The “Khu gia gia” Festival, which is also known as the Festival of June,is one of the foremost festivals of the Ha Nhi ethnic people living inmountainous areas in Bat Xat district, the northwestern province of LaoCai.
The 4-day festival, with unique religiousceremonies and folk games, is organised in June every year to pray for aplentiful harvest. It is also an opportunity for local people toexpress their respect to the gods of the forest, mountains, heaven andearth through their traditional rituals.
To preparefor the festival, each household sends a person into the forest to cutdown trees for renewing and decorating the house of kitchen god, whichis usually located under a big tree in the village. Ha Nhi peopletypically organise offering ceremonies in the house.
On the day of the snake, Ha Nhi people kill a male buffalo, which mustbe big and completely black, as an offering to the mountain and villagegods. Its meat is divided into equal parts and delivered to householdsfor offerings to their ancestors. The buffalo’s head will be placed inthe house of kitchen god.
During the festival,villagers will vie with each other to cook dishes for offerings to showgratitude to the gods and their ancestors. Sacrifices for offerings arealways specialities which Ha Nhi people produce by themselves.
A traditional offering tray is required to have 12 different dishes,including boiled buffalo meat, rice, wine, ginger water, roastedgroundnuts, beans and rice cakes.
Only familiesthat have not been in mourning for three years are selected to bringtheir offering trays to the house of kitchen god.
Ha Nhi people do not burn incense and votive paper as offerings totheir ancestors like some other ethnic groups, but express their prayersfor the gods’ support to the villagers by kowtowing in front of theirancestral altar three times. After that the offering trays are taken outof the altar and everyone is invited to eat the food.
Afteroffering sacrifices, the villagers join in sporting activities such asswinging, riding ferris wheel and playing teeter . Ha Nhi people’straditional dances are indispensable at the festival. The rice-callingdance “A du lu che” asks the soul of Mother Rice to come to the village,bringing with her a good harvest and fields full of rice. In addition,there are also other activities such as love-duet singing, lion dancingand leaf-horn performances.
Ly Seo Cho, the 80-year-oldpatriarch of Lao Chai I village in Y Ty commune said he is always eagerwhenever he thinks about the festival.
According to Ly ThiVinh, Vice Chairwoman of the Bat Xat district People’s Committee, the“Khu gia gia” Festival reflects the unique culture of Ha Nhi ethnicpeople.
It is also an attractive event for tourists, who like to learn about the community culture in Vietnam, Vinh said.-VNA
