EE00001978

"Xòe" means dancing with movements that symbolize human activities in ritual, culture, life and work. Xòe is performed at rituals, weddings, village festivals and community events. There are three main types of Xòe: ritual Xòe, circle Xòe, and presentational Xòe. Rituals Xòe and presentational Xòe are named after props used during particular dances, such as scarf Xòe, conical hat Xòe, fan Xòe, bamboo pole Xòe, music Xòe, stick Xòe, and flower Xòe. The most popular form is circle Xòe, wherein dancers form a circle in harmony with each other. The basic dance movements of Xòe include raising the hands up, opening the hands, lowering the hands, clasping the hands of the next person following rhythmic footsteps, slightly arching the chest and leaning backwards. The musical instruments of gourd lute (tính tẩu), shawm (kèn loa), mouth organ (khèn bè), drum, gong, cymbals, reed flute (pí pặp), bamboo-tube percussion (bẳng bu) and small round-shaped rattle are used to accompany dance, which follows rhythms in even meters (either 2/4 or 4/4). The typical melodies played on the instruments use the following intervals: major second, major and minor third, perfect fourth and perfect fifth. Dance movements, though simple, symbolize wishes for community members to have a good life and live in solidarity. Gentle dance moves blend with instrumental music, vocals, tight-fitting blouses, the jingling of silver jewelry hanging around the waists of Tai women and creates an art form imbued with the cultural identity of the Tai in the northwestern region of Viet Nam.

EE00000013

Then a ritual practice indispensable in Tày, Nùng and Thái ethnic groups' spiritual life, reflects concepts about human beings, natural world and the universe (the Earth realm, the 3-layer Heaven realm). Then ceremonies describe a journey in which Then Master (Male/Female) controls ghost soldiers travelling from the Earth realm to the Heaven realm, the residing place of the gods, to offer worshipping items and show their praying requests for peace, bad luck relief, illness treatment, good crops, new house inauguration, initiation/title-conferring ritual (cấp sắc), blessings and happy new year. Then Masters start the journey by singing and plucking the tính lute (two or three-string lute). Depending on worshipping purposes, Then Masters will arrange worshipping trays to pray different native Gods, among whom Ngoc Hoang is the highest God. Then Masters often use a summoning tablet, a seal, a demon-expelling sword, a yin and yang rod, a bell, a fan and items such as pork, chicken, wine, rice, fruits and votive papers to perform Then ceremonies in the believer’s house, outdoor or at Then altar of the Master’s house. While practising, Then Master wears ceremonial dress, sings the language of his ethnic group and plays the tính lute, shakes the chùm xóc nhạc (rattle-bells), waves a fan. In some ceremonies, a female dancing group will accompany. Then rituals performances express Tày, Nùng and Thái’s cultural identities, from customs to musical instruments, dance and music. Then is always transmitted orally while its rituals are being conducted, reflecting the succession between generations.

EE00002009

The Tay people have many rituals and prayers to ask for blessings, ask for good things, and banish evil and bad things. The vows made in the rituals called then roads are performed by the Thens (in the vowing rituals, there is also a system of words called Mo, Tao, and Phat roads, which are performed by magicians and teachers. Tao, Buddha - different names for worshipers). Therefore, the then ritual is a system of rhythmic lyrics, accompanied by rituals in religious activities of the Tay ethnic group. Those who can practice then rituals must be people with special abilities. According to the Tay people's concept and in reality, Then is someone sent down by heaven or selected by ancestors with then karma to help earthly people perform then rituals, meeting the spiritual needs of the community, if it is a woman, it is called Me Then (or Me Slin), and if it is a man - very rarely, it is called Po Then (or Po Slin). Then in Tuyen Quang, there are 2 types: the fan key and the calculated key. Currently, there are very few people who are "granted" Then Fan in Tuyen Quang. Then Fan (also known as Then Ky yen) is used in rituals to pray for peace such as: worshiping the mother, praying for relief from drought, praying for healing or worshiping ghosts... Then Tinh has an accompaniment musical instrument such as a pipe, a squirrel beam. and music.