Preserving and promoting festivals of Thai people in Thanh Hoa

The Thai ethnic group in Thanh Hoa currently has about 223,316 people, accounting for about 35.6% of the province's ethnic minorities. Of which, the Tay Dam (Black Thai) and Tay Do (White Thai) are the two main groups, residing in the old districts: Ba Thuoc, Lang Chanh, Thuong Xuan, Nhu Xuan, Quan Hoa, Quan Son, Muong Lat. Through the process of formation and development, the Thai ethnic group has produced an extremely rich and diverse treasure of festivals associated with agricultural rituals, worshiping village gods, historical figures...

Han Festival, Van Xuan Commune.

Examples include the Kin Chieng Boọc May festival, singing and dancing to celebrate under the cotton tree - a unique cultural and spiritual beauty for thousands of years of the Thai community in Roc Ram village (Yen Tho commune); the Nang Han festival, Lum Nua village (Van Xuan commune); the Muong Xia festival (Son Thuy commune); the buffalo offering festival at Chin Gian temple (Thanh Quan commune)... These festivals are not only an occasion to practice beliefs, but also a place for the Thai community to express traditional cultural values ​​and increase solidarity.

Coming to Mo 1 village, Xuan Du commune, everyone from young people to the elderly clearly understands the origin of the Set Booc May festival. Ms. Le Thi Quyen said: "This is a unique folk belief activity from ancient times, preserved by the villagers from generation to generation, and today the festival is increasingly promoting its value, spreading its influence in the community."

According to legend, when the world was still dark, demons and beasts harassed the people, and people's lives were extremely miserable. Faced with this situation, the Jade Emperor sent his three talented and virtuous sons to save the people. These three are considered extremely important angels in the spiritual life of the Thai people. Each person has a mission, through rituals such as planting cotton trees, praying for rain, and the Set Booc May ceremony, they guided and helped people to do business, conquer nature, and overcome all difficulties to build a prosperous family and build an increasingly developed Thai village.

And of course, every year on the 10th of January, the Thai people in Mo 1 village hold the Set Booc May festival to express their gratitude to their ancestors. The festival is held in a very sacred and solemn manner with folk songs, the sounds of drums, gongs, bamboo flutes, and bong bua echoing throughout the mountains and forests, captivating the audience. In addition, people also organize many exciting sports activities such as stick pushing, tug of war, shuttlecock throwing, crossbow shooting, volleyball, and many other unique cultural exchange activities.

Talking about preserving the Set Booc May festival, Vice Chairman of Xuan Du Commune People's Committee Le Viet Huong said: "Preserving and promoting the value of the Set Booc May festival has contributed to preserving the cultural identity of the Thai people; at the same time promoting the development of local tourism . Therefore, in the past time, the commune has encouraged artisans and village elders who are knowledgeable about the festival to actively teach the rituals, folk songs and dances in the festival to the younger generation. At the same time, it has supported the budget for purchasing musical instruments, costumes for practice and performance of the people. Along with that, it focuses on promoting the value of the festival associated with developing spiritual tourism in the area.

In Lum Nua village (Van Xuan commune), the unique Han festival is still preserved. According to the Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Cam Ba Huyen commune: "This is a traditional festival of the 16 Thai ethnic groups of Chieng Van Muong in the past, now in Lum Nua village (Van Xuan commune). The festival takes place in the early spring, the main festival is on the 5th day of Tet and lasts throughout the spring. Organizing the festival is an opportunity for the Thai people to express their gratitude to Han - the Thai ethnic girl of Lum Nua village with her bravery and intelligence in protecting her homeland and the people of Trinh Van commune. The festival consists of two parts: a ceremony in the Muong cave and a festival with many unique cultural and sports activities. Currently, the festival still preserves many intangible cultural values ​​of the Thai people such as oral literature, social customs and beliefs, knowledge, folk culture about cuisine ".

According to Mr. Huyen, in recent years, the locality has been proactive in planning, establishing an organizing committee and script to make the festival sacred and solemn. At the same time, it has increased propaganda, promotion, and introduction of the cultural beauty of the festival to the people and tourists to educate about traditions and preserve cultural identity.

Through the ups and downs of history, the unique traditional festivals of the Thai people have always been preserved and passed down from generation to generation with love and responsibility. Because for them, festivals are the precious assets left by their ancestors, the origin of the nation.

Article and photos: Nguyen Dat

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/gin-giu-phat-huy-le-hoi-cua-nguoi-thai-o-xu-thanh-268905.htm