Ede people's wishes through the Prosperity Offering Ceremony

The fullness offering ceremony is one of the unique rituals of the Ede people in Cu M'gar district, Dak Lak province. However, for many years, the Ede people in the villages in the area no longer organize this ritual. To restore this unique ritual, recently, the People's Committee of Cu Mgar district coordinated to organize the restoration of the fullness offering ceremony of the Ede people in Sut M'drang village, Cu Sue commune.

The team of artists performed gong pieces during the ceremony.

The fullness offering ceremony, in the Ede language, is called Kam Hmah Kam Hwa. Traditionally, this ceremony is usually held on a large, flat piece of land, near an old tree with many beehives. Because the Ede people believe that a piece of land that meets all of these criteria is a good place. The ceremony is usually held in May and June every year, expressing the community's desire for fullness, wishing for favorable weather, good fields and crops.

Before the ceremony, villagers cut bamboo together to build a stilt house and a symbolic rice barn on the ceremony site. Around the ceremony area, there are 10 wind chimes to signal villagers to attend the ceremony and to ward off bad luck. In addition, there are shields and knives to ward off evil spirits.

In addition to the space for performing the ceremony, people also prepare offerings including: 2 pigs, including 1 healthy white pig, 5 roosters, 3 jars of rice wine, 20 copper rings. In addition, people also prepare 3 strings of beads, 3 copper cups, 3 copper bowls, 1 copper tray, 1 fresh banana tree, 1 ceremonial pole, 2 statues representing good and evil gods, statues of wild boars, squirrels, rats, and bird-scaring gongs. The jars of rice wine used for the ceremony must absolutely not be bought from outside but must be directly cooked by the villagers themselves.

The stilt house and granary were symbolically built by the people at the worship ceremony.

Village elder Y Nghi Eban (born in 1968), Sut M'drang hamlet, Cu Sue commune, shared: For the Ede people, rice storage is very important in life, not only to preserve the family's assets but also to symbolize abundance. Therefore, the process of building a rice storage is very meticulous. In addition to the rice storage, the Ede people also build storage for production and hunting tools. In particular, during the worship ceremony, everyone is forbidden from entering or leaving the worship area except the village elder and the shaman.

According to custom, in the past, during the full moon ceremony, all villagers had to tie their fingers together and were absolutely not allowed to leave the village. People from other villages were not allowed to enter. If by chance, anyone entered the village while the full moon ceremony was being held, they would be detained until the ceremony was over before being allowed to leave the village.

Mr. Y Duc Eban (born in 1951), residing in Sut Mgrư hamlet, Cu Sue commune, said: In addition to praying for the villagers to always have a prosperous, happy life and good health, the fullness worship ceremony also shows the solidarity and attachment of the Ede people in the villages. Recreating the fullness worship ceremony is an opportunity to teach the younger generations to raise awareness of protecting the forests and resources around them. At the same time, it arouses the passion for traditional culture and remembrance of the origins of their people in the younger generations of the villages.

The ceremony's offerings must include 3 jars of rice wine.

Cu Sue commune has 5 ethnic groups living together, including 4 villages of Ede ethnic people. Ethnic minorities in Cu Sue commune still preserve many customs and practices, such as folk songs, traditional dances, architecture, traditional crafts...

Mr. Dang Van Hoan, Chairman of the People's Committee of Cu Sue Commune, said that traditional culture is always the breath of life, contributing significantly to the economic and social development of the locality. The restoration of the Ede people's fullness worship ritual is an activity with the meaning of building a united and close-knit community, expressing love and respect, gratitude, looking back to the origin and mutual support in life. The restoration of the ritual also aims to gradually restore the gong cultural space in villages, preserve and promote national cultural heritage associated with tourism development, contributing to the socio-economic development of the locality.

Some pictures at the re-enactment of the Ede people's Fullness Offering Ceremony:

Hang wind chimes to signal villagers to attend the ceremony and to ward off bad luck.

Offering tray for performing the ceremony

The shaman reads a prayer to the gods for favorable weather and good crops.

Ede woman sowing rice on the field

Villagers drink rice wine at the ceremony

Le Huong (Ethnicity and Development Newspaper)

Source: https://baophutho.vn/uoc-vong-cua-nguoi-e-de-qua-le-cung-no-du-218652.htm