Bustling Celosia Festival of Cong ethnic group in Nam Ke

Cong ethnic women in Nam Ke village happily perform their traditional dance in the Celosia Festival.

Mr. Hu Van Thit, a Cong ethnic artisan in Nam Ke village, said: "The cockscomb flower festival is the biggest festival of the year for the Cong ethnic people. The Cong people consider it an event marking the passing of the old year and in the sacred moment of the changing of the seasons and the new year, the Cong people turn to their lineage, ancestors, and forefathers who have always watched over and protected their descendants throughout the year."

To show gratitude to their grandparents and ancestors, the Cong people personally prepared products from their gardens, fields and domestic animals as offerings to their ancestors.

The Cong people in Nam Ke believe that, besides their own efforts in making a living, they always have gods and ancestors to bless them with strength to overcome challenges and bring luck to their children and village.

Artisan Hu Van Thit is the person trusted by the Cong ethnic people of Nam Ke village to perform flower and offering rituals, and preside over the worshiping of ancestors and gods during the cockscomb flower festival.

Like the traditional Tet holidays of other ethnic communities, the Flower Tet of the Cong ethnic group in Nam Ke is divided into two parts: the ceremony and the festival.

The ceremony was presided over by artisan Hu Van Thit, who was trusted by the villagers to perform the offering and praying ritual to express gratitude to heaven and earth, ancestors, and gods, and to hope for the descendants of the Cong ethnic group to have a good new year, with plants growing and sprouting, rice plants bearing heavy flowers, healthy chickens and pigs growing quickly...

After the ceremony, the Cong people in Nam Ke village will join in the fun with traditional songs and dances, sending their wishes for prosperity, happiness, and reunion.

It is known that in addition to the Chicken Celosia Festival, the Cong people in Nam Ke still have traditional customs and ceremonies, such as: village worship, ancestor worship, wedding ceremony, housewarming ceremony, elder worship ceremony, thanksgiving ceremony...

In addition to agricultural offerings to ancestors and gods, celosia is an indispensable flower around the offering tray and in the homes of the Cong ethnic group during the Flower Festival.

Mr. Nguyen Tien Thanh, Chairman of the People's Committee of Nam Ke commune, said: "As one of the ethnic minority communities living in Nam Ke, the Cong ethnic community currently has 73 households with 359 people living in Nam Ke village. In recent years, with the attention of the Party and State for ethnic minorities in general and the Cong ethnic group in particular, Nam Ke commune has supported and created material and spiritual conditions to help the Cong ethnic group gradually improve their lives."

Policies for the Cong ethnic group have achieved important results in all areas, such as: the economy has had quite good growth steps, cultural and spiritual life has been increasingly improved; the work of preserving and promoting traditional cultural values has always been focused on, many traditional festival customs have been restored, creating an exciting and vibrant atmosphere, connecting solidarity between people of all ethnic groups.