreds of villagers in folk games such as tug-of-war and bamboo pole dancing.

At the festival, the local authorities launched the "Tree Planting Festival in Eternal Gratitude to Uncle Ho," and a large number of people enthusiastically participated in planting trees in community cultural centers, primary schools, and other areas.

Tran Ngoc Lan