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Sử giề pà in the Bố Y language means giving thanks to the Buffalo God, held on the 8th day of the fourth lunar month. On this day, all buffaloes can rest and bathe; being cared for, treated with kindness, and fed sticky rice and eggs. The story of Tết is explained in legend. The production process changed from "poking holes to insert seeds" to using buffalo traction. This is a milestone marking an important step forward in the agricultural production of the Bố Y people in the past. This is the time for the whole community to rest and have fun. They also invited their ethnic neighbors such as the Hmông, Nùng, Pa Di, etc. to visit the house and dine with the homeowner to celebrate.
Before Tết, representatives of each household gather at the village head's house to discuss and prepare for the festival.
Offerings to ancestors include 1 boiled chicken, 3 bowls of white rice, 3 bowls of colored sticky rice, 1 red boiled egg, 3 pairs of chopsticks, 3 cups of wine, 3 incense sticks, votive paper, and 1 buffalo made of seven sticky rice color. Offerings at the local altar include 1 bowl of rice, 1 bowl of meat, 1 cup of wine. After the offering, people bring a handful of sticky rice, a red-boiled egg, and young grass to invite the buffalo to eat first. After the buffalo eats, it is the person's turn to enjoy the ceremony.
The village's offering tray includes a buffalo head made of seven-colored sticky rice, and three eggs dyed red placed on top. The ritual is performed at a shrine to the local god in the forest at the beginning of the village. The offering ceremony is divided into two times, offering live chicken and offering cooked chicken. After the ceremony, families will receive blessings to receive divine protection and strength. The story "The magic buffalo helps the Bố Y people" is re-enacted by a couple: the magic buffalo came down from heaven to earth to help the ancestors of the Bố Y people find water, plow fields, work in wet fields, grow wet rice, etc. The festival part including folk arts activities such as lovemaking singing, cotton singing, nursery rhyme singing, and folk games such as playing conch, swinging, and tickling.
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