Worshiping of the forest god is an opportunity for people to send a wish, hopes for a full new year, a healthy family, favorable rain and wind, good crops ... It can be said that the worship of a forest god It is an important and influential ritual in the spiritual life of the Pu Peo ethnic group.
Forest god in the concept of Pu Peo people
In the perception of Pu Peo people, forest god is considered to be a god protecting villagers in daily life. Each Pu Péo village has its own forbidden forest.
It is the beliefs and beliefs of the Pu Peo people on the forest that have helped people to be highly aware in preserving and developing forests in the history of the ethnic group. Especially the preservation and development of the last remaining natural forests. According to Mr. Gong Diu Lèng, a senior in Cong Chá village, Phố Là commune, Đồng Văn district, Hà Giang province, from the mind, the existence of the forest is very important for Pu Peo people, because the forest is a warehouse a plentiful source of life, where people show their devotion to the gods.
For Pu Peo people, the worshiping of the forest god has a special meaning. In their thoughts as well as in their subconscious gods always bless the lives of the people and the gods dwell in the forest, so from ancient times, the ancestor of the Pu Peo people swore at the Temple in front of the forest gate that they would teach descendants preserve the sacred forest.
The belief in worshiping forests and making offerings to Pu Peo people is their ancestors. Sacred forests play an important role in their daily life as well as in their spiritual lives. Therefore, every year on the 6th of the sixth lunar month, the Pu Peo organize a worshiping ceremony for the forest deity because they think that the 6th lunar month is the cleanest day of the year, the heaven and earth are sacred. This is an opportunity for the villagers to express their gratitude to the gods and ancestors and this is also an opportunity for the villagers to converge more closely together.
Unique rituals to worship the forest god
In the religious life of the Pu Peo ethnic group, the custom of worshiping forest spirits has existed for a long time. This is reflected in the areas inhabited by these ethnic groups who have their own forbidden forests preserved and protected by customary laws and taboos. In people's consciousness, forbidden forest is the place where the forest god resides. In order to make the life full, the family and lineages are always healthy and not sick, the villagers are not allowed to encroach upon the residence of the forest god, no one is allowed to go into the forest to ban the cutting of trees for firewood, hunting, ... , with the forest god (after long) has a particularly important position, is the most influential and prayed god in most worship rituals.
Ceremony of the forest god is held once a year on a certain day of the year. Ceremonies are usually held on the 6th of the sixth lunar month, except for those that coincide with the day of the Goat or the Rooster (the day of the Goat or the Chicken two animals are taken as sacrifices) may be celebrated. sooner or later.
The location of the ceremony is the forested area behind the village. The herd was erected to the forbidden forest. Before the day of worshiping ceremony, people gather together to assign work and prepare gifts for the forest god. All people will contribute money to buy gifts and gifts. On the morning of the 6th of the sixth lunar month, each family sends a representative, usually the host, to bring the prepared gifts to the family's home closest to the forest. Before going to worship, the head of the family must burn incense for the ancestors in the house first. Presiding over the ceremony is a worshiping monk (Po operating) selected by the villagers. A priest must be a respected person respected by the people. In the month of worshiping the forest god, the priest must abstain from eating dog meat.
The offering of the Pu Peo people does not require any elaboration but depends on the available materials or the easiest to find. During the worshiping period and three days later, Pu Peo people forbade people to go in and out of the village, not to go to the fields, hunt, cut trees, people built wooden pillars to tie up green leaves to make signs hanging at the top of the village. An offering to the forest god is divided into two parts.
The worshiping ceremony consists of two main parts: the worshiping ceremony (living offerings) and the main worshiping ceremony (worshiping of nine) and is performed in the same manner as in the ancient forest worshiping ceremony mentioned above. Basically there is no change, but if you look deeper, the ceremony has a little small but significant changes. The change was that they abandoned the taboos during the ceremony and three days later. That rule was abolished and, instead, an expansion of exchanges to welcome people outside the village to attend. This is a minor change, but it is the basis for confirming that their thinking has changed, showing progress in lifestyle, consistent with the development of the whole society.
Beliefs and community values
In the perception of Pu Peo people, the forest is a sacred space and a sanctuary of gods so no one is allowed to conquer and exploit it on their own. These remedies are not only regulated in customary law, but higher than the "sacred" conventions available in the consciousness and actions of each individual in the Pu Peo community. They have faith in the forest, which is reflected in the consciousness of this ethnic group.
In the present life, when many forests are being exploited to the limit of exhaustion, violations of forest law are increasing, to restore and preserve and develop the rare remaining primeval forests. think, should apply the values in the forest protection practices of the Pu Peo community to the state management of current public land and forest resources.
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