| Description |
The Pang A Peace Begging Ritual of the La Ha is a ritual to pray for peace, to thank the gods, and to thank the shaman for those who have been cured of illness (adopted children). The ceremony is held annually, in March of the solar calendar, when the Ban flowers and rice flowers are in full bloom, the rain has fallen and the bitter bamboo shoots have grown, or when the poinsettia flowers are in full bloom.
In the Pang A Peace Begging Ritual, the Xang Bok tree is an indispensable decorative element, made from the hook tree and wild banana, placed in the middle of the house. The hook tree (lam la) symbolizes the black buffalo, the hook tree dies and turns into a black buffalo, the wild banana tree (lam toc) symbolizes the white buffalo, which are friends of farmers.
On this occasion, adopted children from all over come to offer offerings to the gods, to repay the efforts of their adoptive fathers, to have fun together, and to exchange feelings. Depending on the family's conditions, the severity of the illness being cured, whether they are long-time or new adoptees, the adopted children prepare appropriate offerings. The scale of the Pang A Festival depends on each shaman. If the shaman is skilled, has many years of practice, and has many adopted children, the scale of the festival will be large.
The rituals include: ancestral worship, worship for the homeowner's soul, worship to invite the gods to attend, worship to send the ancestors' souls to heaven, performing a performance describing a cured illness, plowing and harrowing...
When the shaman finishes, his adopted children take turns placing the products they brought on the table for him to worship and invite the gods to come and receive blessings and bless his descendants with good health, good crops, and the growth of buffaloes, cows, pigs, chickens... Around the Xang Bok tree, there are scarf dances, sword dances, tang bu dances, rain-praying drum dances, penis dances (horns), con throwing competitions... The props for the dance include bu (bamboo tubes), cloth scarves, plows, harrows, swords, shields made of wood, bamboo... When the sound of the drums and gongs sounds, each person holds a piece of bamboo and starts dancing tang bu around the wooden board, they follow the rhythm of the drums, gongs and the rhythm of the bamboo tubes. After about 3-4 rounds, they howl together and then return, like that, the dance lasts about 1 hour. In the afternoon, the master continues to pray for his adopted children who come from far away and drink rice wine.
The Pang A Peace Begging Ritual contains great humanistic values, with high educational value in the La Ha community in Muong La, Quynh Nhai, Thuan Chau districts, Son La province. The festival reminds descendants to remember the merits of the doctors who cured them of their illnesses, and reminds descendants to remember their roots. |
