Fire dancing rituals of the Red Dao and Cao Bang people are usually conducted in the leisure season (December, lunar January) in the cultural space of the village or at the homes of the men who have the conditions to perform the ceremony. This is a ritual to pray for peace and health for the villagers.
Unique Fire Dance ritual of the Red Dao
Fire dance ritual
Fire is considered a divine god, it helps bring warmth to fellow people
The Fire Dance ceremony of the Red Dao does not take place at any time of the month, so if anyone has the opportunity to come to Binh Lang, Thong Nong, and Cao Bang communes, they can participate in the ceremony and eat special dishes. of Cao Bang , it is a very lucky thing.
According to the conception of the Red Dao, fire is considered a sacred god, fire helps to bring warmth to the people. The Fire Jumping Ceremony took place with the meaning of praying the fire god to bring warmth to the villagers, give the villagers a peaceful new year, “good rain, peaceful wind”, healthy families. In addition, the fire dance festival is also held at the promotion ceremony of Mr. Tao, the maturation ceremony for young Red Dao. In addition to the Red Dao people, the Pa Then also have a fire dance festival, but each fire dance festival has its own unique features, containing different mystical and spiritual elements.
In addition to the Red Dao people, the Pa Then also have a fire dance festival
The fire dance ceremony was held on a large courtyard. The ceremony began with many shamans, each with their own duties at the ceremony, but with a main teacher. The number of people participating in the fire dance ceremony must be an even number and must be 4 or more people. This created a sophisticated, multi-stage ceremony that lasted for hours.
In the ritual part of the Red Dao here, the offerings offered must have main offerings such as wine, boiled chicken, money made of paper, lamps or candles …
The fire dance ceremony was held on a large courtyard
When the sound of the rod becomes faster and faster, that’s when the Fire Dance Festival really begins. The boys jumped into the middle of the burning wildfire with bare feet. Person after person jumped on the pile of embers, the more people empowered by the gods at night. Under the sound of drums, gongs, cheering cheers from the audience, the Red Dao boys continuously dancing on the fire, embers flying around like a beautiful fireworks display. The festival ends when the embers faded, leaving only bare black feet.
The festival ends when the embers faded, leaving only bare black feet
For about an hour or so, the monks performed the necessary rituals by jumping around the fire to call the above masters for support, joining the fire-jumping participants. Participating in the Red Dao’s Fire Dance ceremony are healthy boys who have been trained by the monk to jump over coal. The number of people participating in the fire jump is always an even number, eight or ten.
After the priest performed the initial rituals, the bodies of the fire-jumping participants began to vibrate. This moment signaled that they were about to have the strength, the courage to jump into the hottest embers. 
Participating in the Red Dao dance ceremony are healthy boys
They started to turn up, bend over, hop and move closer to the fire. As if fueled by some kind of energy, barefoot Red Dao men, in a moment of sublime, they jumped up with both feet and plunged into the burning embers, they even used their hands to lift. Burning coals covered her body.
According to the conception of the Red Dao, the time to dance on the fire is short or long depending on the power of the god given them. For Red Dao girls, the festival is an opportunity for them to choose a partner with strength, courage and loyalty.
The participants of the firefight affirmed that the supernatural forces gave them boundless courage, confidence and being protected and protected … So when jumping on a pile of embers they never had. a burning sensation or fear.
A lot of dances are included in the ritual
Dances in the rituals
The Fire Dance ritual of the Red Dao undergoes many steps, in which, the main content of the dancing and chanting ritual is held continuously throughout the process. At the first ceremony, people prepare to dance “sausage to the furnace” (a dance that tells about the origin of the fire dance ceremony).
Next is the dance of the sword, also known as the dance of the army to the general, the dance of fighting. Everyone held a sword in their hand or carried a sword with them. This dance includes sword steps, sword chasing, sword sharpening and sword collection. 
The Red Dao’s Fire Dance ritual goes through many steps
Then there is the dance “running the flag.” This dance means that the soldiers have finished training, the gods check the army, check the soldiers, and regulate the ranks. first, the person holding the knife, taking the sword behind, people line up in long lines, run slowly and quickly, follow the shape of “Z” and then run in a circle according to the drum sound, gongs rushing, urging. This took place to show the heroic, reenactment of the heroic history of the Dao people during the sea crossing.
Next is the dance “peo tu” (turtle dance or also known as dance three ba). This dance content describes the process of preparing, finding turtles, chasing turtles, catching turtles, turtle meat … to present to the gods. The turtle dance was performed by a village boy under the guidance of a master when possessed by the gods. Among those dances, the most characteristic and funniest turtle dance, the boys’ rhythmic and vigorous dance depicts chasing turtles, finding turtles, catching turtles, killing turtles. 
The Red Dao’s Fire Dance ritual has unique cultural activities
Finally, a production dance depicts the process of labor of the Dao from the time of slash-and-burn to harvest with very close movements in production such as planting trees, poking holes, planting seeds, reaping, drying, grinding rice, blowing cooking … All these movements are everyone dancing skillfully. This dance demonstrates the people’s hardship in making rice grains.
The Red Dao’s Fire Dance Ceremony features a unique cultural activity that is meaningful in educating courage and daring to cope with all difficulties. At the same time, it contains the belief that drives the community towards the good and the deeds are good for us, good for everyone.
Photo: Internet