A horse race featuring ethnic Mong jockeys from the northern mountainousprovince of Lao Cai drew thousands of spectators to the Culture TourismVillage of Vietnamese Ethnic Groups on February 15.
The eventwas part of the three-day Sac Xuan Tren Moi Mien To Quoc (Spring inEvery Region Nationwide) festival, which stages the festive springrituals of various ethnic groups. The village is in Dong Mo, Son TayTown, about 40km west of Hanoi.
Tran Huu Son, Director of the LaoCai Culture, Sports and Tourism Department, explained that horses playan important role in Mong culture.
"In the past, to be considereda true man, a Mong guy must not only be able to play khen (traditionalMong bamboo pipe flute), but also ride a horse.
"Horse races inevery village offer young men the chance to prove themselves," said Son,who is also Deputy Chairman of the Association of VietnameseFolklorists.
The most famous large-scale race took place in BacHa commune and attracted not only Mong, but also Tay and Nung ethnicpeople living in neighbouring regions. However, it was interrupted for along time. Since its restoration in 2007, it has drawn thousands ofpeople every year, even though the horses are not professionalracehorses.
"The Mong people regard our horses as family members.The horses help us with farming and accompany us to the market,carrying many heavy packs on their backs," said 19-year-old jockey VangSeo Vu.
First-time spectator Le Thuy Dung said the race broughther "a lot of laughs", especially when horses couldn't run forward butturned back to the starting point or threw the jockeys down to theground.
Middle-aged visitor Tran Quang Hung said he was impressed by the brave ethnic jockeys who rode without harnesses.
"I enjoyed the event very much and I will definitely visit Bac Ha to experience the real race," he said.
Thefestival kicked off in the morning of February 15 with the staging of aritual ceremony of the Lo Lo group in Meo Vac commune in the northernmountainous province of Ha Giang.
Held from the 15th to 17th dayof the third lunar month, the ritual involves praying for good weatherand a bumper crop. The necessary offerings include chicken, pork,steamed sticky rice, maize wine, joss sticks, candles and joss paper, aswell as a piece of red cloth and a sword, which the Lo Lo believe getsrid of evil spirits and bad luck.
To conduct the ceremony, theshaman gathers villagers and chants a prayer to the gods of the rain andwind and other genii from the four corners of the earth: "Please bringus a better life than last year. Please bless whatever we plant: rice,maize and beans. Once we plant a seed, let it become 10 seeds. Our riceplants will grow higher than the grass. Please offer us good weather andbumper crops and bring every family prosperity and happiness."
Afterthe shaman finishes his chant, he burns the joss paper and offers thewine to the villagers. To conclude the ritual, the villagers then dancetogether.
Their dancing movements mimic the work of farming, such as rice terrace clearing and maize planting.
TheFebruary 15 event also presented to visitors the rice-planting ritualsof the B'rau group in the Central Highland province of Kon Tum.
OnFebruary 16, there was a traditional wrestling contest and abumper-crop praying ceremony of the San Chay group in the northernmidland province of Phu Tho.
On February 17, the New YearFestival of the Cham people living in Binh Thuan Province will bestaged, as will the cha chieng festival of the Thai group and the NewYear gong festival of the Muong in Hoa Binh province.
Thehusband-catching festival of the Chu Ru group in Lam Dong and therain-praying ceremony of the Cor people in Quang Nam will also be ondisplay.
Coorganised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, andTourism and the Culture Tourism Village of Vietnamese Ethnic Groups, theannual Sac Xuan Tren Moi Mien To Quoc festival aims to present the richculture of Vietnam's 54 ethnic groups to visitors and strengthen thesolidarity between the groups.-VNA
The eventwas part of the three-day Sac Xuan Tren Moi Mien To Quoc (Spring inEvery Region Nationwide) festival, which stages the festive springrituals of various ethnic groups. The village is in Dong Mo, Son TayTown, about 40km west of Hanoi.
Tran Huu Son, Director of the LaoCai Culture, Sports and Tourism Department, explained that horses playan important role in Mong culture.
"In the past, to be considereda true man, a Mong guy must not only be able to play khen (traditionalMong bamboo pipe flute), but also ride a horse.
"Horse races inevery village offer young men the chance to prove themselves," said Son,who is also Deputy Chairman of the Association of VietnameseFolklorists.
The most famous large-scale race took place in BacHa commune and attracted not only Mong, but also Tay and Nung ethnicpeople living in neighbouring regions. However, it was interrupted for along time. Since its restoration in 2007, it has drawn thousands ofpeople every year, even though the horses are not professionalracehorses.
"The Mong people regard our horses as family members.The horses help us with farming and accompany us to the market,carrying many heavy packs on their backs," said 19-year-old jockey VangSeo Vu.
First-time spectator Le Thuy Dung said the race broughther "a lot of laughs", especially when horses couldn't run forward butturned back to the starting point or threw the jockeys down to theground.
Middle-aged visitor Tran Quang Hung said he was impressed by the brave ethnic jockeys who rode without harnesses.
"I enjoyed the event very much and I will definitely visit Bac Ha to experience the real race," he said.
Thefestival kicked off in the morning of February 15 with the staging of aritual ceremony of the Lo Lo group in Meo Vac commune in the northernmountainous province of Ha Giang.
Held from the 15th to 17th dayof the third lunar month, the ritual involves praying for good weatherand a bumper crop. The necessary offerings include chicken, pork,steamed sticky rice, maize wine, joss sticks, candles and joss paper, aswell as a piece of red cloth and a sword, which the Lo Lo believe getsrid of evil spirits and bad luck.
To conduct the ceremony, theshaman gathers villagers and chants a prayer to the gods of the rain andwind and other genii from the four corners of the earth: "Please bringus a better life than last year. Please bless whatever we plant: rice,maize and beans. Once we plant a seed, let it become 10 seeds. Our riceplants will grow higher than the grass. Please offer us good weather andbumper crops and bring every family prosperity and happiness."
Afterthe shaman finishes his chant, he burns the joss paper and offers thewine to the villagers. To conclude the ritual, the villagers then dancetogether.
Their dancing movements mimic the work of farming, such as rice terrace clearing and maize planting.
TheFebruary 15 event also presented to visitors the rice-planting ritualsof the B'rau group in the Central Highland province of Kon Tum.
OnFebruary 16, there was a traditional wrestling contest and abumper-crop praying ceremony of the San Chay group in the northernmidland province of Phu Tho.
On February 17, the New YearFestival of the Cham people living in Binh Thuan Province will bestaged, as will the cha chieng festival of the Thai group and the NewYear gong festival of the Muong in Hoa Binh province.
Thehusband-catching festival of the Chu Ru group in Lam Dong and therain-praying ceremony of the Cor people in Quang Nam will also be ondisplay.
Coorganised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, andTourism and the Culture Tourism Village of Vietnamese Ethnic Groups, theannual Sac Xuan Tren Moi Mien To Quoc festival aims to present the richculture of Vietnam's 54 ethnic groups to visitors and strengthen thesolidarity between the groups.-VNA
