The new rice festival in Kon Tum is held around October every year in the villages of the Xo Dang ethnic minority with the wish of a year of good rain, good crops, happy home. , warm and full.
Like many other ethnic groups living in the Central Highlands, the land of Kon Tum annually takes place many cultural activities, sports, festivals … extremely exciting. And among them is an extremely famous festival of the Xo Dang ethnic group that attracts tourists from four directions, which is the new rice festival in Kon Tum . This festival is held annually around October when the rice is already fully ripe. This is considered one of the unique Kon Tum festivals to help each of us understand more about the customs, habits, lifestyle and identity of the nation here.
A special feature of the Xo Dang new rice festival
About the new rice festival in Kon Tum
The new rice festival, also known as a new rice festival, is held every year after the rice harvest is completed. In Xo Dang village this festival is usually held annually starting from October 25. When the rice begins to ripen, the village patriarch will choose a good day to celebrate the new rice ceremony. And at this time, families will actively remodel their houses to be decent because according to the Xo Dang people, by doing so, the rice god will return home without being strangers. In addition, the new rice festival of the Xo Dang people has a good meaning of connecting the community and creating a more unique cultural picture of the 54 ethnic groups.
The new rice festival takes place
Previously, the new rice festival in Kon Tum of the Xo Dang people only took place in a small scale in families, but today it has become a common festival for the whole community and is held consecutively for a few days. associated with sacred rituals to worship gods and singing and dancing to make the new rice festival more meaningful.
Learn about the new rice festival in Kon Tum
During the days of the festival, women will prepare items used in the ritual such as rice bowls for worshiping, string of threads, and holy binders. The new rice celebration will start in the ceremony, people will bring gifts including: rice, rice wine, cork, meat … to the wharf to get water back to their village to celebrate the new rice together. The new rice festival of the Xo Dang and Kon Tum people is divided into 2 phases:
Stage 1: Eat new rice in each family
When the rice is ripe, the family and the household head will go to their rice fields, use a fresh tree to mark the positions of plucking rice and perform religious rituals before plucking the rice. When plucking rice is finished, each family will bring the rice to the warehouse to store, usually each family will bring a large rice basket home to offer new rice. On the way to bring the rice home, if they meet a turn, they will use a branch to block the other side paths, leaving only one main path from the barn to their home thinking that the rice will not get lost.
Phase 2: Celebrating the new rice at the Rong house
When the festival started, the village elder stood out to run the common activities and represented the sacrifice to thank the gods for giving the family a rich and prosperous season. From the early morning, when the ceremony started, all families in the village had to tightly close the doors to allow anyone to come in and out, the meals and dishes would be cooked and put on the kitchen trellis. Xo Dang people are fully prepared. And the person allowed to open the door and go alone to the Rong house is the village family. Next, the village elder will signal a drum signal to all men in the village to bring gifts such as pigs, chickens, fish, and wine to gather right at the Rong house.
Held at the Rong house
The new rice worshiping ceremony took place in the Rong house, the village elder reported to the heaven and earth, the gods of agricultural production for people in the village together with the offerings that people made such as pork, meat chicken, rice … In addition, the village patriarch also prayed to heaven and earth to help the next season be well-rained, the plants would not be affected by diseases or wild animals would not be destroyed to bring life. enough for people.
After the worshiping ceremony is completed, from the Rong house to the village patriarch as well as other members in the village, they will go to each household in the village to celebrate a new rice harvest, the rice is full in the house. Families will also organize to eat new rice, beat gongs, drink wine, dance and sing around the fire. Rice will be scattered around the house because according to Xo Dang people, by doing so, the next crop will be brilliant, rice, maize, and cassava.
Gong dance in the Rong house
When the village family and members of the village come to all the families in the village, then the group will return to the Rong house to celebrate “New Rice Celebration”. Wine and food will be brought to the Rong house by families in the village for the whole community to dance, drink wine and play gongs.
During the days of the new rice festival in Kon Tum , the mountains and forests of the Central Highlands were bustling with the sound of gongs, singing with extremely special folk games … All the people enjoyed the festival. until the fire was over, the wine was pale and then when the association was over, the people would return to their daily farming with the expectation that next year there would be victories and a resounding golden season.
And to learn more about the customs and cultural life of the Central Highlands people, join the new rice festival in Kon Tum with the villagers of Xo Dang village. Surely it will bring you many interesting experiences when you can enjoy cultural exchanges, drink wine and enjoy new rice on the joy of winning a bumper crop with the village.