cv88 Unique Lunar New Year celebration custom of Pa Then ethnic minority

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Unique Lunar New Year celebration custom of Pa Then ethnic minority

Tuesday, February 4, 2025 | 12:13:00

-The Pa Then ethnic group in the northern province of Ha Giang has a tradition of celebrating Tet early. Every year at the end of the 12th lunar month, when local people are free from their farming work, the Pa Then begin their Tet festivities with traditional rituals.

The Pa Then people perform a worshipping ritual on the last day of the lunar year.

There are currently about 10,000 Pa Then people in Vietnam, inhabiting several communes of Tuyen Quang and Ha Giang provinces. Due to their close-knit community, the Pa Then still preserve their cultural identity, especially their unique traditional Tet customs.

On the last days of the 12th lunar month when peach and plum blossoms bloom in the hillsides, the Pa Then people in Tan Bac commune, Ha Giang province, begin their Tet celebrations, according to shaman Sin Van Phong.“Tet preparations include rice liquor, firewood, chickens, pigs, and glutinous rice to make traditional cakes. Notably, banh giay is a specialty of Pa Then people. Games for the kids are also indispensable,” said Phong.

At this time of the year, Phu Thi Thien’s family in Tan Bac communeis busier than usual. From early morning, relatives and friends come to join them to celebrate Tet. The ingredients for making Chung cakes, buffalo horn-shaped cakes, and Giay cakes are ready. Thien said in the past when life was still difficult, the Pa Then could only afford liquor, rice, and some meat for Tet. In recent years, the living conditions have improved, enabling them to have a fulfilling Tet celebration. Thien said the Pa Then community celebrates their New Year earlier than the Kinh.“After the harvest, around the 22nd day of the 12th lunar month, we begin celebrating the New Year. It is a tradition for the Pa Then to invite their ancestors to join the celebration. On the first day of the New Year, we prepare 3–4 trays of food and offer incense to the ancestors,” said Thien.

Families take turns visiting one another and have Tet feasts until the 29th day of the last lunar month. On the 30th day, they clean their homes and hold a Thanksgiving ceremony to invite their ancestors to join the New Year celebration. The offerings to the ancestors include pork, chicken, liquor, and votive paper.

Shaman Sin Van Phong said Pa Then people have a tradition of inviting their ancestors to join the New Year celebration. Families will not perform the worshipping ritual on the last day of the year until they have a shaman.“The shaman will perform the ceremony for the family, which can last until 1 or 2 a.m. After expelling all evil spirits, the shaman closes the door to prevent them from reentering the house,” said Phong.

On New Year's Eve, every Pa Then household keeps their doors tightly closed and secured. All openings in the house are sealed. During this time, the head of the family takes a bowl of water from the family altar, cleans it, and refills it with fresh water. This bowl of water is refreshed only once every six months. It is a unique tradition of the Pa Then, symbolizing the sea and embodying the spirits of their ancestors and family members. The water in the bowl must never run dry or the family will encounter illness, or misfortune, according to the Pa Then.

On New Year's Eve, all family members have a special meal together. “In my Phu family clan, we eat porridge. That night, the men prepare the porridge to be eaten the next morning, but no one else is allowed to see it. Meanwhile, the Sin family clan eats plain rice... Different clans have their own distinct dishes,” said Thien.

Family members pray for a peaceful new year and a bountiful harvest.

On the morning of the first day of the New Year, Pa Then family members get up at between 4 and 6 a.m, and go outside to bow in all four directions. This ritual is performed to pray to the earth, mountain, and river genies for favorable weather, good health, and prosperity in the coming year. It is followed by a ceremony to honor their ancestors and clean their homes to welcome good fortune.“The Pa Then people have a custom of going to the fields in the morning of the first day of the New Year to pray for a year filled with health, peace, and especially bountiful harvests,” saidPhu Van Xue in Tan Bac commune.

The same day, the Pa Then perform a ceremony to collect water from the source, praying to the water spirits for a clean and abundant supply for their village and family throughout the year. On the next day, villagers visit each other's homes to exchange New Year’s wishes and participate in traditional games and festivals. These include shuttlecock, “pulling wood pestle” festival, the “fire jumping” festival, and competitions to make traditional cakes.

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