New rice celebration of the Muong ethnic group, Hoa Binh province

The New Rice Celebration ceremony of the Muong people in Hoa Binh is usually held after the harvest season, around the 10th lunar month, at this time families organize it themselves or invite the Master to celebrate the ceremony to thank heaven and earth, the gods, and ancestors for blessing good weather, lush vegetation, and the Muong people to have a prosperous and fulfilling life.

When the rice harvest season comes, the head of the family chooses an auspicious day to visit the fields, pluck seven or nine beautiful sticky rice flowers symbolizing the seven or nine rice stalks in his field, braid them into a small bundle and hang it at the top of the main column in the house next to the ancestral altar. After this ritual, people can go to the fields to harvest rice. After the harvest season, people hold a ceremony to offer new rice. The offering tray must be complete, including: young rice, grilled fish, pork and two mandatory main dishes: young rice and grilled fish.

Since ancient times, this ceremony is mainly part of the ceremony (ritual, method, presentation ceremony) for the shaman, shaman or staff to carry out the worship procedures according to traditional customs. The festival is almost a blur, mainly relatives and villagers come to play (because it is organized by each family). They bring gongs and a band of storks and flutes to come together and play amulets for a day, usually ending in the evening. In folk culture, they just call it "Eating new rice" or the celebration of new rice. They don't call it a "festival" but a festival within the ceremony.

The new rice celebration takes place in the space of the Muong ethnic village, the Culture - Tourism Village of Vietnamese Ethnic Groups, prepared with the most delicious and beautiful dishes to offer to heaven and earth, invite ancestors, thank the gods for bringing a prosperous harvest to the family and village, pray for the ethnic groups to prosper, live peacefully, have good luck and happiness and eliminate all kinds of bad things according to Muong ethnic customs and spirituality.

The Muong people in the past, after harvesting the harvest, families would prepare a celebration of new rice months in advance, including: New sticky rice, new regular rice, Troong leaves (colored leaves), new wine (cooked with new sticky rice), chicken, duck, fish, bamboo shoots, wood ear mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, spices, betel and areca, preparing bamboo to weave trays and trays for offerings, other types of work such as can wine, knitting jars, dan kha,... All of the above work is full. enough for 4 offering trays (offerings must be complete before holding the offering ceremony). A tray full of rituals for the God of Earth Cong - native land - local, Lady Thac Bo and other gods. A tray for the ancestors, tutelary god, Uncle Ho.

The content of the shaman's prayer is with the meaning: rice is the essence of heaven and earth, a product that feeds people, and today the descendants bring the tastiest and most beautiful things to offer to heaven and earth, invite ancestors, and thank the gods for bringing a prosperous harvest to the family and village. Pray for ancestors and gods to bless the next crop with good weather and rain.

The new rice celebration is a beauty in the culture of the Muong people because it demonstrates the tradition of remembering the source when drinking water, being respectful to ancestors, grandparents, parents, and expressing family affection, and the love between neighbors and neighbors is always strong.

After the offerings, family members gather together to enjoy the fruits of their labor. During the meal to celebrate the new rice, there are often full of grandparents, parents, children and grandchildren gathering happily. Neighbors can also come to join in the fun. They give each other nice words and thoughts, encouraging each other to try their best in the next seasons. Finally, when the rituals have been completed, the families choose a few bundles of good rice seeds to put in the kitchen to preserve the rice with full of hope that a new bumper harvest awaits.