When the celosia flowers are bright red on the hillsides, it is also the time when the Cong people in Nam Ke commune, Dien Bien province eagerly celebrate the Celosia Flower Festival, also known as Flower Festival.
This is an opportunity for people to reunite, celebrate the traditional New Year, and at the same time preserve and spread unique cultural values, demonstrating the rich spiritual life and solidarity of the Cong community in the far west of the country.
The Cong ethnic group lives in Nam Ke village with 73 households and 359 people. People mainly cultivate rice fields and swidden fields, with one main crop a year. In addition, people also grow vegetables on alluvial land along rivers and streams, and develop livestock and poultry farming to serve Tet, festivals and daily activities.
Besides material life, the Cong people also have a rich spiritual life through costumes, customs, and festivals such as: Celosia Festival, Village Worship Ceremony, Ancestor Worship Ceremony, Wedding Ceremony, Housewarming Ceremony, Elderly Ceremony, Jade Emperor Thanksgiving Ceremony... Among them, Celosia Festival is the most unique because this is a ritual during the traditional New Year of the Cong people and has the meaning of ending the old year.
The Cong people consider spiritual life to be extremely sacred, and their belief in that sacred realm never fades. They always believe that besides their own efforts in life, the gods and ancestors always accompany them to give them strength to overcome challenges and create miracles in life.
The rituals taking place during Tet Hoa, in addition to the sacred element, also involve folk performing arts, attracting the whole community to turn to their ancestors' roots, expressing gratitude to the gods, local gods, and local spirits where people live.
Mr. Hu Van Thit, a resident of Nam Ke village, said: “The Hoa Mao Ga festival is an occasion for the Cong people to rest, have fun, and relax after days of hard work. It is an occasion for everyone to turn to their roots, for children to thank their grandparents and parents; parents to thank their grandparents and ancestors; and villagers to thank each other. Because over the past year, they have shared with each other so many joys and sorrows. In addition, people express their gratitude to heaven, earth, and gods for blessing them with favorable weather, good crops, and good health. It is an occasion for everyone to pray for good things for a new year with more peace and prosperity.”
For the Cong people, celosia is a sacred flower, symbolizing strength, resilience and belief in goodness. This flower is also considered a spiritual bridge between people and ancestors, between the living and the dead. Celosia Festival usually lasts from two to three days.
During this time, people temporarily put aside their farming work to perform worship rituals together, praying for peace in the village, good crops, and a prosperous life. After the ceremony is the festival, where dances, songs, drums, and gongs resound, creating a joyful atmosphere and connecting the community.
Ms. Lo Thi Y, a resident of Nam Ke village, shared: The Chicken Celosia Festival is a unique cultural feature of the Cong ethnic group. The villagers hope that this festival will be maintained annually so that future generations can understand, appreciate and be more proud of their ethnic identity.
According to Chairman of the People's Committee of Nam Ke commune Nguyen Tien Thanh, in recent years, ethnic minorities in general and Cong ethnic people in Nam Ke commune in particular have always received attention from the Party and State.
Policies for the Cong ethnic group have achieved important results in all areas, such as: The economy has grown quite well, cultural and spiritual life has been increasingly improved; the work of preserving and promoting traditional cultural values has always been focused on, many traditional festival customs have been restored and developed, becoming highlights in community life; social order and safety, national security and defense have been maintained...
In particular, festivals of the Cong ethnic group as well as other ethnic minorities in the area have been restored and organized regularly; thereby, ethnic people have more opportunities to exchange and learn from each other's experiences.
Cultural activities contribute to promoting the successful implementation of economic- political -cultural-social development goals, ensuring national defense and security in the locality and region.
Organizing the Tet Hoa Celosia festival not only aims to preserve and honor the precious cultural heritage of the Cong ethnic group, but also contributes to the effective implementation of Project 6 under the National Target Program on socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas, period 2021-2030.
This is also a concrete step to realize the Party and State's policy of "preserving and promoting traditional cultural identity associated with community tourism development, creating sustainable livelihoods for people. This is also an opportunity to introduce and promote the cultural and tourism potential of Nam Ke commune to domestic and foreign tourists.
Mr. Nguyen Hoang Hiep, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Dien Bien province, said that the Cong people's Celosia Festival has been recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage.
In the coming time, Dien Bien province will continue to maintain and promote the value of the festival, both preserving traditional culture and promoting local tourism development, creating sustainable livelihoods for people in border areas.
Through Tet Hoa, family and ethnic affection continues to be nurtured more and more sustainably, creating one of the beautiful cultural traits of the Cong people, making people love and bond with each other more.
After Tet Hoa, life in the Cong community begins a new cycle with warm feelings and new beliefs and hopes for the future of each family and village in the border area./.
Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/dien-bien-dong-bao-cong-noi-bien-gioi-nam-ke-vui-tet-hoa-mao-ga-post1075299.vnp
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