Bang Ca village festival, home to two national intangible cultural heritages

TPO - The Bang Ca Village Festival in 2025, organized for the first time on a city-wide scale, attracted a large number of locals and tourists. Notably, this year's festival included the announcement of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Dao Thanh Y people's Coming-of-Age Ceremony, the New Rice Festival of the Tay people, and the ceremony to receive the Certificate recognizing Bang Ca commune as achieving advanced New Rural Area standards.

01/03/2025 | 10:50

TPO - The Bang Ca Village Festival in 2025, organized for the first time on a city-wide scale, attracted a large number of locals and tourists. Notably, this year's festival included the announcement of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Dao Thanh Y people's Coming-of-Age Ceremony, the New Rice Festival of the Tay people, and the ceremony to receive the Certificate recognizing Bang Ca commune as achieving advanced New Rural Area standards.

Video : Bang Ca Commune, Ha Long City, receives the National Intangible Cultural Heritage Certificate and the Advanced New Rural Area Standard Certificate.

On February 28th, the Bang Ca Village Festival 2025 took place at the Thanh Y Dao ethnic group's cultural conservation area in Bang Ca commune, Ha Long city, Quang Ninh province.

This is a traditional festival of the Dao Thanh Y people in particular and the ethnic communities of Ha Long City in general.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Dung, Chairman of the People's Committee of Bang Ca commune, shared that every year on this day, from the village elders, village chiefs, and people of all walks of life, regardless of where they are studying or working in the country, all remember the village festival.

The village festival is held with the meaning of praying to heaven, the earth spirits, the local deities, and the village guardian spirits for blessings for the people in the new year, with favorable weather, prosperous businesses, and bountiful harvests.

The festival takes place over five days a year (including February 1st, April 1st, July 1st, October 1st, and the 20th day of the 12th lunar month), with February 28th (the 1st day of the 2nd lunar month) being the main New Year celebration.

Within the framework of the village festival, there are rituals such as: a ceremony to pray to the heavens, the earth spirits, the local deities, and the village guardian spirits for blessings in the new year, with favorable weather, prosperous businesses, and bountiful harvests; a ceremony to pray for happiness, health, unity, and harmonious living for all clans and villagers; and a ceremony to pray that the Thanh Y Dao people's forest and fields will not be damaged by wild animals, and that everyone will prosper in their businesses, with full granaries, and barns full of cattle, pigs, and chickens.

Within the framework of the village festival, several traditional festivals unique to the Dao Thanh Y and Tay people are also reenacted, such as the New Rice Festival, the Coming-of-Age Ceremony, and the Harvest Prayer Ceremony.

In addition, the festival also features cultural exchange between ethnic groups from various localities in Ha Long City such as Dan Chu, Quang La, Tan Dan, Ky Thuong, etc.

At the festival, locals and tourists can immerse themselves in a cultural space rich in the unique identity of the ethnic minority groups of Ha Long City.

"It was very interesting and colorful. This was my first time immersing myself in a festival full of national identity of the people of Ha Long City. I got to participate in embroidering traditional costumes, wrapping banh chung (traditional Vietnamese rice cakes), and enjoying local products," the group of female tourists shared.

Ms. Ly Thi Ha, a Dao woman from Bang Ca commune, said that the Bang Ca Village Festival is the biggest and most important festival for the Thanh Y Dao ethnic group. On this day, the elders in the village bring their scarves and clothes to the cultural center to embroider. "I and the villagers are very honored and excited, and we strive to preserve our ethnic cultural identity, especially our traditional clothing, and participate in coming-of-age ceremonies and village festivals," Ms. Ha shared.

Besides enjoying the traditional rituals of the ethnic minorities, tourists can also participate in folk activities and games such as bamboo pole dancing, throwing the ball, walking on a monkey bridge, etc.

With their unique cultural and religious values, the Coming-of-Age Ceremony of the Thanh Y Dao people and the New Rice Festival of the Tay people in Ha Long City and some other places in Quang Ninh have been recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as National Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Son, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Ha Long City, said that the city has identified the need for more tourism products. "With the newly recognized intangible cultural heritage, in 2026 we will upgrade it to extend the length of time tourists stay in Ha Long and will build the Bang Ca village festival into a truly grand festival of the ethnic groups in the northern part of the city to attract tourists, especially international visitors," Mr. Son shared.

Quoc Nam

Source: https://tienphong.vn/le-hoi-lang-bang-ca-noi-co-hai-di-san-van-hoa-phi-vat-the-quoc-gia-post1721243.tpo