| Description |
The Rain Praying Ceremony of the Raglai people is held in the middle and end of April every year, to pray to the gods for rain. Raglai people call rain "Hơ Jan" and they worship Hơ Jan. The shaman - the fire king's assistant - Pơtao Apui is the master of ceremonies. The most important item of the shaman is the bronze magic sword. There are also copper bowls, white porcelain bowls, and bamboo wine sticks.
Before the main worship day, the shaman and the council perform 3 rituals: Offering to ward off evil spirits and poultry diseases around the village; Offering to the water dock at A Yun River; Offering to the village. On the main holiday, all the villagers gather at the shaman's house to prepare offerings, materials, and tools for worship.
The offering to pray for rain is a black male pig, weighing about 30-40 kilograms; together with 3, 5, or 7 jars of wine. The indispensable offerings are 7 jars of wine taken from the water source of A Yun River and statues of the 7 founders of the village.
The ceremony to pray for rain begins when the sun rises, the master of the ceremony sits in front of three wine jars, placing his hand on the first wine jar. The priest bowed three times to greet the gods and then poured water into the wine jar. The shaman prays, scatters rice around, and holds the pork to the front to invite the Mountain God, River God, Wood God, and Stone God; Then he pours wine and meat into bronze bowls and pours them into Pơ Tao's graves, praying for rain to come. After that, the master of ceremonies scoops water from a copper pot and fills each jar of wine, then takes a sip of wine; Villagers take turns enjoying wine together.
On the day the village prays for rain, villagers are not allowed to go to work, pick up hoes or machetes. |
