After three drum beats, in the space of the Aro village's communal house, hundreds of locals and tourists witnessed the traditional "buffalo eating" ritual to celebrate the new communal house of the local Co Tu people.
The program was organized by the Department of Culture and Information of Tay Giang district to exploit and develop the new gươl celebration ritual into a tourism product under Project 6, the National Target Program on socio-economic development of ethnic minority and mountainous areas, period 2021 - 2030.
Traditional village festival
Busy with the festival activities, Mrs. Hoih Thi Giec - Head of Aro village is like a "general director" appearing everywhere, anytime. Since the inauguration of the new gươl a few years ago, this "buffalo eating" ritual has been considered a traditional village festival space, gathering a large number of local people to participate and experience. In the new gươl space, the Co Tu community happily danced with drums and gongs, celebrating this important project, which has a humanistic meaning in the Tay Giang highlands.
“The newly formed Guol, in addition to showing the attention of authorities at all levels to the traditional cultural values of the Co Tu, also shows the high spirit of solidarity of the Aro village community.
Taking into account the opinions of the village elders, the restored gươl architecture still retains its traditional features, especially the cultural values of the community. Gươl is a common asset, so despite the busy year-end work, people still arrange to participate, considering it a common responsibility with the village community" - Ms. Hoih Thi Giec shared.
Aro village has 170 households/588 people, mainly Co Tu people. Over the years, with the spirit of community solidarity, Aro people have worked hard to build a new life, especially in the work of preserving traditional culture.
Mr. Hoih Plóc - a resident of Aro village said that for the Co Tu people, the new gươl festival has a very important meaning, showing the spirit of solidarity and reporting to the gods about the important project that has just been completed.
To prepare carefully for the festival, many days in advance, villagers held meetings and mobilized community contributions.
“Whoever has something, contribute. Those who do not have material things, contribute spiritually, join the villagers in erecting the pole, making tents, preparing food... Festival items such as drums, gongs, and dishes for tourists are carefully prepared by the villagers with the cooperation of the village community. When everything is ready, all the villagers gather in front of the new gong, sing and dance together, beat drums, gongs, and participate in meaningful folk games” - Mr. Hoih Plóc confided.
Contribute to conservation
Village elder Hoih Dzuc said that the Co Tu’s gươl is a symbolic structure for the entire community, so any work related to the community is discussed at the gươl. Based on that point of view, the Co Tu believe that the size of the gươl reflects the strength of solidarity and community spirit of that village.
“The Guol is a sacred place where gods, grandparents and ancestors reside. Therefore, before the festival to celebrate the new Guol takes place, the village elders report to the ancestors and pray for the gods to bless the people's lives to develop more and more, for good crops, and for their children to study well. After the rituals to worship the gods are finished, the villagers beat the drums and gongs, and dance together to express the joy of the community,” said elder Hoih Dzuc.
According to Mr. Alang Men - Vice Chairman of Lang Commune People's Committee, in Co Tu culture, the new gươl festival is considered especially important, evaluating the solidarity of the village community in restoring and preserving traditional gươl architecture.
Through the festival, we aim to encourage and motivate the village members who have made many contributions to the restoration of the mirror, contributing to preserving the beautiful cultural identity of the community. This is also an opportunity to strengthen the solidarity of the village community, share experiences in production and economic development, and help each other progress...
Mr. Briu Hung - Head of the Department of Culture and Information of Tay Giang district said that the locality always focuses on preserving, maintaining and promoting the traditional cultural values of the Co Tu people, especially the village's communal house culture.
Thanks to that, up to now, 63 villages in 10 communes across the district have traditional gongs, serving the needs of daily life and general meetings of the community. In 2024, Tay Giang will review, repair and build 16 new Co Tu gongs with a budget of more than 1.8 billion VND.
“In the process of preserving and promoting the existing values of the mirror in the district, in the coming time, we will continue to strengthen propaganda work so that people can understand the Party's policies and guidelines related to cultural preservation, including mirror architecture.
The good news is that people's awareness of preserving traditional cultural values is quite good, creating a foundation for the locality to build a conservation plan associated with effective community tourism development in the future," Mr. Hung shared.
Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/cung-vui-hoi-lang-aro-3145000.html
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