Then is an indispensable form of spiritual and cultural activity in the cultural life of some ethnic groups. The Then Hotpot ritual of the Tay people is both unique in form and contains traditional values, maintaining a custom imbued with cultural identity and connecting the village and neighborhood relationships of the Tay ethnic group in Lang Son.
This ritual was recorded by author Le Huy Ngoc in the photo album “Unique Then Thuc Ma Binh hotpot ritual of the Tay people – Lang Son” to help people have a more comprehensive and specific view of the ritual. The photo series was submitted by the author to the Happy Vietnam Photo and Video Contest, organized by the Ministry of Information and Communications.
The Thuc Ma Binh ritual, also known as “Redemption of soldiers”, is one of the unique rituals of the Then people of the Tay ethnic group in Lang Son. The Thuc Ma Binh ritual is performed by the Then people in the family space of the Then practitioner and for one day and one night.
According to the concept of the Tay and Nung people, Then means "fairy", "heavenly person". Those who practice Then are representatives of heaven, sent down to earth to help people overcome disasters and have all good things. From there, Then was born with rituals and ceremonies to pray for rain, sunshine, peace, blessings, and bountiful harvests... Whenever facing the good and bad luck in daily life, the Tay and Nung people find Then a safe spiritual support. Then gives people faith, guides them to better things in life, and keeps them away from negative thoughts and actions.
Lau Then is a ceremony to thank the gods for their protection and pray for the health of family members, including many rituals. In the ritual, the Then master holds a bowl of water, peach leaves, and herbs to cleanse all the impurities in the Then altar and in the house to make everything clean: Clean the altar, the altar table, clean the incense fan, the musical instrument, clean the 9-stringed horse, clean the incense stick, clean everything, clean everything, clean everything.
Next is the stage of sweeping the pot and the flower station of the Then house. The Then master and his disciples will hold a sugar cane (representing the magic stick) and go from the altar to the soldier station (where the offerings of hundreds of families are placed) to sweep, with the wish that everything will be clean to go to the Heavenly Muong, to reward the soldiers and horses of the general. While sweeping, the Then master will find out which family's bag of fortune has a limit or a star by marking a lime mark on the rice bag so that the Then master can dispel the limit the next day.
The shamans are prestigious people in the community, knowledgeable about customs, and can perform all traditional spiritual rituals, from funerals, weddings to longevity celebrations...
The higher the rank of the Then master, the more power and prestige he has. After a period of practice, the Then master will organize a grand ceremony to promote to the next level.
When everything was ready, the Then master performed the ritual in Then words: "Today, thanks to the hundreds of families and people from all directions, this Then family has established a great and strange hairpin case, first to thank the saints in the fairy palace, thank the Buddhas and fairies in the Muong of the West, thank the Mother Goddess for the peace and happiness of every family, then to ask the mandarins to go to heaven, the Jade Emperor above to accept the hairpin ceremony". The last part is singing to return the troops and horses, ending the ceremony.
At the beginning, the Then houses hold the Opening Ceremony to welcome the Jade Emperor and the gods to attend and examine the ceremony, followed by the incense burning, offering of fortune and Chau dance rituals. The Then Lau Thuc Ma Binh ritual is a combination of very unique folk singing and dancing performances. It is one of the Then belief practices recognized by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage.
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