| Description |
The Lồng Tồng Festival of the Tay people in Van Ban district, Lao Cai province is a festival held in early spring (January) to pray for favorable weather, good crops, bountiful harvests, and a prosperous life. " Lồng Tồng Festival" is often called "Going to the fields" and is a festival that brings together the most typical cultural nuances of the Tay ethnic group.
Each family prepares a tray of offerings according to their conditions to offer to the gods. Traditional dishes such as banh chung, banh giay, che lam, banh bong... On each tray there is a colorful flower-shaped cake. Each tray also has two pairs of con fruits made of colored fabric, stuffed with sand and cotton, with colorful tassels.
The festival is held in the best and largest rice fields. The ceremony includes solemn rituals: water procession, worshiping the village god, the stream god, the mountain god, worshiping the con tree, rituals to invite the gods, blessing ceremony, and going to the fields by the Taoists. During the festival, there are folk games: tug of war, throwing con, cockfighting with banana flowers, buffalo fighting with bamboo shoots, xoe dance, love song, stick pushing, bamboo pole jumping, swallow fighting, playing with quick fruits, plowing competition, sack jumping, crossbow shooting, sword and wooden dance...
The Lồng Tồng Festival expresses respect and gratitude to the gods of the forest, mountains, sky, earth, and village, and wishes for a prosperous life. The festival is imbued with the identity of the indigenous Tay people, reflecting the wishes for a good harvest, healthy people, and many descendants. |
