The Long Tong Festival (in Tuyen Quang Province) is the intangible cultural heritage of the nation

On February 21, 2013 (meaning on the 12th in January based on the lunar calendar), Tuyen Quang Provincial People's Committee and Lam Binh District held the Long Tong festival and received a National Intangible Cultural Heritage for "Long Tong Festival of the Tay ethnic people" in Tuyen Quang Province.

The fork dancing around the Con tree

There are many important people attended into the festival. They include of Secretary of Tuyen Quang Province – Mr. Nguyen Sang Vang, Ms. Dang Thi Bich Lien, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Leaders of the departments of the Tuyen Quang province, other visitors and the people of all nationalities in Lam Binh district.

There is the temple named Pu Bao, which is considered to be very sacred to the Tay ethnic people in Lam Binh district. Here, the main ceremony of the Long Tong festival is held. The worship products are offered, including 9 trays of Tong, which are the agricultural products and made by the indigenous people. The worship products are offered to the gods by nine girls in traditional costume. Then, the trays are brought to the Tong shelf in the middle of the stadium (at the mast foot of the Còn tree.

The ritual sacrifice to heaven-land and the divines is in order to give to the good things and be done by the priests. These people read the vows and begin the ritual to sacrifice the gods as the agricultural deity, the river’s deity, the mountain’s deity, the village's tutelary... These characters are considered to be the impact on production’s activities about agriculture and the life of the Tay ethnic people. Then, a special dance was performed with a means to dispel the dirty stuff to make the festival becomes clean.

At the festival, Ms. Dang Thi Bich Lien, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism has awarded the Certificate of the intangible cultural heritage of the nation for "the Long Tong festival of the Tay ethnic people" in Tuyen Quang Province.

A part festival began with going down field to plow; then, a dance named "Lam Binh’s color-fragrance" is represented by 400 pupils of the Thuong Lam secondary school in the Lam Binh district. Besides, there are the “Then” song and folk games were taken place exciting. They attracted tourists and people to get involved.

Long Tong in the Tay’s language means "going down the field". This is a festival of many factors on spiritual beliefs. This festival also happened a long time ago; and it is an opportunity for farmers to express our gratitude to the gods, ancestors and other people, who have reclaimed land to establish and grow rice and vegetables. The ritual is implemented to pray for better weather, happiness, doing well. The festival has become a beauty in the life of the community. It is a unique culture of the Tay ethnic people. It also contributes to enrich the national cultural treasure in Vietnam.

Plowing at the festival

Because the festival is recognized as the intangible cultural heritage of the nation, so it is an honor and pride, but it also poses challenges in the preservation and promotion of the traditional cultural values, which is popular in Vietnam and also widely promoted overseas.

Dancing

the tug game

Walking on stilts

Currently, the authorities in Tuyen Quang province are very interested in the preservation and promotion of the value of the Long Tong festival. It is contributing to the development of tourism and enhances the spiritual life of the people in this province.