Ceremony to worship the forest god

Ceremony to worship the forest god

Dong Van, Ha Giang

Worshiping ceremony for the forest god of the Pu peo people in Ha Giang Time: 6/6 Lunar calendar The Pu Peo people are an ethnic group that only lives in Ha Giang province, often concentrated in Pho La commune, Dong Van district. Although the population is not large, the Pu Peo people have a quite diverse national identity, they have preserved a lot of good traditional culture. Every year, in addition to the Lunar New Year, the Forest Worship Ceremony is also a very important holiday for the Pu Peo people. Every year on the 6th day of the 6th lunar month, the Pu Peo people, no matter where they go or what they do, return to their hometown to gather with their families and villages on the day of worshiping the forest god. The forest god ceremony usually takes place in a forbidden forest - a sacred forest at the beginning of the village. On behalf of the people in the village, the shaman will respectfully face a large tree trunk in the forest, then he will kneel and bow to the 4 directions of sky and 8 directions of land 2 times, 3 times each to pray that the forest god and water god will protect the people of the village. Pu Peo people have the concept that protecting the forest is protecting the water source, praying to the water god is praying to the forest god!? Therefore, on Tet day, boys and girls in Pu Peo village will go to the stream together to carry gold and silver water home for good luck. Offerings will be displayed on hot pots or wild banana leaves. The altar is usually built from green bamboo trees, about 2 meters high, facing the high mountain top. Squares of plain rice are pounded, shaped into cakes, cut into pieces and carefully arranged in round trays. Many pieces of rice will be arranged in very neat rows on fresh banana leaves, (each rice ball symbolizes a deity, the Pu Peo people have polytheistic beliefs, Gods of Heaven, Forest, Earth, Stream, Wind...) On top of each rice ball, there is also a piece of boiled egg (the boiled chicken egg must be peeled and chopped into pieces). At the foot of the altar is made of fresh bamboo, lined with fresh green banana leaves, and two still alive chickens are tied, each chicken is tied with a string, the string is attached to a stake. A wine bottle and a few cups will be placed around. Near the altar there is another stake, a goat is tied to this stake, the goat is still alive and usually has black hair. The worshiping ceremony usually lasts for several hours. The shaman holds a fresh bamboo branch, still with leaves, in his hand, waving it back and forth throughout the ceremony. Sometimes he holds a dry gourd. The offering is like the devotion of the Pu Peo people to the Gods of the Forest, Heaven, Earth... and is also an invitation to the gods to witness the worshiping ceremony, enjoy the offerings of chicken and goat meat and protect the villagers, giving them good health, good weather and good harvests. Pray for the forest to become greener and greener to protect people. People in the village also swear before the Forest God that they will preserve the forest well. Anyone who hunts or cuts trees in the forest violates their promise and will be punished by the Forest God. The forest is lush, heaven and earth are in harmony, protecting the lives of the people of Cung Cha. Rain does not cause floods, sunshine does not cause drought, wind and thunderstorms do not cause death. The worshiping ceremony is divided into 3 stages, the first part has the chicken and the female goat still alive; In the second part, these two animals were slaughtered by the young men; and finally the party to end the ceremony, everyone will eat and drink together at the place where the ceremony takes place. Families who did not participate were given a share, and someone brought it home. Those present at the party must eat all the meat and drink all the wine right on the green grass at the edge of the forest to pray for good luck.    The lives of the Pu Peo people have been closely linked to the forest for many generations. People here have a very clear concept that they only worship the ancestors of their family for the next 5 generations, as for the ancestors before those 5 generations, they often live in the Forest, living under large banyan trees. Therefore, the belief of worshiping the forest and worshiping the forest god, for the Pu Peo people, is also worshiping their ancestors. Within 1 day, with the jubilant and united atmosphere of the festival of people of all ethnic groups in the commune, the ceremony took place seriously, ensuring the necessary things. In addition, the ceremony to worship the Forest God of the Pu Peo people also had a program of singing and responding, dancing and singing traditional folk songs, and love making...

From 19/07/2026 - 19/07/2026

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