Lunar New Year for ethnic people in northwest Vietnam

Tet festival in the northwest

It would be very interesting if you travel northwest Vietnam in Spring time, from January to March. Northwest of Vietnam is the home to many ethnic minorities like Hmong, Thai, Muong, etc.  It is not hard to believe that this remote highland can hold inside a widely diversified cultural background since each ethnic group here has its own customs. When referring to Tet in northwest Vietnam, these practices have made great contributions to create unique Tet that you can only experience on this land.

Hmong people in Hoa Binh

The Mong celebrate Tet one month earlier than the usual Tet in Vietnam. They also do not celebrate New Year’s turning moment like the majority of Vietnamese do. Instead, it is a tradition that New Year starts with the first rooster sound on the first day of Tet. On the previous night, people set up a full table of food and dedicate to their altar to worship the ancestors. After that, they have a big meal with wine and wait until hearing the first rooster sound.

Another interesting custom is: rather than making “Chung” cake like the Kinh, the Hmong make “Day” cake (a plain round sticky rice cake). They think that the round shape of the cake represents the moon and the sun, which are the origin of everything on earth. During Tet, these home-made cake will be used to treat the guests.

Tet amongst Hmong people are full of social activities, spiritual customs, and particularly traditional games like: horse racing, bird fighting, bow shooting, etc.

Muong people in Son La

To the Muong, Tet is the most important event of the year. On Tet, each family prepare a big meal to worship their ancestors and spiritual gods. A table often requires: Chung cake, honey, wine, sticky rice, boiled meat, some money, a bowl of water, betel and areca, salt. After setting up the table properly, the ritual will be established by a sorcerer. Finally, the family can have New Year’s meal.

Besides the food prepared for ritual purpose, the Muong’s meal usually has some additional local food and vegetable. A notable custom that is well practiced here is: before the meal, children in the family must line up and show their respect to the older by prostrating themselves before them. The old would then wish their chidren health and luck. After settling, people would offer wine to each other, and then start eating. To make the atmosphere warm and joyful, Muong people often sing along traditional songs during the meal.

Thai people in Lai Chau

From January 25th (according to local calendar), hotels in northwest Vietnam after finishing cleaning and decorating the house, Thai people will go to local markets to shop for Tet. Of many things they would buy, two sugarcane trees are compulsory. It is a custom that they bind the two trees in two side edges of the altar, which as the people think, would do as a stick connecting land and the sky, guiding their ancestors back to the sky for Tet.    

In the early morning of 30th, Thai people would lit up their stoves to prepare the food welcoming New Year. The women will make sticky rice and cook food while the men will kill the pig and do initial procedures. At night, people gather around the cooking fire to wait for New Year’s turning moment. Drums and gongs spread out their cheerful melodies for an expecting New Year. When the clock strikes 12, people in the village will go to the brook to take some water. The tradition is that: if one uses the water from the source to drink and wash the face at the very first time of New and his family will be healthy and lucky for the rest of the year. This practice must be done before the first rooster sound signaling 1 o’clock. 

Ta Xi Lang, beautiful destination in northwest Vietnam

Ta Xi Lang (Hmong language means "land of banyan tree") is home to 5000 Hmong people. It takes more than 2 hours from the center of Tram Tau district (Yen Bai province), over the sheer mountain paths, deep abyss and thick fog, Ta Xi Lang commune appears on top of Ta Cao peak, kingdom of Po Mu wood, Ta Xi Lang is situated below the canyon and immense green wood. 

Ta Xi Lang mountain

Situated at an altitude of over 2000m above sea level, Ta Xi Lang has an area of 9000 hectares, the commune consists of 5 villages Ta Cao, Xa Nhu, Chong Chua, Lang Manh, La Ta. From ages ago, Hmong people have lived on this harsh land. Ta Xi Lang is one of the poorest and most difficult communes in Tram Tau district. People here live mainly by raising livestock and maize, rice is mostly planted on the hill sides as there is very little water, all facilities are very basic, there is no electricity, the shool is poorly equiped, only the health centre was newly built. Due to the poor level of cultivation so there is usually a shortage of food between harvests.

Adventure tours in north Vietnam, the first visitors came to Ta Xi Lang about 15 years ago when the young Vietnamese backpackers from a travel forum crossed the mountain passes by motorbike or bicycle to Ta Xi Lang. At that time there was no road, Ta Xi Lang could be reached via the buffalo paths winding around the mountain and forest, it was a challenge to reach Ta Xi Lang on the bikes, only the hardened drivers arrived, especially in rainy seasons. Weather conditions in Ta Xi Lang is more difficult than other mountainous areas, sometimes temperature drops to below zero in winter and that even makes cultivation in the area harder. Around 10 years ago Ta Xi Lang was famous as the "territory" of precious woods Pomu but now, due to the over exploitation the number of old Pomu trees are just scattered in the jungle.

A few years ago, Ta Xi Lang like a different world. Teachers assigned to work here were just afraid and tired because of poor conditions in the area. Most teachers working in this mountain peak are men as the women don't want to face the risk of "becoming an old maid". 

In Ta Xi Lang, all teachers and pupils work together to face the difficulty. The teachers' bedroom is too small and they have to share, in dry season they have to walk up to 4km to fetch water, food is mostly groundnuts and dried fish stocked for months. In the rainy season, Ta Xi Lang is isolated for weeks as the roads to the commune is blocked by soil erosion, people and cars cannot pass. 

At all school places, the children's meals are very simple and hard. Their food is mainly vegetables sometimes with a fish caught from streams. Yet the kids here still eat very well and go to school regularly. Like in Sapa, Ta Xi Lang is covered by fog all year round, temperature is usually 5 degrees Celsius, freezing, sometimes when it was too cold many horses and buffaloes died however the children still went to school on bare feet, on rainy days the teachers had to burn a fire in front of the classroom for the children to keep warm.

Ta Xi Lang has no electricity, only lamps flickered from the mini hydroelectric source made by local people, mobile phone coverage can hardly reach, only a few places that get phone reception and the teachers have to use 3G network to access the internet, teachers must use Dcom3G. 

In recent years, Ta Xi Lang have welcomed many voluntary groups bringing gifts and clothes to the children. Program "firefly light" has overcome the mountains to give light to the students here, the kids are so happy because of this lighting device instead of oil lamps. 

Ta Xi Lang Tet in the days before Tet holiday is more foggy in the Ta Cao peak but from within the homes, the classrooms, the firelight flickering in the cold night as if driving away the coldness of this remote place. From the distance, the looming ancient Po Mu trees stand imposingly in the fog.