The "butt slapping" custom of the Mong people in Ha Giang wishing for equality and happiness

In the first days of the year, when spring comes, the Mong people in Ha Giang gather together, wishing each other good health, happiness and luck. And one of the unique customs during the traditional New Year of the Mong people here is the custom of "butt slapping" to wish for a happy new year.

The Mong people in Ha Giang do not know when the custom of slapping buttocks to wish for a New Year began, they only know that this custom has been passed down from generation to generation.

Mr. Vang Chan Giao - a person knowledgeable about Mong culture in Quan Ba ​​- Ha Giang said: "According to the old village elders' teachings, Mong people have a custom: If you want to eat mushrooms, you have to follow the tree, if you want to build a family, you have to look at your relatives. Therefore, when Mong boys and girls want to build a family, they must listen to their parents' arrangements, or if they are an aunt who is marrying off her daughter, they must have permission from their uncle. If they do not marry her, they are allowed to marry into another family. This custom has made it impossible for boys and girls to marry the person they love. Since then, boys and girls have used Tet as a place to date, greet each other, pat each other's buttocks to wish each other a Happy New Year, with the general content: The old year is over, the new year is coming, brush away the pain and illness, brush away the bad words of people, wish you good health, live well, and if you are lucky, I hope to see you again...".

Photo ST: During the first days of the new year, the Mong people in Ha Giang believe that with each pat on the buttocks, not only does it brush away the bad luck, illness and sadness of the old year, but it is also a prayer for a new year of health, peace and good luck.

During the first days of the new year, the Mong people in Ha Giang believe that with each pat on the buttocks, not only does it brush away the bad luck, illness and sadness of the old year, but it also serves as a prayer for a new year of health, peace and good luck. This has been done over and over again and has become the custom of “patting the buttocks to wish for a New Year” of the Mong people here. Boys are only allowed to pat girls and vice versa. Patting the buttocks to wish for a New Year is not only a part of the New Year's ceremony, but also a profound humanistic message about equality between people, a struggle to eliminate backward customs in marriage.

Photo ST: Boys are only allowed to pat girls and vice versa

Ly Mi Cuong, a Mong ethnic boy, currently a student at the Vietnam National Academy of Music, shared: “Every year during Tet, I go to the Spring Festival and have the opportunity to pat my butt and wish everyone a Happy New Year. This is a very meaningful custom. As a young person, I really hope that this custom will be preserved and promoted in accordance with its humanistic meaning.”

During the spring festival at the beginning of the year, many Mong ethnic villages in Ha Giang have also included the custom of slapping buttocks to wish for a New Year in one of the festival's contents. However, to ensure that this custom is meaningful, when organizing Tet celebrations, the Organizing Committee often sets out specific regulations to avoid inappropriate variations or uncivilized behavior, and closely supervises the implementation.

Mr. Vang Chan Giao added: "The Spring Festival also organizes many fun games and antiphonal singing. The Organizing Committee is responsible for supervising and not allowing the situation of taking advantage of the custom of patting buttocks to wish for a New Year to cause misunderstandings, fights, and disunity that affect the general Festival."

The custom of "patting the buttocks" to wish for a New Year of the Mong people in Ha Giang has been preserved and promoted in the constant flow of time, contributing to diversifying and enriching the nation's traditional cultural treasure.

Source: Vov.vn

Source: http://hagiangtv.vn/doi-song-xa-hoi/202502/tuc-vo-mong-chuc-binh-dang-hanh-phuc-cua-nguoi-mong-ha-giang-7080296/