Elevating the Fire Dancing Festival of the Pa Then People

As if protected by the gods, the barefooted boys jump into the hot coals, creating a mysterious dance of fire. That is the most unique and impressive image in the Fire Dance Festival of the Pa Then ethnic group in the mountainous province of Tuyen Quang.

Fire dancing festival of Pa Then ethnic group, Tan Trinh commune, Tuyen Quang province.

Pa Then is a very small ethnic group, living mainly in some highland communes of the province with other ethnic communities but still preserves traditional cultural features, notably the Fire Dancing Festival.

Tan Trinh Commune is home to the largest Pa Then ethnic community in the country with 815 households/4,310 people. Here, in mid-October (lunar calendar) every year, the Pa Then people hold a festival with many activities that can last until January 15 (lunar calendar) of the following year.
In their spiritual life, the Pa Then people believe that there are gods around them who protect, shelter, and help them overcome difficulties. Among them, the fire god is the most supreme god because fire brings luck to the family and the community. People's Cultural and Religious Artist Sin Van Phong, My Bac village, Tan Trinh commune, said that to prove that concept, the Pa Then people organize the Fire Dancing Festival.

For a normal person, touching fire will get burned, but for those who participate in the Fire Jumping Festival, after the ceremony, they are protected by the gods so they jump into the fire without getting burned! The Fire Jumping Festival has a deep religious meaning, it is a prayer for the community to be healthy, peaceful and prosperous.

Pa Then people from old to young, male and female all wear traditional costumes to participate in the festival. The festival is held on a large land, with about 8 to 10 healthy young men in the village chosen by the shaman to participate in the fire dance.

The shaman will perform a ceremony to ask the local god and the land god to allow the village to organize the fire dance, the prayer lasts 40 minutes, followed by the fire god worship ceremony lasting 30 minutes. In the mysterious space of the highland night, the shaman sits on a chair, reads the prayer, and beats the rhythm of the "Pan do" instrument, the sounds of the instrument resound regularly like a bridge connecting humans with the world of spirits. At the same time, a large fire in the middle of the yard is lit to create red embers.

When the coals were red hot, the boys took turns sitting on chairs in front of the shaman. When their bodies shook, they jumped up and jumped into the pile of hot coals, kicking the flames to the cheers of the community. The strange thing was that even though they jumped directly into the fire with bare feet, they did not get burned. Ta Van Khanh, over 20 years old, from Na Tho village, Tan Trinh commune, has participated in the fire jumping ceremony since he was 15 years old, said: “Every time, when I sit in front of the shaman, I find myself no longer afraid of fire and automatically jump in.

After jumping on fire with bare feet, my feet were black from the coals but I was not burned, just a little tired, and after a little rest I was fine again”. In recent years, with its uniqueness and special cultural value, the Fire Dancing Festival has become an attractive tourism product of Tuyen Quang province, attracting a large number of tourists.

From the festival, the Pa Then people have the opportunity to promote their ethnic culture more widely, and at the same time create more livelihoods through the sale of brocade and traditional handicraft products. The weaving profession of Pa Then women in Tan Trinh has thus increasingly developed, bringing stable income to many households.

Mr. Ha Huy Truong, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Tan Trinh Commune, said that this year, for the first time, the Fire Dancing Festival was held at the provincial level in the commune on December 5 (October 16 of the lunar calendar). Elevating the festival not only aims to honor the unique cultural heritage of the Pa Then ethnic group but also contributes to building new tourism products that have the power to spread, attract tourists, and affirm the cultural values ​​of the locality.

At the festival, there are pestle pulling rituals, fire dancing ceremonies and competitions such as wrapping buffalo croissant cakes; weaving chicken cages for the bride; brocade weaving; pounding rice cakes and some traditional sports; supporting activities such as organizing worship to inform ancestors and the fire god at the Pa Then ethnic traditional house, Tan Trinh commune; organizing the display of traditional items of the Pa Then people at the traditional house and tea-drinking space, displaying and introducing the commune's typical products.

“The Tan Trinh Commune Party Committee has issued a specialized resolution on tourism with solutions for sustainable development, developing community tourism associated with unique cultural experiences of ethnic minorities and the Fire Dancing Festival is identified as a highlight to achieve that goal,” Mr. Truong emphasized.

Article and photos: KHÁNH Toàn

Source: https://nhandan.vn/nang-tam-le-hoi-nhay-lua-cua-nguoi-pa-then-post928348.html