The Ha Nhi ethnic group in Vietnam currently has more than 21 thousand people, with two main groups: the flower Ha Nhi and the black Ha Nhi, residing in the provinces of Lao Cai, Lai Chau and Dien Bien. As an ethnic group with a long history of residence, a relatively closed living environment, high and complex living terrain, the Ha Nhi people in Lao Cai still preserve many traditional rituals of their ethnic group. Among them is the "Ga Ma Do" sacred forest thanksgiving ceremony, which is the largest and most important ceremony of the year for the Ha Nhi people.
In the photo album “Forest worshiping ritual of the Black Ha Nhi people in Bat Xat district, Lao Cai province”, the author, Duong Quoc Toan, recreates the forest worshiping ritual of the Black Ha Nhi people. The forest worshiping ritual of the Ha Nhi people is held on the Ngo day of the third lunar month every year, with profound educational value, not only protecting the forest environment, preserving the cultural identity of the ethnic group, but also creating a strong bond of the Black Ha Nhi community in the highland border area. The photo series was submitted by the author to the Photo and Video Contest Happy Vietnam, organized by the Ministry of Information and Communications.
The male representatives of each family prepare the offerings. When performing the ritual, the offerings usually include: A black male pig, a pair of chickens; a yellow sticky rice cake with a boiled chicken egg in the middle, a tube of undistilled rice wine contained in an old bamboo tube, a straw made from a small bamboo branch, a water pipe drawn from a sacred water source, a pair of wooden cutting boards, nine porcelain bowls and two pairs of chopsticks.
The Ha Nhi believe that the peace of the village, the health of the people, the growth of livestock, and the prosperity of crops depend greatly on this sacred forest. If anyone violates the sanctity of the forest, that person will be punished by the gods.
The time to hold the ceremony is when the weather is still cold, fog covers the forests and villages of the Black Ha Nhi people.
The sacred forest is always located at the highest position of the village and higher than other worship forests in the village. This is where good spirits reside, always protecting the village from evil, chasing away evil spirits that harm the villagers.
After this ceremony, the servants will take bamboo tubes to ask for holy water to perform the “Ga Ma Do” ceremony. The villagers will go to the forest god altar to perform the ceremony and ask the forest god to protect the whole village.
Therefore, to pray for peace and development, every year, the villagers organize a very thoughtful "Ga Ma Do" worship ceremony. Everyone must be very sincere and strictly follow the ancient rules left by their ancestors.
In each village of the Black Ha Nhi people in Bat Xat, there are forbidden forests and sacred water sources that surround and protect them. Among them, the sacred forest “Ga Ma Do” is always considered the most important forest, always located at a higher position than the village. From this sacred forest, the gods can observe all activities of everyone in the village to better protect the village.
The ritual prays for the new year that water will continue to flow and never run dry in their village.
To prepare for the water-welcoming ceremony to worship “Ga Ma Do”, representatives of families in the village bring offerings of a pair of chickens, yellow sticky rice, wine, incense… to the village’s water source to thank the Water God for providing water for daily life and cultivation throughout the past year.
According to the customs of the Ha Nhi people in Lao Cai, before the “Ga Ma Do” ceremony, the Ha Nhi people must organize the “Ga Tu Tu” banning ceremony. The banning ceremony is held on the first Tiger day of the first lunar month. Each Ha Nhi family sends one male member to participate in the banning ceremony.
Forest worship is a ritual offering to the gods who govern the land, water resources, crops and livestock with the wish to receive protection from the gods for favorable weather, bountiful harvests, crops and livestock free from natural disasters and epidemics, and good health for people. This is the biggest ritual of the year./.
Vietnam.vn
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