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Groups - Cham - Thai |
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Tęt in the Minority Groups - Cham - Ka te |
The most important ceremony of the Cham people in the southern Ninh Thuan
province is the Ka Te Tęt which takes place from the 22nd to the 24th of the
9th lunar month.
On the first day, the Cham people hold a procession in which
they take the costume of their progenitor to the Ponuga Temple. And on the next
day they take the costume to Porome and Poklong Garai towers.
Each family prepares a banquet to offer their Jeuthai, or ancestors, on
the ground, then they go Kut (clean and decorate the ancestral graves) and entertain in the dynamic
sound of the Ginang Paranung drum.
The beautiful sound of musical instruments
like Ken Xaranai (a kind of flute) and Kanhi (a string instrument) goes very
well with the graceful mala and paper-fan dances. |
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Tęt in the Minority Groups - Choro |
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The Choro peoples in the provinces of Dong Nai, Lam Dong, Ba Ria-Vung Tau,
have 2 large Tęts: Forest God Tęt and Rice God Tęt in the March of lunar calendar.
In
the Rice God Tęt, the Choro girls present to the village delicious cakes like Banh
Tęt, Banh Day (a kind of rice cake), Banh Ong (tube cake) then all
the villagers join in a banquet. The place for offering is often at an ancient
tree of the village because it is believed that Rice God often stays there. |
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Tęt in the Minority Groups - Cotu |
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When a new crop begins
to grow in the Springtime, the Cotu people in the districts Phuoc
Son, Giang, Hien of Quang Nam Province celebrate the Progieram Tęt - the biggest ceremony
of the year. Houses are decorated celebrating Tęt.
People clean up their tools: bows and
cross bows, spears and broadswords, cymbals, drums and gongs. There are many
community activities at the Guol house (the village hall) such as: telling
stories, dancing, singing folk songs and confiding to each other. |
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Tęt in the Minority Groups - Dao |
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The Dao minority people's most important Tęt is the Pure Brightness. On that
occasion, every one has to go to the forest to do something that symbolises
labour, such as going fishing at streams. Another important Dao celebration is the
Nhay
in December, several days before Nguyen Dan Tęt.
In the Nhay, they set up an
altar for purifying and pray for Gods and ancestors. Then they dance and
practice martial arts. |
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Tęt in the Minority Groups - Ede -
New Rice |
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In October, when the fields in the mountains become yellow - the rice is ripe,
the Ede people in Dak Lak province celebrate their New Rice Tęt.
They harvest the
crop, cook rice, kill buffalos, cows, pigs and hens to make dishes. And before
eating, they offer those dishes, together with rice alcohol in earthenware jugs
to the Cereal God, the Earth God, the Heaven God and other Gods, so that the
Gods will help and support them. |
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Tęt in the Minority Groups - Giarai -
Bo Ma Tęt |
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The Gia rai people in Gia Lai
Province have a special Tęt called Bo Ma.
This Tęt, each Gia Rai family gives a party at their ancestors' graves in the
cemetery.
When that family sounds the cymbal and the drum, other families will
come bringing food to join in the party. The size of a party is dependent
on the wealth of each family. |
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Tęt in the Minority Groups - H're |
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The H're minority group in the southern Quang Ngai province prepares very
carefully for the Tęt. The first day of the Tęt lasts from 05.00H or 06.00H through
midnight.
First, the H're people pray in a cleaning-up-the-house rite, exorcising bad
spirits and getting new luck. Then they worship their ancestors, invite the
Earth God and the Fortune God, make glutinous rice cakes and prepare pork for
the second day.
Early in the morning, they offer eggs and k'pluh fish, etc at
the buffalo stable's gate while wishing that the buffalo is healthy and can help
them produce much rice.
Following that they invite guests to join in a big party.
After drinking for a while, they play shuttle cock, sing ca leu and ca choi
folk songs; girls and boys take part in entertaining activities like wrestling,
shooting, dragging on, throwing javelin. |
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Tęt in the Minority Groups - K'Ho -
Nho Lirbong |
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Nho Lirbong Tęt (Rice Welcoming Tęt) of the K'Ho people in Lam Dong
Province is celebrated
a month after Nguyen Dan Tęt of the Kinh.
This Tęt lasts a month. The word 'Lirbong' means
'rice container'. The K'Ho people treasure rice because for them
rice grains are pearls granted by Yang (God). Each family holds the Rice
Welcoming Celebration at their rice store with the participation of old people
and other families in the village.
The host family smears hen's blood on the
family members' body, the furniture and the rice store to drive away bad luck
and get luck. |
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Tęt in the Minority Groups - Kh'mer |
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The Kh'mer people
attach much importance to dressing during the Tęt. On Mung
Mot (the 1st day), they prepare delicious dishes to offer the Buddhist at
the pagoda.
From Mung Hai (the 2nd day) to the end of Tęt, they join in playing
games, singing, dancing and especially boat racing. Kh'mer's Tęt is very jubilant. |
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Tęt in the Minority Groups - Mong |
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Nguyen Dan Tęt is the most important Tęt of the Mong people. To prepare for Tęt,
each Mong family has two pigs. One pig is killed in the period from late
November to early December of the lunar calendar.
Pork is cut into big
pieces which are preserved with salt in the kitchen. The second pig is
slaughtered on the 27th or the 28th of Tęt to make dishes.
In addition to the pork,
the Mong people have some kinds of cakes like glutinous cakes or sweet potato
cakes. The Tęt of the Mong people lasts 3 days: Mung Mot (the 1st day),
Mung Hai
(the 2nd day) and Mung Ba (the 3rd day). Mung Ba is the most interesting day.
All the Mong people gather at a site of festival to talk about things of the
past year. |
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Tęt in the Minority Groups - Muong |
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or the majority Viętnamese on the occasion of Tęt, the Muong people hoist the bamboo
cay neu tree on which they hang working tools like plough, soil pick,
knife, hammer. |
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Tęt in the Minority Groups - Nhang |
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On New Year's Eve, the Nhang people choose a lucky hour to go to the stream,
bring back water and brew tea to offer their ancestors.
On their return,
they pick a branch of tree called loc, which represents luck, to put on the
altar. On the 1st day of the new year, Nhang people fast and do not go out of
their home. On the 2nd day, they go to the pagodas and then sing together on the
field.
They stand far from one another and sing into pieces of bamboo which are
linked by strings. The Nhang people do not return to work until the end of
January. |
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Tęt in the Minority Groups - Paco |
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The Paco peoples live mainly in the central provinces of Quang Tri and Thua
Thien-Hue.
Their Tęt celebrations are simple but they still have some original
customs and activities. One custom is the return of married daughters
to their parents houses in Tęt. After the celebration of the whole community,
families give parties to welcome their daughters (together with the
daughters husbands and children) back.
On these occasions, the Paco families hold
another wedding for their daughters and sons-in-law to wish the young couple
happiness. |
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Tęt in the Minority Groups - Pupeo |
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The Pupeo ethnic
group, who live in the ViętNam-China border area of Yen Minh, Meo Vac districts
of Dong Van, of Cao Bang Province, make black rice cakes on the 29th evening to see
off the old year and make white rice cakes on the 30th evening to welcome the
new year.
They use white rice cakes to offer their ancestors. On the first
morning of the new year, young people go out and bring home 'golden and silvery
water'.
Over the 3 days of Tęt, the Pupeo people do not wash the dishes to
avoid flooding in the new year. Instead of washing the dishes, they use paper
to clean the dishes. |
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Tęt in the Minority Groups - Sedang |
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The Sedang people in Kontum
Province have 2 simple Tęt: Water Drop Tęt and
Fire Tęt.
Water drop Tęt takes place in March. In this Tęt, the Sedang
people repair the water pipes and make offerings to Yang Dak (the Water God) so
that he will give them enough water for the next crop.
At the village hall, or Rong house, the Sedang people join in parties and entertaining activities
(singing, dancing); boys and girls express their sentiment. |
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Tęt in the Minority Groups - Tay |
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Tay peoples Tęt
commences on the December 28th (lunar calendar): they
redecorate the altar, rearrange the furniture and clean up the house.
On the
29th morning, each family slaughters a pig of about 100kg to make dishes like
grilled meat roll, pork pies, sausages, roast meat, broiled meat.
On the 30th
they gather their working tools like plough, soil pick, knife, hammer, pitch and
then they pray for and offer food to those tools. In the afternoon, they
paste on all the trees in the orchestra a piece of pink paper wishing that in
the next year the trees will be fruitful. The evening everyone stays in
with a torch to avoid droughts in the New Year.
After the New Year's Eve,
children stay up late at night to study; it is believed that this will help them
study well in the new year. On the first day of the New Year, the Tay people
don't clean up the houses because they want to keep luck. |
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Tęt in the Minority Groups - Thai |
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The Thai people in Son La and Lai Chau
Provinces have a Tęt season. The
first one is Soong Sip Tęt (New Rice Tęt): when the rice is ripe in the field,
the Thai people kill buffalos and pigs, and cook new rice to make the offerings.
After Soong Sip Tęt, they have Kim Mao Lao Tęt (Drinking Tęt), Ong Tao Tęt
(Kitchen God Tęt) and Nen Buon Tien Tęt (Nguyen Dan Tęt). The most joyful
festival is the Xoe Thai dancing festival which lasts until the middle of
January. |
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