Special features of the God of Agriculture festival at Doc village communal house

Doc Village Communal House was built in the early 19th century (during the reign of King Khai Dinh of the Nguyen Dynasty and was granted a royal decree). Doc Village Communal House not only worships the gods and the village's tutelary god, but also worships the founder of the Pham family and six other families who had contributed to reclaiming this land since the 18th century. The communal house has 5 compartments and 2 wings, with the "Dinh" letter architecture.

The communal house was recognized as a provincial historical and cultural relic in 2005. The Doc communal house festival is held twice a year on the 3rd and 4th of the first lunar month (called the Ha Dien festival) and the 13th and 14th of the seventh lunar month (the Than Nong prayer festival). This is a ceremony to express the people's gratitude to the god who governs agriculture .

The participants in the ceremony include: the master of the ceremony, the 11th generation descendant of the Pham family's ancestor; 4 prestigious women in the community (nu chai), chosen to serve the festival; and female officials, women in the community chosen to participate in offering offerings, carrying palanquins, and serving the festival.

The Bat Am troupe is a team of 8 men playing musical instruments such as: big drum, small drum, trumpet, two-string fiddle, flute, đàn tính, cymbal, xinh tiền and the entire Tay and Kinh community in Viet Hong commune.

Ms. Pham Thi Nhung, Ban Din village - who has lived on Viet Hong land for over 50 years, shared: "Every year, people prepare offerings for the Doc village communal house festival, including pork, goat meat, wine, sticky rice, fruits, and candies. To prepare for the communal house festival, the priest's house often raises pigs from the previous year so that on the day they can slaughter them for the ceremony. The pigs chosen for the ceremony must be fat pigs, weighing about 60 - 70kg. In the Tay people's Than Nong worshiping tray, there is also goat meat, but it can also be replaced with other animals such as buffalo and cow, as long as the animal has horns. Depending on the conditions of each year, if these animals are not available, the offerings will be replaced with pork."

From the 13th day of the 7th lunar month, the Earth priest enters Noi communal house to report on the main festival activities the following day. 10 trays of food are offered, including 7 meat dishes and 3 vegetarian dishes.

Outside the communal house, the Phuong ceremony is held at the Mo altar. People together prepare four palanquins, decorated with four different colors. When the auspicious time comes, the Tho Dao master begins to light lamps, burn incense, and report to request the festival to be held tomorrow at Ngoai communal house.

After the incense offering, the priest begins to read the funeral oration, performing the ceremony with three rounds of wine, two rounds of incense, and one round of funeral oration. Afterwards, the whole village enjoys the blessings at Noi Communal House. Around 5-6 pm, the villagers gather to carry four palanquins (three palanquins carrying the three village guardian spirits, and one palanquin carrying Uncle Ho) from Noi Communal House.

The festival part of the God of Agriculture festival, Doc village communal house, Viet Hong commune includes exciting and attractive sports activities, demonstrating the spirit of village solidarity.

On the way, the procession will enter the Trung communal house yard to perform the ceremony, then go to Ngoai communal house - Doc village communal house. The Tho Dao master will light incense and oil lamps to report at Doc village communal house, asking to be seated so that the people can perform the ceremony tomorrow. After three weeks of wine, two weeks of incense, and one week of worshiping literature, everyone will rest to prepare for the ceremony of the eight-sound troupe in the evening at Ngoai communal house.

The ceremony of the Eight-sound troupe is called the music ceremony to serve the gods. After 15-20 minutes of vegetarian worship, the Eight-sound troupe will perform the Eight-sound worship ( musical worship), female officials will perform dances, with drums, cymbals, flutes, and two-stringed fiddles. The female officials and villagers will dance the Tay xoe dance, with dances such as scarf dance, fan dance, fruit dance, cymbal dance... While the Eight-sound troupe is performing the music ceremony, the Earth priest continues to read the funeral oration.

On the 14th of the 7th lunar month, everyone gathered at Ngoai communal house to hold the festival. In the Tho Dao, people went to Noi communal house to report on the main festival work the next day. There were not only salty and vegetarian dishes but also Phuong offerings. Phuong offerings were placed at Mo altar.

When the offerings were prepared, the female servants offered the palace 7 cooked dishes, including dishes made from pork, sticky rice, and glutinous rice wine; 3 vegetarian dishes including flowers, fruits, and candies; and 1 Phuong dish.

Outside the sanctuary, a tray of nine offerings is placed. When the offerings are ready, the priest burns incense and invites the Gods, the Land God, and the village's guardian spirit to attend the ceremony.

After three weeks of wine, two weeks of incense, and one week of sacrificial offerings, the Earth priest continues to worship at the Mo altar, performing the ritual to worship Than Nong.

The Mo altar is placed at the base of the biggest banyan tree on the right side of the communal house and is only set up when there is a ceremony. The Mo altar is made of bamboo and reed, covered with a large palm leaf on top, and from the ground up is placed a woven bamboo mat as a bridge to go up. On the Mo altar is a tray of offerings with a piece of cooked meat, sticky rice, wine, a piece of raw goat or pork hanging, rice mixed with raw blood (huet mao) and a little tail hair of the animal being worshiped to make a sacred substance for the worship ritual.

"According to the Tay people's concept, Ban Mo is a place to worship the god who governs animals in the world, so it must have a tray of raw meat and the blood of the sacrificed animal to be sacred. The Ban Mo worship ceremony is with the wish that all things, livestock and poultry in the village and commune will be protected and thrive" - ​​said the Earth priest Pham Gia Lien.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Bao - Vice Chairman of Viet Hong Commune People's Committee said: "To preserve and promote the historical and cultural values ​​of Doc Village Communal House Festival, Viet Hong Commune has mobilized the elderly to understand traditional culture, especially the Than Nong ritual to teach the younger generation, because this ritual has the cultural nuances of the ancient Tay people, expressing the desire for all people to have a peaceful life and lush vegetation. This is also an opportunity to arouse the spirit of solidarity and strengthen the village and neighborhood relationship"...

With the humanistic meaning of the Than Nong festival is to unite and strengthen the village and neighborhood relationship and preserve the traditional cultural values ​​of the nation, no matter how far away they are, on the days of the Doc village festival, the children of Viet Hong commune always try to return to their families, relatives, and neighbors to join the festival. It is also a spiritual tourist destination for visitors every time they set foot on the land of the Viet Hong revolutionary war zone.

Account (Theobaoyenbai.com.vn)

Source: https://baophutho.vn/dac-sac-le-than-nong-dinh-lang-doc-221420.htm