Forest worshiping ceremony of Phu La people in Bac Ha
As one of the very few ethnic minorities in the country today, the Phu La people in Nam Mon commune (Bac Ha district) in particular and the Phu La people in Bac Ha district in general still retain many beautiful traditional cultural features. Forest offering of the Phu La people is one of the unique cultural features that are still handed down to this day. |
| Forest worshiping ceremony of the Phu La people in Nam Mon commune |
With the concept that mountains and forests are the souls of all things, protecting and sheltering people to exist and develop, every year, on the last day of the first lunar month, the Phu La people in Co De Chai village, Nam Mon commune also organizes a forest worshiping ceremony. The forest worshiping ceremony of the Phu La people is usually organized in natural and sacred forests near the village, where there are many large trees, near water sources and convenient to conduct rituals. The sacrifices in the forest worshiping ceremony are the products produced by the people in the village, including 1 black pig, 1 rooster, white wine and some other foods. The worshiping ceremony is divided into two parts, the raw offering and the cooked offering, with the sacred rituals departing by the celebrant. The priest who celebrates the ceremony consists of 1 main priest and 3 assistant priests. At the ceremony, the shaman burns incense and performs rituals to invite the forest god to witness the sincerity of the people and pray to the forest god to bless a new year with favorable weather.
The worshiping ceremony usually starts from 8 am to 10 am. After that, there are working days off lasting from 2 to 4 days with very strict taboo laws such as not trespassing on trees, not cutting down forests, not making noise that affects the forest. If the violation is caught by the villagers, they will be fined to contribute money to organize forest offerings next year.
After the forest worshiping ceremony, the households in the village celebrate together at the edge of the forests. Before the festival starts, the people are informed by the forest protection team and commune officials about the guidelines and policies of the Party and the State in forest development, to unite to develop the family economy, and join hands to protect the forests.
Mr. Sung Pha Hoa, Head of the Forest Protection Team in Co De Chai village, said that the annual forest worshiping ceremony not only promotes good cultural values, but also contributes to forest protection. Through the ceremony, everyone sees their own responsibility for forest protection and increases solidarity in the community…
