Thousands of people come to Pay Tai Festival in Yen Bai

(NADS) - Every full moon day of the seventh lunar month, the Tay and Nung ethnic people in Luc Yen, Yen Bai prepare offerings to go "Pay tai" - that is, to the maternal home.

This is the occasion for the daughter and her husband to return home to visit their parents and burn incense for their ancestors, and it is also an occasion for the son-in-law to show his gratitude and filial piety to his maternal family. Promoting that fine tradition, in recent years, every full moon of the 7th lunar month, Lam Thuong commune, Luc Yen district organizes Pay Festival with many attractive and unique contents.

From early morning, thousands of people and tourists from near and far flocked to the center of Lam Thuong commune, Luc Yen district, Yen Bai province to watch the activities of the Pay Tai Festival 2024. This is the third time Lam Thuong commune, Luc Yen district has organized the Pay Tai Festival, which has truly become a festival not only for the Tay ethnic people but also a place for convergence and cultural exchange of ethnic groups in Luc Yen district.

W_dji_0090-tourists-come-to-see(1).jpg — Tourists come to see the festival.

According to tradition, every year on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month, the Tay people here prepare offerings, preparing for an important festival just after the Lunar New Year, including the custom of "Pay Tai". Pay Tai in Tay means going to the maternal grandparents' house, the husband and wife and their children prepare offerings to go to the maternal grandparents' house, which must include a duck and banana cakes...

When a daughter gets married, she has to take care of her husband's family's business all year round and has to take care of the incense and worship her husband's ancestors. Therefore, on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month every year, the woman, along with her husband and children, prepares gifts to return to her parents' house and personally takes care of her parents. This is also an opportunity for the son-in-law to express his gratitude to his parents-in-law.

The opening ceremony was marked by the sound of a drum by a prestigious person in the area. This year's Pay Tai Festival has many innovative contents to attract tourists such as: scarf-wrapping and traditional Tay costume-wearing contest, "duck beauty pageant" contest, fish basket weaving contest, fishing net throwing contest, bamboo bridge flower picking contest, rafting experience on Phai Luong stream or reenacting the "poking floor" act - a form of expressing love between couples in the process of getting to know and falling in love, check-in points are also meticulously built to create more playgrounds for tourists.

W_danh-trong-khai-hoi(1).jpg — Drum beat to open the festival.

Like every year, the booths were decorated eye-catchingly with traditional specialties and typical products of the Tay people in Lam Thuong, bringing visitors an enjoyable experience. Especially in the opening part, visitors were impressed with the emotional stage play of Pay Tai customs and the performance of more than 500 Lam Thuong women, which was always the center of attention of visitors because of its grandeur and rich national identity. The 3rd Pay Tai Festival was successfully organized, the unique feature that left an impression in the hearts of each visitor was the cultural identity of the Tay people and some other ethnic groups in Luc Yen district, which was revived and preserved.

Coming to Pay Tai festival, visitors also have the opportunity to admire the green mountains, stilt houses leaning against the cliffs with a winding, clear stream, experience climbing the 700 hill, go to Xa Tran waterfall to soak in the cool water, and enjoy culinary specialties from duck, silver carp, bamboo shoots...

Photos at Pay Tai festival: