The torchbearer in the unique ritual of the Pa Then people

Bridge to… the gods

Amidst the vibrant atmosphere of that sacred festival, I met Mr. Phu Van Thanh, who is said to hold the "secret" of the fire dancing festival of the Pa Then people in Tuyen Quang. With bright eyes and a warm voice, Mr. Thanh told about the "secrets" hidden in the fire dancing ritual...

Shaman Phu Van Thanh, Thuong Minh village, Hong Quang commune, Lam Binh district, Tuyen Quang province, performs the fire jumping ritual.

Fire dancing - in Pa Then language is "po di". Mr. Phu Van Thanh said, compared to many other rituals, fire dancing is a ritual that is organized quite simply, gently from offerings to prayers. Because, to perform the ritual, there is no need to have a lavish offering tray with wine, chicken, pork... The fire dancing ceremony, according to Mr. Thanh, simply has a bowl of water on the altar, along with a small offering tray with a pig's head or a small pig.

The ceremony is also quite brief with 3 prayers in Pa Then language to "clearly" present to the gods the reason for the ceremony. The reason must be good (must be a thanksgiving ceremony, a new rice offering ceremony, to ward off bad luck, to cure illnesses for the villagers...) to "invite" the gods back. The shaman must invite all 28 gods, the most important of which is the fire god.

The ritual is carried out gently, but to make the ceremony successful, from the person performing the ceremony to the fire dancer must have a bright mind and sincerity so that the fire god can "protect" them.

To prepare for the ceremony, in the afternoon, Mr. Thanh’s students personally carried firewood to burn in the yard. The firewood for the fire can be any wood as long as it is clean and can only be burned once. Importantly, the fire must be lit from the flame of the lamp on the offering tray. The Pa Then people believe that this is a sacred fire, where the fire god resides.

When praying, the shaman's head sways and his legs vibrate in rhythm with the beat of the Pan Do instrument. The Pa Then people believe that at this moment, their soul is "leaving the world" to travel to the other world to talk to the gods.

Mr. Sin Van Toan, a village boy who regularly participates in fire dancing, shared: "When the spirit enters my body, I feel very cold and when I see fire, I feel excited and want to jump into it. The more I jump into the fire, the more refreshed, comfortable and warm I feel. When I jump, I close my eyes and am led by the spirit, so I don't know that I am jumping into the fire."

Explaining this mystery and sacredness, Mr. Phu Van Thanh said: "Fire in the Pa Then people's consciousness is completely different from fire in the consciousness of other ethnic groups. We believe that jumping on fire means bathing the saints in water. Because fire symbolizes water, playing with water; rolling over fire is bathing in water, putting hot coals in the mouth is drinking water. The person jumping on fire is accepted by the gods, his skin and flesh are completely free of burns, not even his hair has a single scorch mark, while the people watching around are shot with ash, their clothes are full of holes like lit cigarettes. Fire at that time is "water", and how can water make clothes catch fire?"

What Master Phu Van Thanh always tells his students and the village boys who participate in fire dancing is to always have a bright mind, be grateful to the fire god, and pray for peace and prosperity for the village. Only then will the fire god bestow extraordinary strength to conquer the sacred and lucky fire.

Fire dancing boys in Thuong Minh village, Hong Quang commune, Lam Binh district, Tuyen Quang province

Concerns about passing on the profession

At the age of over 60, shaman Phu Van Thanh confided: being a shaman of the Pa Then people is a difficult and challenging process, because the Pa Then people have hundreds of prayers, and even the brightest and quickest people need 5 years to learn them all, while some people study for decades and still cannot gather enough words to become a "shaman".

Mr. Thanh said that the Pa Then fire dancing ceremony usually starts from the 16th day of the 10th lunar month until the end of the year. On that day, the shaman begins the ceremony to teach the profession to those who want to learn and all Pa Then men can learn the profession. However, even though the ceremony is organized simply, finding a "successor" is an arduous journey. Because, to perform this sacred ceremony, the shaman must be proficient in all other rituals with hundreds of prayers in the Pa Then language.

Mr. Sin Van Toan said that he and many others have studied with Master Thanh for many years but have not yet been ordained as a shaman. Learning the language and memorizing the lessons is one thing, but being ordained as an ordained shaman is another.

"Many Pa Then people have learned and memorized the prayers but are not destined to be chosen by the gods, so they cannot "invite" the gods to return during the fire dance. If they cannot "invite" the gods to "enter", the dancers cannot jump into the fire, and if they try to jump in, they will get burned," said Mr. Toan.

According to Mr. Phu Duc Lam, Chairman of the People's Committee of Hong Quang commune, besides the difficulty of "succeeding" the shaman in performing the fire jumping ceremony, there was a long period when this ritual was banned, then it remained dormant for decades. It was not until 2008, when the provincial cultural sector and district leaders intervened, that the fire jumping ceremony was restored. Since then, the fire jumping ceremony has been performed again by shaman Hung Van Hin. Before Hung Van Hin passed away, he had time to pass it on to his student Phu Van Thanh, and currently Thanh is the only person performing the fire jumping ceremony in Thuong Minh.

Every year, Mr. Phu Van Thanh opens a class with about 10-12 students coming to study for free. Although his health is poor, Mr. Thanh is happy because after many years of training, now there are 2 young students, Ly Van Tru and Hung Van Tam, who have received the Cap sac ceremony.

Mr. Hung Van Tam shared that after 8 years of studying to become a teacher, he was awarded the Cap sac. Up to now, he and Mr. Tru can both perform many simple rituals, but if they want to perform the fire dance ritual, they must have the support and guidance of Mr. Thanh. As a village boy who has participated in fire dance many times, Mr. Tam is trying to practice and learn to preserve the traditional customs of his ancestors.

The fire dancing ceremony is a unique spiritual and cultural activity of the Pa Then people in Hong Quang. As the "fire-bearer", Mr. Phu Van Thanh always attaches to himself the task and responsibility of multiplying the love for the village through the unique rituals and customs of the people such as the sacred fire dancing ceremony.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nguoi-truyen-lua-trong-nghi-le-doc-dao-cua-nguoi-pa-then-185240905202106292.htm