No one knows when the Tung Con Festival of some ethnic groups in the Tay, Nung, Thai, Giay... in the mountains began; the elders only know that it has existed since ancient times and say: Tung Con Festival or Xuong Dong Festival is one; it is correct to say that it is a festival, because that day it must be organized in 2 parts: the ceremony and the festival. In the past, the organization of the festival was directed by the village dignitaries, at that time the village was as large as several villages now but the number of households was less than 100. Nowadays, the organization of the festival in some places is done on a commune-wide scale, but the organization method in some places is much simpler than in the past.
People of Cao Banh village, Phuong Thien commune (Ha Giang city) enjoy the Tung Con festival.
In the past, at the beginning of December every year, village leaders often held a year-end summary, discussed the direction and tasks for the new year, and agreed to carefully organize the Tung Con Festival to bring joy to the people. After December 23, the village leadership met to invite representatives of the Party cell, mass organizations, militia and medical forces to agree to establish the festival organizing committee; plan the competitions, purchase materials, and reward levels for each competition. The rewards for tossing cons were usually red sheep blankets, aluminum pots and towels, while the rewards for folk games were money and there was support for general service work. The Youth Union was assigned to prepare the field, usually borrowing a one-crop rice field from a household in the central area; using a mai tree as a con pole and making 2 long poles with forks, making a crescent moon (symbolizing the female mascot). The pole must be of the correct height and diameter and the inner rings must be covered with colored paper to ensure they look nice and do not come off in light rain. The ties must be turned down so that the cones do not get stuck on the top of the pole or get caught in the ties; a trellis must be made to place the offering tray, and palm leaves must be spread horizontally to place the light festival tray; teams must be assigned to make the cones and organize the cones, tug of war, stilts, crossbow shooting, etc. with referees in charge of the events. Women must estimate the number of cones (representing the mascot of the son) and must use fine sand to stuff the cones. The fabric used to sew the cones must be strong, tightly sewn so as not to come loose, the cone strings must be strong and not broken and half the length of an adult's arm with green and red tassels and embroidered with the name of the maker. When attending the festival, they must wear traditional costumes. The assigned hamlets must prepare a tray of offerings at the place where the con is thrown, including a boiled chicken, several humped Chung cakes and other homemade cakes, wine, tea, lamps, incense, peach branches, and various home-grown fruits. Next to the offering tray are also a handful of rice, a handful of corn kernels, a handful of cotton seeds, and several con balls. The other hamlets assign each group of 6 households to prepare a light festival meal including a bottle of wine, various cakes, and cooked food; the militia force is responsible for security and order; the Organizing Committee informs the people about the date, time, and location of the festival, supervises general instructions, and invites a shaman to perform the ceremony...
At exactly 9:00 a.m., the festival began. When the assigned departments and the people were all present, the leader had to stand on a high platform to observe the whole scene, announce the festival program with a portable loudspeaker, introduce the delegates, welcome the villagers and other villages and communes who came to join in the fun; announce the competitions and specific awards for each event... For convenient information, there was always a contact person to grasp the specific situation of each task, report to the leader on the loudspeaker to remind the general understanding. When the offering trays were placed on the scaffold near the burial place of the remaining poles, the light festival trays were arranged in a long row on mats and palm leaves. The representative of the Organizing Committee invited the shaman to worship the forest first, then worship at the place where the remaining poles were thrown: Pray for a new year of good health for everyone in the village, free from natural disasters and epidemics; hope that the gods will make the weather favorable and the crops bountiful. After the ceremony, the shaman scattered the seeds and then held a light party, the representatives of the households had a chance to eat the first meal of the spring together, toasted each other happily but did not drink too much. After the party, the shaman ordered the con pole to be erected, and a large crowd was needed to erect it; the pole had to be erected vertically, and the two sides of the moon had to face the North and South, so that the sunlight would not affect the competing sides. The leader instructed the young people to stand on two sides, one side for men and one side for women with an equal number of people, waiting for the competition order. The shaman handed the con poles to the two teams and signaled the order to throw them first, then the other age groups entered the field to throw the con poles; people from other villages and communes were also allowed to participate. During the competition, everyone could come up and sing Then, Coi or sing songs praising the Party, Uncle Ho, celebrating Spring, celebrating the homeland and the country; to fill the empty time, the Organizing Committee could borrow a radio to play on the loudspeaker. When someone hits the moon ring, they must announce the name and address of the person who hit the ring, the person who caught the ball, and the owner of the ball. After someone hits the moon ring for the first time, the Women's Union will bring out all the spare balls to serve, encourage everyone to try to win the Second Prize and the Encouragement Prize, creating a new exciting atmosphere.
After the competitions ended, the Organizing Committee announced the award ceremony, and at the same time commended the service departments for completing their assigned tasks well; wished the athletes good luck and all the people a healthy and happy new year. Invited the service departments and the youth union to stay together to lower the poles, clean up the yard and return the yard to the village or the fields to the owners. After the festival, all the spoiled or good bamboo shoots must be thrown into the forest; only the good bamboo shoots can be brought back to soak in mud and reused next year. The end of the festival is also the end of the Spring festival, people enter the new season, in a joyful and excited atmosphere.
Dinh Minh Tung/Ha Giang Newspaper
Source: https://baophutho.vn/chuyen-to-chuc-le-hoi-tung-con-ngay-xua-227499.htm
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