Men of the Mong ethnic group show a khen (panpipe) performamce. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - Gau Tao Festival is one of the most important festivals of the Mong ethnic minority people in Ta Su Choong commune in Hoang Su Phi district of the northernmost province of Ha Giang. It is held annually in September when paddy fields turn golden ripe, a highlight to attract tourists to the locality.
The Mong people account for nearly 23% of Ha Giang province’s population, residing mainly in the mountainous districts of Quan Ba, Yen Minh, Dong Van and Meo Vac.
The Mong group has an abundant and diverse spiritual life, creating a cultural tradition with unique features.
The Gau Tao festival originated from an old custom of the Mong ethnic minority people in Sa Pa. When a couple couldn’t have a child after years of marriage, the husband climbed up a hill, made offerings to the god of the mountain and begged for his support to have a child. After the couple gave birth to a child, they invited relatives and villagers to a big ceremony to thank the god for his support. This ceremony was held again by the family every three or five years. The ceremony gradually became a community festival held annually to pray for peace, prosperity, and good luck for the whole village.
The festival is held to pray for good weather and abundant crops. It also provides a chance for the elders to gather and wish each other longevity and bless their descendants with luck and health; and for girls and boys to make a date and pray for happiness all year around.
It is also an occasion for Mong people who live, work or study far from home to reunite with their families and welcome the New Year before enter a new cultivation and livestock breeding season.
The Gau Tao festival is usually organised between the first day and the 15th day of the first lunar month.
However, tourists can join the festive atmosphere of the Gau Tao Festival in September in the mountainous district of Hoang Su Phi, in western Ha Giang province.
Hoang Duc Tan, Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Hoang Su Phi district, said the Gau Tao Festival of the Mong group in Ta Su Choong commune is held as a highlight to attract visitors to Hoang Su Phi.
They organise the festival in early September as the rice fields turn golden brown, opening up the tourism programme named “Going through heritage areas of Hoang Su Phi terraced paddy fields.”
On the festival day, all activities of the Mong people take place around a Neu tree (bamboo pole) which is set up on flat ground on the mountain. The Mong people believe that the Neu tree serves as a bridge to link them with gods. To prepare for the festival, the villagers select a fine, straight bamboo tree to make a Neu tree and tie two ribbons of black and red linen on its top with the hope of receiving luck.
The ritual part of the festival is quite simple but very solemn. The patriarch of the festival offers incense and goes around the tree six times before about ten people carrying umbrellas also walk around it and sing their traditional songs. Then, boys both dance and perform on pan-pipes and all exchange with each other best wishes.
The festival also has many interesting activities, such as the pan-pipe dance, singing, and swinging which fascinate the locals, especially young people. After participating in folk games, they often separate into small groups to talk with each other or take a stroll together on the hill. At the festival, a lot of traditional foods of the Mong group, like Thang co and Pho chua are sold in small stalls to serve the locals and tourists./.
