Lồng Tồng Festival of the Tay People: The First Plowing Ceremony and Cultural Values

The Lồng Tồng Festival of the Tày people: The first field-descending ceremony of the year and its cultural values

What is the origin and spiritual meaning of the Lồng Tồng Festival?

The Lồng Tồng Festival, also known as the Field-Descending Festival, is a festival of the Tày and Nùng peoples in many provinces of the midland and mountainous regions of northern Vietnam, not of any single commune. Each locality holds the festival on its own early-spring date, usually within the first lunar month, depending on the customs and farming conditions of each village. Tày and Nùng communities who later migrated to the Central Highlands also maintain the festival at the start of spring.

According to the accounts of village elders and the records of Lương Văn Thu, Chairman of the People's Committee of Phong Dụ Thượng Commune (Lào Cai), in this locality the festival originated from the very agricultural production needs of the Tày community when they gathered into villages. It should be noted that this is an account and record from one specific locality, not the common origin of the festival across the whole region. In the life of wet-rice agriculture, the beginning of a new crop season is always tied to sacred rites to seek the blessing of the deities.

Held at the start of the new year, the Lồng Tồng Festival is not only an occasion for people to enjoy themselves but also a message of prayers for national peace and prosperity, abundant harvests, and a warm and happy life. It is regarded as a cultural heritage, a sacred symbol, and a durable bond that unites the community. Over time, the festival has not only preserved the distinctive cultural features of the Tày and Nùng peoples but has also spread and attracted the participation of other fraternal ethnic groups such as the Dao, Thái and H'Mông, creating a diverse and colourful cultural picture.

It is also necessary to distinguish clearly: the spring-welcoming customs of the Kinh people such as erecting the cây nêu (the New Year pole), lowering it on the seventh day, choosing an auspicious departure day, opening the seal, and the first brushstroke of the year, as recorded by Phan Kế Bính in Việt Nam phong tục and by Toan Ánh in Nếp cũ, belong to the Kinh people and are not used as a basis for discussing the customs of the Tày or the Nùng.

A table listing the folk games in the festive portion of the Lồng Tồng Festival along with their meanings.

The ceremonial portion: Solemn and sacred rites

How do the rites at the village communal house take place?

The festival usually opens with solemn rites performed at ancient communal houses, places closely bound to the spiritual life of the community such as the Làng Chạng communal house and the Làng Than communal house in Phong Dụ Thượng Commune (Lào Cai). This is a sacred space where people express their reverence for the deities, especially Thần Nông, the deity who governs cultivation and harvests.

In many other localities, the ceremonial portion may take place right in the field carefully chosen by the community, usually the most beautiful and spacious one. The Tày and Nùng in provinces such as Cao Bằng, Bắc Kạn, Lạng Sơn, Hà Giang and Tuyên Quang each have their own way of organising it, but what they share is a rite of worshipping the agricultural deity before entering the new crop season.

What is the meaning of the procession and the offering to Thần Nông?

One of the most important rites of the ceremonial portion is the procession and offering to Thần Nông. This rite expresses the deep wish of farmers for a new year of favourable rain and wind, of all things multiplying and thriving, and of lush harvests. In the solemn atmosphere of the ceremony, people carry out rites such as slaughtering a buffalo as an offering, a traditional form of sacrifice expressing reverence and presenting the deities with the most precious produce of the locality. The offering trays usually include specialities of the highlands, expressing the people's sincerity toward the deities.

In many places, the offering procession is led by the village elders, followed by a drum team, a gong team and people in brightly colourful traditional costume. The offering palanquin is elaborately decorated, with offerings to the deities laid upon it. The trays offered to the deities usually include local produce such as glutinous rice, boiled rooster, bánh chưng, fruit, and indispensably a bottle of fragrant white wine. These offerings express the people's gratitude to heaven and earth for granting them a year of favourable rain and wind and lush harvests.

In some villages, the tray also includes a piece of pork, boiled chicken, five-colour glutinous rice, bánh dày, chè lam and many kinds of fruit. The thầy mo (the ritual officiant) represents the community in performing the prayers, asking for national peace and prosperity, abundant harvests, and all things multiplying and thriving. While praying, the officiant sprinkles "holy water" (water brought back from the headwaters by mountain maiden attendants). According to folk belief, whoever catches a drop of the holy water will meet with good fortune throughout the year.

What is the tịch điền (field-descending) rite?

The most important and most anticipated highlight of the festival is the tịch điền rite (descending to the field). The head of the locality performs the first furrows on the carefully chosen field. This symbolic act officially opens a new production season amid the bustling festival drums and the joy of the people. Immediately afterwards, the people together with local leaders take part in sowing seeds, entrusting their faith to a year of plenty and warmth. This rite is not only spiritually meaningful but is also a reminder of the importance of agricultural labour, the foundation of community life.

In some localities, before the tịch điền rite, the chairman of the commune People's Committee performs the drum-beating rite to open the festival, officially beginning the festival season. Some places call this rite the lễ hạ điền, with the officiant making the first furrows on a symbolic field, followed by a seed-sowing rite, praying for a year of favourable ploughing and planting, good rice and ears of corn heavy with grain.

The festive portion: A vibrant space of cultural exchange

What are the distinctive folk games in the Lồng Tồng Festival?

After the solemn ceremonial portion comes the festive portion, with an extremely vibrant space of cultural exchange that draws a large number of local people and visitors. At the centre of the commune, a whole series of folk games is organised, creating a joyful and excited atmosphere for the first days of spring:

• Ném còn: A highly symbolic game that draws a large number of visitors, expressing the wish for luck and happiness. For the Tày and Nùng, ném còn is also a symbol of the wish for fertility and lush harvests.
• Tug of war: Expresses unity, endurance and the collective strength of the community.
• Blindfolded duck catching: A fun game that brings laughter and excitement to spectators.
• Pushing the pole: A competitive game requiring strength and technique.
• Blindfolded drum beating, walking on stilts: Games that show dexterity and carry a strong ethnic cultural identity.
• Ploughing contest, walking the cầu kiều, lày cỏ: Games tied to life in the rice fields and to collective activity, organised in many villages during the field-descending festival.

What is distinctive about the cultural, artistic and culinary activities?

Besides the folk games, the festival is also an occasion to perform distinctive traditional folk songs and dances. The arts teams vividly recreated the working and productive life and the rich soul of the highland people through carefully staged performances. Each item is like a warm greeting, a wish for a good new year. The xòe fire-lighting rite creates a brilliant spring picture amid the mountains and forests, dispelling the cold of winter and kindling the flame of community unity.

An indispensable feature of the festive portion is the sound of the đàn tính and the sweet, smooth melodies of then singing (then tính), reflecting the thoughts and feelings of the Tày and Nùng. The then dance performance, a form of folk art tied to the Then belief of the Tày, Nùng and Thái peoples, recreates a distinctive spiritual cultural space. According to UNESCO documentation on the Then practice of the Tày, Nùng and Thái peoples in Vietnam, the preservation and transmission of this form is tied to the role of the Then masters in opening teaching classes and practising the rites. The image of Tày and Nùng young women in brilliant, graceful traditional costume also helps make the festival space fresher and more attractive.

The festival is also a wonderful opportunity for visitors to enjoy and experience many highland culinary specialities such as cá bỗng, black chicken, snails, indigenous black pig, five-colour glutinous rice, thảo quả, ớt thóc, black ginger, along with various forest vegetables, bamboo shoots and wild mushrooms. Many places also introduce bánh khảo, cốm, bánh dày, glutinous rice wine, khau nhục and lạc sườn. This is an occasion for the locality to promote its distinctive agricultural products, contributing to building product brands tied to community tourism development. Preserving and promoting the festival has brought positive results, as evidenced by the fact that in Phong Dụ Thượng Commune (Lào Cai), in one year, the locality received 16,000 tourists with revenue reaching 9 billion đồng.

What are the community values and the work of preserving the Lồng Tồng Festival?

The Lồng Tồng Festival is not only an occasion to pray for abundant harvests but also a precious opportunity to unite the community and pass on good cultural values to future generations. For the ethnic communities here, the festival is an indispensable part of spiritual life, an occasion for everyone to meet, strengthen the bond of solidarity and together look back to their roots. The work of preserving and promoting traditional cultural values is always given attention by localities, through maintaining cultural activity venues and organising the annual festival, contributing to changing the face of rural areas that still face many difficulties.

The Lồng Tồng Festival is not confined to the scope of a single ethnic group. Over time, the festival has spread and attracted the participation of many other ethnic groups such as the Dao, H'Mông and Thái. This creates a diverse cultural space and strengthens the bond of solidarity between communities. For Tày and Nùng people far from home (such as the community in Đắk Lắk), maintaining the festival at the start of spring is a way to preserve identity, look back to their roots and educate younger generations about the traditions of their people.

Maintaining the annual organisation of the festival contributes to preserving and promoting intangible cultural values, while also creating a highlight for tourism development and bringing economic benefits to the locality. The Lồng Tồng Festival is truly a precious cultural heritage, a symbol of community cohesion and of humanity's aspiration for fertility and growth in its close relationship with nature.

A summary table of the rites, games and cultural features in the Lồng Tồng Festival of the Tày and Nùng peoples.

A summary table of the main rites and activities in the Lồng Tồng Festival of the Tày and Nùng peoples in the highlands of Lào Cai.

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