| Description |
Lồng tồng means going down to the fields, an important agricultural ritual of the Tày people in Nam Mẫu commune, Ba Bể district, Bắc Kạn province, held on January 10th. The place where the Lồng tồng festival is held is a large, flat land in the center of the commune. The organizing committee erected a pillar in the center of the ground and built a stage to serve as an altar.
The festival opens with an extremely bustling lion dance performance. In the past, representatives of households came together to carry offering trays to the largest plot in the village's fields. Today, representatives of each commune and town of Ba Bể district will lead the ceremony and put the ceremony on their heads. The ceremony tray includes fruits, candies, incense sticks, wine, sticky rice, and boiled rooster.
The offering trays are set up in rows, with Master Mo's tray at the top serving as his offering tray for overseeing the event. Master Mo recites prayers, gives thanks to heaven and earth, prays to the Agriculture God, Phuc Hy God, Mountain God, Water God, and Tutelary God, praying for a new year with everything going as expected, prosperity in life and prosperity, and a bountiful harvest. The girls offered water that had been collected and kept cold in gourd shells. Sprinling water in all four directions, Master Mo lifted his face to the sky and everyone gathered to receive blessings. Following that, Master Mo carried out the shuttlecock throwing ceremony first; this is an exclusive characteristic of the Association.
The festival took place very enthusiastically with folk games such as pushing sticks, blind man's bluff; duck neck throw; playing drums blindfolded; hit the spinner; performances and cultural exchanges such as then singing, dan ting, sli singing, lượn singing, bowl dancing, Khèn dancing, flute playing; competitions for sewing shuttlecocks, pounding rice cakes, and presenting feasts; souvenir and local agricultural product stalls; Photo exhibition about the homeland. |
