Cha Mun Festival of Thai people in Thanh Hoa is recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage.

VHO - On October 11, Thanh Hoa province will hold a ceremony to receive the Decision of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to include the Cha Mun Festival of the Thai people in Yen Thang commune in the List of National Intangible Cultural Heritage. This is a great source of pride for the Black Thai people, affirming the enduring vitality of a unique spiritual heritage, closely associated with the cultural life and folk beliefs of Thanh land.

Cha Mun Festival is one of the most unique and typical folk religious festivals of the Black Thai people in Yen Thang commune, Thanh Hoa.

Cha Mun Festival - a unique cultural heritage of the Black Thai people in Yen Thang commune, Thanh Hoa

Being listed in the National Intangible Cultural Heritage List is not only a tribute to traditional cultural values ​​but also demonstrates the community's pride and gratitude towards ancestors and generations of artisans who have persistently preserved and passed down this precious heritage through many generations.

According to the legend of the Black Thai people, since ancient times, people on earth (Muong Lum) often suffered from diseases and epidemics. Faced with this suffering, the people sent people to Muong Troi to ask for help from Po Then, the supreme god with the power to create land, water, all species and humans.

Moved with compassion, Po Then sent divine doctors to help the people. After being cured, Mo Mun, the representative of the community, went to Muong Troi to give thanks and learn valuable medicinal recipes.

Po Then said: "If you cure 120 people, you must hold a ceremony to thank me." From then on, the Cha Mun Festival was born, as a ritual to show gratitude to Po Then, praying for the villagers' health, bountiful crops, and a happy life.

The festival is usually held in the 9th or 10th lunar month. The shaman, a prestigious person in the village, chooses a good day to perform the ceremony. When the festival day comes, those who have been cured by the shaman (called Luc May) and their families prepare thoughtful offerings to express their sincerity.

They bring offerings to the shaman's house, dressed in colorful traditional costumes, with offerings on their heads, and enter the festival to the bustling beat of gongs and drums.

The main ritual of the Cha Mun Festival includes the following parts: inviting Po Then and the souls of deceased Mun shamans to attend the ceremony; calling the spirits of the sick; welcoming guests and local governing spirits; organizing folk games, dances, and performances.

The offerings include 31 trays of food, including a main tray placed in the middle room, and 30 side trays including sticky rice, chicken, pork, grilled fish, wine, and various fruits, sugarcane, potatoes, bananas, etc. All are solemnly displayed, showing respect to gods and ancestors.

After the solemn ceremony is the bustling festival, where people dance together, sing, and tell stories about Mo Mun and Po Then, creating a sacred but also warm atmosphere, connecting the community.

When the ceremony ends, the shaman performs a ceremony to send Po Then off, sending the souls back to Muong Troi, closing a peaceful festival season, and making an appointment to meet again next year.

The recognition of Cha Mun Festival as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage is an affirmation of the strong vitality of Thai ethnic culture in the mountainous region of Thanh Hoa, a testament to the spirit of solidarity, creativity and aspiration to preserve the roots of the people.

This is not only the pride of the Thai people in Yen Thang commune but also contributes to enriching the picture of intangible cultural heritage of Thanh Hoa, the land known as the "precious gem" in the treasure trove of Vietnamese cultural heritage.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/van-hoa/le-hoi-cha-mun-cua-nguoi-thai-o-thanh-hoa-duoc-cong-nhan-di-san-van-hoa-phi-vat-the-quoc-gia-173223.html