Traditionally, the Bahnar choose a calendar to celebrate the Tet holiday, also known as the "Warehouse Closing Ceremony" to end the old year, preparing a new harvest season. This is a long-standing tradition and very few families retain their identities. However, in Po Drang village, Krong commune (Kbang district, Gia Lai), people still organize every year.
Tet season is usually held after people have finished plucking the rice, the rice is put into the warehouse. Tet does not set a date, but the harvest season is always organized at that time.
Today, Po Drang village, both old and young, stays at home to prepare for Tet. Each one prepares for the New Year. People who wash dishes, bowls, pots and pans; People go get water, pounding rice to prepare rice. Rice flour, called pung silk, is pounded by hand to cook porridge, called (gumeer) is an indispensable dish in these days.
Pigs, which have been raised throughout the year, are now taken for worshiping. Every family has a cage to keep chickens in. After that, the whole family brought everything to the warehouse. Usually, the warehouse is located in the lagoon house or in the field. At the rice warehouse is cleaned, the area in front of the warehouse is a place to worship.
According to the introduction, we went to the house of Mr. Dinh Khiam - a family who still held the worshiping ceremony according to the old customs. Mr. Khiam and his children were well prepared from the dream - the two le trees were split into one end and woven with a small plate to remove offerings; lazguay- 4 trees mentioned above are elaborately prepared; krang- is a wooden frame used as a place of worship, also very methodical. Most elaborate are some symbols of agricultural tools such as axes, knives, machetes, hammers, tongs ... After the preparations are complete, the landlord asks for a land to dig a hole to erect the offering price. The material to be dug must be made of bamboo or wood, not iron. The solidly erected offering price is called hle.
Mr. Khiam said: Tet holiday is a tradition of the people, every family has pigs and pigs, chickens and chickens. Usually, once every 3-4 years, the offerings will be as big as this year. Preparing Tet is also picky so many people give it up, in the village only a few families still worship the old customs. I also offer to pass to the children later.
A fire stove is available; pigs and chickens are laid out; candles are lit; wine was made and the ceremony began. The worshiping ceremony is divided into many small ceremonies. The first is reporting to Yang this year raising pigs and chickens, asking permission to slaughter meat to worship Yang. Both pigs and chickens are alive. At the beginning, sitting and worshiping, just finished making offerings to the heads of chickens and pigs. After doing so three times, the host stood up again, holding the chicken, between the chicken and the pig connected by a rope, Mr. Khiam offered: “Oi Yàng! Yàng Lúa, Yàng Nước, Yàng Nui ... thank Yàng for the great grain of rice and the strong grain ... Yàng tell the rats and the birds ... not to eat rice or to destroy it. Please tell the soul of the rice not to be afraid of being on the field and with the family. May Yàng help the rice crop next year better. Make the family healthy enough to catch upland fields for rice in the next year ... ”.
After this worshiping ceremony, the host cut the neck of the chicken to apply the blood on the offering price, the chicken head was put on the offering price, at the same time the pigs were also slaughtered, cut the muzzle to put on the offering price. The host again worshiped, holding the head of the chicken and the muzzle of the pig, and after a post of worship, he threw it to the ground to ask Yang for blessing such as asking for glue with the coins of the Kinh people to make pork and chicken.
Pork is cleaned, the skin and meat from the tail to the nape of the snakehead, boiled to worship. Pork is taken to cook for the family to eat, the rest is shared with brothers and relatives. Pig liver is cut into small pieces and put on the offering. At this time, the landlord offers Yang a meal. Need to be plugged into the jug of wine, the whole family to worship and drink meat to eat. The ceremony of Mr.amam's family is completed so it lasts about 2 hours.
For Tet offerings, rice and porridge are not the same as new rice, but these two things are indispensable in the family's year-end meals. After finishing Tet, at the warehouse, each family took a drink of wine and brought it to the communal house.
Mr. Dinh Buh, Head of Po Drang Village, said that Tet holiday is preserved by the descendants of Po Drang Village as before. Every year, we offer offerings to the Yàng for rice, health, good children and grandchildren.
It is thought that the New Year is a good traditional tradition, the identity of the Bahnar people should be preserved and promoted, especially now Krong commune in particular, Kbang district in general are being selected to build new rural areas and building points commune and district on sports culture and tourism.
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