Traditional Custom to Celebrate Tet of the Lo Lo People in Dong Van Rocky Plateau
26-12-2017 1353 view
The Lo Lo people are also known with some other names such as Mun Di, Man Di, O Man, Qua La ... They have been living in the northern part of Ha Giang for a long time and has been the very first inhabitants in Ha Giang. The Lo Lo are mainly farmed and cultivated with the main crops such as sticky rice, rice and corn. Domestic husbandry is relatively well developed and is a significant source of income.
When the spring comes is also the moment the Lo Lo people in Ha Giang are trying to finish their last work of the old year to prepare for a new spring with the traditional customs of Tet attractively and vitally.
The traditional customs for Tet are simple, not too noisy but attractive. From Lunar December 28th - 29th, all members of every family join their hands to clean the house and put all the garbage at the T-junctions or crossroads to eliminate the unlucky and unwanted things of the old year and welcome the New Year with luck and fortune.
In the afternoon of the 30th of the Lunar New Year, the Lo Lo people will have a big meal to reunion all the members of the family. The head of the family will organize a worship to pray for a good health for all members and call the souls of the dead family members to come back home to reunion with their grandparents, parents, wives and brothers to celebrate the New Year. Men and boys will use hens to worship while women and girls use cocks.
This day is also the day local people put on the seals to all the things in the houses. From the hoes, the shovels, the knives, the ploughs, the rakes to the trees around houses, pigsties, cowsheds, hen-coops…are sealed by silver or yellow papers for resting in the Tet holiday. People will not touch or move them to anywhere else.
The New Year’s Eve is the most animated night of the year, all people in the village will not sleep. Children will be eager to listen to the fairy tales from their grandmothers when sitting around the warm fire to boil Chung cakes. All the old men will sit together to enjoy sipping wine. Young people will have a walk to the neighbor houses and “steal” some chips of wood, stalks of vegetables or some corn stalks to home for luck. People will burn the incense on the altars, lights will be turn on in all the houses, and outside, torches will be lighted up. Young people and children will head to the playing grounds to wait for the cock-a-doodle-doo to welcome the New Year.
According to the custom, the Lo Lo will celebrate New Year from the first cockcrow in the village. Regardless of the chicken from which house as long as in the village is no problem. The heads of the family will call all the members in the family to welcome the New Year. The host will burn the incense in the altar, pray and invite the ancestors to back home to celebrate Tet with other members. There is one person who will be chosen to carry water. Some others will feed the pigs. All animals will get up. The sound of the pigs, dogs, horses will make the village atmosphere become noisy and bustling.
The Tet of the Lo Lo people is also the great occasion of the family reunion. According to custom, wherever the local people go and whatever the local people do, annually, when the Tet comes, all will want to come back home for reunion and show their gratitude towards the ancestors. Lo Lo people have a saying that: “Live toward the ancestors, and graves, not because of food.” Therefore, beside the material conception, there is also the spiritual value. Those are tombs, gravels, incense burners to worship grandparents and parents.
The Tet of the Lo Lo people is held at the same time with official Tet holiday of Vietnamese people so during this time accommodation, restaurant and other services are almost closed and more expensive. Therefore, if rider want to do North Vietnam Motorbike Tours in this time, please contact us in advance to get the best pre-arrangement and otherwise, check out our Vietnam motorbike tours prices before booking.
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