New rice festival of the Muong people

New rice ceremony is a good tradition of many ethnic minority communities with rice growing culture such as Thai, Muong, Tay, Nung...in Vietnam.

New rice festival of the Muong in Chien hamlet, Van Son commune
According to the concept of the Muong people, after the rice is brought home, the freshly cooked rice must be brought to the ancestors to be offered to ancestors and gods first, and then eaten. Only after the rice ceremony is completed, the family can eat new rice from there. If you do not have time to offer new rice, even if you run out of old rice at home, you will have to buy old rice to eat but can't eat new rice.
The new rice offering ceremony is also very diverse between this region - that area, this house - another house. In terms of ceremony, there are places where only white rice and white porridge are offered, but there are also places that are very picky with all kinds of gifts besides colorful rice. In terms of associations, there are places where cultural activities are organized, but there are also places where relatives and neighbors are invited to eat and drink.

New rice festival of the Muong in Lung Van

The new rice ceremony in the highest region of Muong in Lung Van, Van Son, Tan Lac, Hoa Binh communes is especially simple. The offerings include only white glutinous rice and white porridge (some families cook bee pupa porridge), a bowl of white water with some toothpicks, a plate of betel nut (without areca), and a little votive paper.
Homeowners are not allowed to worship themselves, but must invite a priest. Today, the priest still wears normal clothes when worshiping, not fussy in ceremonial clothes like other regions.

New rice festival of the Muong in Lung Van
New rice festival of the Muong in Lung Van
New rice festival of the Muong in Lung Van
The number of trays of rice offerings is from 6-9, depending on the second or eldest child. The eldest son must have a tray of ancestors for many generations, grandparents, parents, relatives... The second child only needs to worship his parents, brothers, aunts and uncles. Besides, there are trays of offerings to the gods of the earth, the earth, the god of farming...
An interesting detail is that the trays are made of aluminum, but there must be a tray made of bamboo to worship the patron god of livestock. After the sorcerer finished offering, no one was allowed to eat until the owner took some porridge from the mat to feed the dog. If there is no dog in the house, let the neighbor's dog.
After the ceremony is over, the householder invites relatives and neighbors in almost every house in the Xom to have a representative (the village of the Muong is equivalent to a village, the hamlet is below).
New Rice Festival and New Year's Eve are the two biggest festivals of the Muong. Particularly, the New Rice Festival also comes with dozens of trays. The wine is fermented with leaves to enjoy. Children from the end of secondary school onwards are allowed to drink. This is probably the happiest day of the year for teenagers.
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