With a strong belief in the traditional beliefs and customs of their compatriots, the Ba Na festivals in Kon Tum still preserve intact the traditional beauty of each period, which is also the pride and way of life. for future descendants to connect with ancestors and spiritual beings.
As one of the large indigenous ethnic communities in Kon Tum , the Ba Na people still retain very unique traditional features, culture and customs, especially special festivals. In the concept of the Ba Na people, from birth and death, people will experience many levels of behavioral relationships from person to person, individual to community and community to the supernatural (Yang in human culture). Ba Na)… in those relationships, religious beliefs always exist and the Ba Na festival in Kon Tum clearly shows those beliefs. Exploring the Bahnar festivals in Kon Tum, visitors will understand more about the traditional cultural beauty of this nation.
The Ba Na community in Kon Tum has a rich spiritual life with many special festivals. Photo: national newspaper
Discover the most unique Bahnar festivals in Kon Tum
1. Buffalo stabbing festival (X’trang)
Talking about the most famous Ba Na festival in Kon Tum, the buffalo stabbing festival is certainly indispensable, this is one of the most important festivals of the people, organized to offer thanksgiving to the gods . celebrate a bountiful harvest.
To prepare for the buffalo stabbing festival, the Ba Na people will choose a new, healthy, well-fed buffalo. The buffalo used for sacrifice is the village’s buffalo. brought back to the village at least 10 days before the festival to feed and drink the village’s water.
Buffalo stabbing festival is one of the famous traditional festivals of the Ba Na people. Tan Vinh
On the day of the buffalo stabbing festival, people will put a buffalo on the pole (the natives call it sakapo tree by rattan rope. The village elder will conduct a ceremony, recite a vow to thank the gods for their blessing. for a bountiful harvest and pray for blessings in the coming season, then the villagers will dance together to the sound of gongs around the buffalo used for sacrifice.
The most important part of this festival is buffalo stabbing, people will choose very strong and healthy young men, perform martial arts, show strength around the buffalo while the villagers cheer and cheer. When the buffalo is tired, they will choose the opportunity to stab the buffalo. The buffalo after butchering will be shared among all villagers to celebrate and consider it a good omen.
The compatriots will organize many activities to celebrate the festival. Photo: Duong Giang
2. Grave abandonment ceremony (Motbassa or Mot bruh bazat)
This festival of the Ba Na people in Kon Tum will last for 5 days, in the opinion of the Ba Na people, the dead will lose their bodies, but their souls will still exist in the tombs and live in normal activities. like people living on earth. It takes from 3 years, 5 years to 7 years to perform the ceremony to leave the grave for the souls of the dead to go to the new world.
Leaving the grave is a traditional festival showing the unique customs of the Ba Na people. Photo: VietnamPlus
During the burial ceremony, families will choose a day to dig, perform a ritual to ask the ghost of the dead to build a new tomb, and clean the old one. In the early days, they will gather to build a new tomb and bring wine and meat to eat and drink, make offerings to the dead and perform the last cry to say goodbye to the dead. On the fourth day, when the new tomb has been built, the buffalo will be taken to the communal house of the village and sacrificed to the gods. After the ritual of leaving the grave, the buffalo is brought to be slaughtered for the whole village to eat, drink and play that night.
The ritual in the ceremony of leaving the grave is also very solemn. Photo: Heritage
When the burial ceremony is completed, the ties of the living and the dead will be severed, the dead will enter a new world without disturbing the world, and the living will no longer need to worship or abstain from anything.
3. The ceremony of praying for peace (Ate rei)
This festival is usually held from the end of autumn to the end of spring, from November to April every year. This is a festival of the Ba Na people in Kon Tum with a very deep family and community character. The ceremony of praying for peace will be performed when the family encounters unfortunate events such as illness, crop failure, unexpected disaster… organized by the villagers.
The ceremony of praying for peace can be held on a family scale or the whole village. Photo: Kon Tum Newspaper
Depending on the economic conditions of the family, the community will choose appropriate gifts. The Ba Na people attach great importance to this ceremony and maintain a solemn organization, but there will be changes in the way it is organized to better suit specific conditions. In areas such as Kon Gop village, Kim Ruu district or Dak Wok village, Sa Thay district, the ceremony of praying for peace is always attended by the whole village.
The ceremony of praying for peace is usually held from November to April every year. Photo: Kon Tum Newspaper
4. New rice celebration
This festival of the Ba Na people in Kon Tum must be quite familiar to many tourists, the festival will be held around November to January every year because this is the time when the crops are done, the land is rested and the land is rested. Villagers also have free time. The new rice festival of the Ba Na people expresses the desire for a prosperous life for the village.
The Ba Na people’s new rice festival is usually held after the harvest. Photo: heritage
People will choose a beautiful day after the harvest and gather the villagers at the Rong house, each house contributing a chicken, a khau of nuggets, and a pot of wine arranged along the 2 rows of the communal house. When the preparations are complete, each family will appoint a representative to sit at their ceremony tray while the village boys float gongs, the village elders perform the ceremony to pray for peace and prosperity for the villagers, each representative of the families. I also have my own dreams.
The meaning of the festival is to give thanks to Yang after the crop and pray for a bountiful next season. Photo: heritage
Then the village elder and the village elders will eat and drink first, then the villagers. The atmosphere of the new rice festival is very fun, filled with laughter and laughter that lasted all night in the sound of gongs and a warm atmosphere.
In addition to the above prominent festivals, the Ba Na people also have other unique festivals such as the festival of the bats, the festival of the new communal house, the festival of worshiping the village land… Each festival will have its own unique features and rituals. associated with specific periods. The festivals of the Ba Na people in Kon Tum show the unique culture and rich spiritual life of the indigenous people.
Photo: Internet (Vinlove.net)