| Description |
Literally meaning a “play ground”, Gầu Tào is often hosted by three families of the same blood line or by marriage. The festival takes place at the Gầu Tào hill from the 2nd to the 4th days in the first lunar month. A ritual master will be invited by the families to help carry out the ritual ceremonies. Some of the important rituals are cutting a bamboo tree and erecting it as the ritual pole. After cutting the bamboo, the ritual master ties two black and one red pieces of hemp fabric onto the tree’s top as a symbol for communal solidarity and invitation of ancestors to the festival. He will also attach one wine container made from gourd fruit and three small bundles of rice flower as symbol for fortune and luck, and a bunch of sưi fern plant as fecundity before erecting the pole, facing East for the three-day festival. The ritual master will do chanting, while making offerings before erecting the ritual pole. Members of the family will sing traditional ritual songs during these rituals. During the festival, there are games and performances, especially khèn music and dances, which the village members and visitors can take part in. On the last day, ending the festival, the ritual master holds an umbrella walking counterclockwise around the ritual pole while singing khâu dìn sê (descending the ritual pole). The bamboo pole is later used make bed and the linen to make baby clothes as a wish for good luck. |
