Raglai community (Khanh Hoa) has built for itself a unique cultural space with specific rituals and practices. One of the typical cultural activities is the rituals of the new rice eating festival.
Around March and April of the solar calendar every year, when the thunder sounds with the notion of starting to clear the earth, the yin and yang harmonize, the trees sprouting out, Raglai people organize a new rice-eating ceremony again. . The new rice-eating festival lasts for two days a night.
Like other festivals, the new rice-eating ceremony includes a ceremony and a festival.
The first ceremony is the ceremony to pour water into a jar of Can wine. The sorcerer sat cross-legged in front of the extra ceremony table in the south, on which put the jar of canned wine. After praying, the owner of the drinking ceremony needs to bring to the main ceremony table in the North. On the neck jars of wine, people wear a large beaded necklace. Before the jars of wine is a tray of ceremonies, on a bowl of charcoal fire, two bowls of water, a ladle of rice. On the wall of rice was a candle made of burning beeswax. Next, he prayed to cut chicken blood. He put his hands on his head to pray, inviting yang Ngok, yang Gru (angel) yang Cok (angel) yang muk kay (god) to attend the family's new rice ceremony, inviting the superior to witness it. cut chicken blood, pour water into jars of wine. Vow that: "Healthy Chicken, pure pure wine is not scum ... this offering is meant to pay back, to the superiors."
After praying, the chicken will be brought to the altar of the South to cut blood, water will be poured into the jar. After praying, the two members of the family came to the jars of wine to drink wine.
Next is the main ceremony. North ceremony table set against the wall. On the wall, in the middle of the ceremony table, people use the first two ropes to tie a length of about 0.8 meters or stick together with a string. On it is hung a dress, skirt, scarf of women, at the ends of the rope is hooked into 2 beads. Material offerings in the main worshiping ceremony include: 1 chicken, 1 jar of celery wine, 5 bowls of high rice. On each bowl of rice, there is a mountain crab and an onion to leave the whole leaf. There are also many cups of explosive seeds, rice, water, and betel nut. These offerings are arranged in 3 trays in a long line: the trays of the yang, the trays of the grandparents, the trays for the land.
The content of the prayers in this ceremony is to invite the gods to create the earth, the rain, the trees, the people and all things, invite the spirits of ancestors, the souls of the deceased to enjoy offerings, about eating. new rice and pray for the gods to give birth to humans, animals, and plants.
Finally, the ceremony of worshiping rice and corn. Raglai people think that rice and corn also have soul. Rice is the soul of a girl, corn is the soul of a boy and must perform rituals. In this ceremony, there are songs to pray for souls of rice and corn. When the ceremony is completed, the sorcerer performs the blessing ceremony for the members of their clan.
After the monks finished the rituals of worshiping glass, the ma la began to circle and beat drums, gongs and ma la. Leading the way is a large drummer, dressed neatly from the yard to go into the house, followed by seven roman musicians (the Raglai la code is considered a matriarchal family, the mother and the ma la girls). : ma la eldest, la la middle, ma la th, la la youngest. They both dance and hit hundreds of ma dance. Everyone invited each other to drink sparkling wine in a fun atmosphere. Many young people carry their instruments such as lipsticks, trumpets, chapi and confide in each other with musical instruments and rich love songs such as manhi, hari, sari, mayeng, kathong, shavings doh ... People drink alcohol, play la dance, dance all night ...
The main purpose of the new rice eating festival is the ceremony of changing seasons, sending off the dry season, praying for rain and praying for good crops. The ceremony is also the marking of the end of a production cycle in the year with the joy and gratitude to the ancestors, to the ancestors who have remembered the prayers in the previous year's worship ceremony that bestowed on the season, before. when enjoying the fruits of labor. Periodically, the ceremony aims to give thanks to the ancestors of the old crop and to pray for the better of the next crop. The festival is also an opportunity for relatives in the maternal and maternal families to gather and visit each other. Conflicts in the clan, if any, are also reconciled from the need to smoke plugged in a pitcher of wine to worship ancestors
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