The Cao Lan ethnic minority people, who live in the northern province of Tuyen Quang, have an age-old culture which is vividly demonstrated in many festivals, including Cau Mua. People attending the festival pray for good weather, bumper crops, and prosperity.
Though the festival is held on the 10th day of the 1st lunar month, all villagers, be they old or young, eagerly prepare for the event even on the first days of the Lunar New Year. They contribute some rice, meat or fruit to the votive ceremony to be held in the communal house.
On the evening of the 9th day, villages are decorated with colourful flags and flowers and the elderly and their offspring come to clean the communal house and burn incense there. Early on the 10th day, the sound of flutes from communal houses encourages everybody to rejoice.
The first part of the festival is the votive ceremony to the Than Nong, Than Lua and Than Moc or Genies of Agriculture, Fire and Wood respectively. This aims to acknowledge their teaching the people to cultivate, acquire fire, and use wood to build houses. The offerings include incense, flowers and various kinds of cakes, including the banh chung (glutinous sticky rice cakes). Heading the ceremony is a person highly respected in the village. When the votive ceremony starts, he reads “We, the villagers, respectfully pray for success, luck and joy in our work, with all our dreams coming true. We pray for good weather, with enough water for cultivation, buffaloes for ploughing. We pray for good health and omens, for being free from calamities and catastrophes.”
After the votive ceremony is the merrymaking, starting with the sound of gongs. It attracts local villagers, especially young boys and girls and children. The games played include nem con (a cloth ball throwing game). A circle that symbolizes the mother of all species is put on. Anyone who throws the cloth ball through that circle will be the luckiest person of the year. The ball that is half-blue and half-red symbolizes phoenixes that are believed to fly to the moon to bring rice varieties to villagers.
There are many other games played during the festival, including swinging, cock fighting and especially giao duyen (alternate singing). Not only youngsters but also the elderly participate in singing songs of love and good neighborliness.
According to folklore researcher Ngo Duc Thinh, ancient people thought that cultivation needed auspices from a supernatural force, and therefore the Cau Mua Festival is held to worship the earth, the rice and agriculture-related genies. The festival is a unique expression of the Cao Lan identity and indigenousness that no other ethnic groups have.
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