Learn of the culture in northwest Vietnam with Chie

1. Praying-for-rain ceremony - ritual wishing for good luck in the new year of the Lao people in Dien Bien

Praying-for-rain ceremony (Bum Voc Nam) is a meaningful event that plays a crucial role in the cultural and spiritual life of Lao ethnic people in Dien Bien, through which they pray to the gods of heaven and earth to bless a favourable harvest year, and get rid of bad luck before entering the new year. The event is usually held at the beginning of the rainy season (usually in April or May).

Bum Voc Nam consists of 2 parts: the ceremony and the festival. The former tends to begin with basic rituals to thank the gods and ancestors, during which there is a unique ritual wishing for luck called "Phuk Khen" - the ceremony of "tying threads on the wrist. After the rituals, the ceremony also features festivities, including folk singing and traditional games like tug of war, pushing sticks, and the girls singing in their national dance.
This ceremony not only reflects the typical ritual beliefs and wishes for new bumper harvests of the next crop among the Lao community in Dien Bien, but also enables people to entertain and strengthen their community.

2. Lao ethnic folk dance in Dien Bien - unique cultural value recognised as “National Intangible Cultural Heritage”

With ancient origins and created and developed through labour and community communication, the art of Lao folk dance is the creative result of many generations.An impressive feature of this folk dance is the seamless integration of body rotations, wrist movements, finger gestures, and also gentle movements of the head and knees, all of which are graceful, fluid, and lively. Before ending the performance, dancers often clasp  hands over their chest and make a slight bow. These performances of Lao women are attractive thanks to the charm and flexibility of their bodies, along with the skillful, rhythmic movements of their hands.

Although each dance presents different contents, all of them show the aspiration for a peaceful and happy life, regardless of hardships and challenges. Every movement delivers Lao ethnic people’s identity and culture, thereby expressing their thoughts, feelings, and the relationship among humans as well as between humans and nature.
Folk dance is one of the unique and indispensable cultural activities of Lao people. These performances have been staged on significant occasions such as Lunar New Year Festival, Laos Water Festival, wedding, new house celebration, new rice celebration, and other cultural events of the community.

3. Neu tree - symbol of connection between heaven and earth in the spiritual life of the H’Mong people in Pa Co

The Neu tree plays a crucial role in the spiritual life of the H’Mong people in Pa Co. Cây nêu có vai trò quan trọng trong đời sống tâm linh của người Mông tại Pà Cò. Erecting a Neu tree is one of the most important customs in traditional festivals, especially the Gau Tao one. The Neu tree is considered as a holly tree that connects earth and heaven. 
The Neu tree needs to be planted on a spacious, flat ground, with its top pointing to the East side that is viewed as the direction of the Sun, expressing people’s wish for fertility and favourable harvests.
Ritual offerings to the Neu tree include chickens, wine, rice, and paper. The shaman burns the incense and burns the joss paper, before going around the tree six times and singing their traditional songs named Tinh chay. The ceremony also expresses people’s hope that the gods and their ancestors will bless the village with peace and joy, favourable harvests, weather and health for everyone. 

4. The custom of “keeping fire” of Thai ethnic people in Mai Chau at the beginning of the new year

In the belief of the Thai community in Mai Chau, fire is a spiritual means to convey their messages to the local gods and their ancestors.
Thai ethnic people believe that durable firewood and glowing red coals symbolise stronger family bonds. Therefore, they always keep their fire burning during the Tet holiday in order to ensure affluence, attract luck from gods, and reunion with deceased relatives. In contrast, if the fire is put out, this will bring misfortune that prevent the family from being prosperous in the new year..
Since women play an important role in taking care of the cooking place, they should be responsible for “keeping” the fire. Before the New Year’s Eve, the women in the family have to bury ash so as to keep the fire burning overnight. On the first morning of the new year, all family members have to wake up early, and the eldest woman has to reburn the fire, before preparing the first offering tray of the year. 

5. Pieu scarf - basic standard to evaluate the talent and virtue of Thai women in Hoa Binh

Thai girls have been taught to embroider, sew, and weave fabrics to make scarves. They have to learn about cotton, threads, and weaving at the age of 6 or 7, before starting embroidering at the age of 12 or 13. They have to be able to understand different layouts of the motifs when looking at Pieu patterns. 

With Thai girls, learning to embroider Pieu patterns is a process of cognitive and development and improve their skills to prepare for life. Although they only know to embroider lines or simple patterns at first, they can also handle advanced layouts with different colours through practices.
Learning to weave fabric and embroider Pieu scarves are fundamental lesson for every female member of the Thai community. Hence, Pieu scarves not only impress people with colourful and intricate designs that highlight the beauty of Thai women, but also serve as a criterion to evaluate the talent and virtue of those girls. The Pieu scarf can depicts whether its owner is talented, diligent, or lazy and clumsy; hence, the scarf possesses both aesthetic values and social significance, combining with other clothing items to create a unique beauty of traditional costumes of the Thai ethnic people. 
 The Northwest region of Vietnam possesses the beauty of nature and several cultural values from ancient times to the present. These unique characteristics are imbued with the communal spirit, the harmony of cultural traits, all of which creating a colourful picture ò ethnic folk culture. Follow Chie for more interesting information about culture and life of ethnic minorities in Vietnam!
Source: Compilation