The “Going to the field” ritual and forest god worshiping ceremony of Pu Peo people in Pho La commune formally received the recognition as a national intangible cultural heritage at a ceremony held on July 18 in Ha Giang province’s Dong Van district.
Pu Peo’s girls wear traditional clothes
Pu Peo is one of ethnic minority groups of Ha Giang province living mostly in districts of Dong Van and Yen Ninh, with a population of nearly 700.
Different from the H’Mong people who live high on the mountains, the Pu Peo people often establish their villages on flat grounds in mountainous areas. They currently reside in Pho La, Sung Trang and Phu Lung which have a sub-tropical climate.
A shaman performs “going to the field” ritual
During “Going to the field” ceremony, also called “Pat oong” in the Pu Peo language and people gather to pray for prosperity and good weather and bumper crops. According to old Pu Peo people, the ceremony is held annually from 5th to 12th of the first month
The offerings to deities and gods during the worshipping ritual often consist of chicken, pork, rice, cake, etc. In addition, each family also will prepare a tray of offerings to their ancestors.
During the ceremony, the shaman performs traditional worshipping and offering rituals first in his own house, then in each family and finally at the common place of the village. After that the shaman leads worshipping and offering rituals dedicated to ghosts. Whether a large or small ceremony, living offerings be offered twice before cooked offerings. When traditional rituals of the ceremony completed, people take part together in dancing, singing folk songs and playing traditional games.
In addition to driving away bad ghosts and bad lucks and praying for good weather and bumper, the "going to the field" ceremony is also a good chance for people to meet and exchange of life experiences, contributing to enhance community cohesion.
PH (vanhien.vn)
