TL;DR: The Khơ Mú new rice celebration in Than Uyên (Lai Châu) is a thanksgiving rite to ancestors and the land spirit after harvest; residents of Thẩm Phé village call it Giát Hả Mả Mía. The sequence runs from offerings to the land spirit and pouring wine at the base of the ceremonial pole, casting two bamboo sticks for yin and yang, inviting the ancestors, offering rice with two wine jars, tipping out a steamer of red sticky rice holding two coins for everyone to scramble for, scattering a plate of green rice holding five coins as a blessing, to singing to welcome the new rice and the xòe dance. Each household holds it on one day, one home after another, forming a whole festival season.
Scope of this article and the sources it records
This article describes the Khơ Mú new rice celebration in Than Uyên district (as it was then), Lai Châu province, following two reports dated 1/9/2023 on a re-enactment organised by Than Uyên district within the Art Programme Welcoming the 2/9 Independence Day and the 2023 Culture and Tourism Week[1][2]. This was an organised re-enactment, not a household rite held spontaneously in the community. The ritual master in the records is Mr Hoàng Văn Tiến of Thẩm Phé village[1][2].
According to the two sources, the Khơ Mú of Than Uyên live mainly in Thẩm Phé village (Mường Kim commune), Mè village (Ta Gia commune) and the villages of Noong Ỏ and Noong Ma (Tà Hừa commune)[1][2]. The name Giát Hả Mả Mía is what the Khơ Mú of Thẩm Phé village call this celebration[1]. The sources do not describe the celebration among the Khơ Mú of Điện Biên, Sơn La or Nghệ An, so the article does not generalise beyond Than Uyên.
As for current administrative place names, the villages and communes named above belong to Lai Châu province as recorded in the 2023 sources. The sources do not give the new commune or ward names after the administrative reorganisation, so the article keeps the commune names as the sources record them and states clearly that these are place names per the 2023 sources.
When does the Khơ Mú new rice celebration in Than Uyên take place?
The celebration is held around August to September of the solar calendar, after the harvest is complete[1][2]. According to Mr Hoàng Văn Tiến, each year at that time, once the crops have been gathered, Khơ Mú people call one another together to hold the celebration[1].
A notable feature of the timing is that each household holds its new rice celebration on one day, one family after another, forming a festival season rather than a single shared festival day[1][2]. This household-by-household arrangement reflects a thanksgiving rite tied to each family's own swidden season, unlike a festival model fixed at one place and one time.
Why is the celebration tied to swidden culture?
Both sources describe the traditional culture of the Khơ Mú in Than Uyên as a swidden and bamboo culture, shown through customs, beliefs and folk festivals[2]. Within one farming cycle, after the harvest is in, families make offerings to their ancestors of the first green rice grains[1][2].
The celebration thus sits at the end of the farming cycle, with new green rice at the centre of the offerings. The sources also record that, besides green rice, the offerings include wine drunk through jars, distilled wine, a pair of flowered roosters, white sticky rice, red sticky rice, vegetables, and forest produce such as fish and crab[1][2]. The VietNamNet report adds rat and squirrel to the list of forest produce[2].
What is on the offering trays?
According to the records, the tray offered to the land spirit includes a pig's head, a pig's tail, one flowered rooster, a bowl of rice, an egg, sticky rice and wine[2]. The sources also say the new rice offering tray differs slightly from the land spirit tray, but do not list every item on the new rice tray[2].
A distinction is needed between the two groups of offerings the sources mention. The first is the tray offered to the land spirit and the ancestors. The second is the offerings prepared for the whole celebration, including green rice, jar wine, distilled wine, a pair of flowered roosters, white sticky rice, red sticky rice, vegetables and forest produce[1][2].
| Offering group | Components per the sources | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Land spirit tray | Pig's head, pig's tail, one flowered rooster, a bowl of rice, an egg, sticky rice, wine | Listed by VietNamNet[2] |
| General festival offerings | New green rice, jar wine, distilled wine, a pair of flowered roosters, white sticky rice, red sticky rice, vegetables, fish, crab, rat, squirrel | TTXVN and VietNamNet[1][2] |
| Offerings for the luck rite | A steamer of red sticky rice holding two coins | TTXVN and VietNamNet[1][2] |
| Offerings for the blessing rite | A plate of green rice holding five coins | TTXVN and VietNamNet[1][2] |
What is the sequence of rituals?
The celebration is divided into two parts: the ritual part and the festive part[1]. The ritual part is a chain of successive rites. The table below sets out the sequence as recorded by the two sources, with the meaning the sources give.
| Step | Who acts | Action per the sources | Meaning given by the sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ritual master | Offers to the land spirit, pours wine at the base of the ceremonial pole to invite the land spirit | Opens the ritual part, inviting the spirits to witness[2] |
| 2 | A man | Tosses two bamboo sticks about 10cm long and 2cm wide into the air to ask for yin and yang | If one falls face down and one face up, the offering must be repeated; when both fall face up or both face down, the offering counts as successful[2] |
| 3 | Ritual master | Invites the ancestors to attend, recounts the origin of the festival, the clearing and cultivating of the swidden fields, and recalls the ancestors' merits | Opens the new rice festival[1][2] |
| 4 | Ritual master | With one hand presses two wine jars so the wine flows, then prays inviting the ancestors to share the offerings; then prays asking the ancestors to keep protecting the family | The rice invitation rite[1] |
| 5 | The men | Drink jar wine | The sources record drinking jar wine as part of the new rice offering[2] |
| 6 | The housewife | Carries a steamer of red sticky rice holding two coins to the middle of the house, tips it onto the ground with a spoken phrase; people jostle to dig out the coins | Seeking luck: hoping for health, smooth work and a bountiful harvest in the coming year[1][2] |
| 7 | The householder | Carries a plate of green rice holding five coins and scatters the green rice around five times | Blessing: believing that whoever a coin lands on will be lucky in the coming year[2] |
| 8 | An elderly woman representing the villagers | Sings to welcome the new rice | The last rite in the sequence, celebrating the family's good harvest[2] |
| 9 | The whole community | Dances to welcome the new rice to the sound of gongs and drums | The festive part[2] |
What is special about the land spirit offering and the bamboo stick casting?
The ritual master begins with the land spirit offering[2]. Pouring wine at the base of the ceremonial pole to invite the land spirit is recorded as the opening step[2]. After the land spirit offerings, a man tosses two bamboo sticks about 10cm long and 2cm wide into the air[2]. How the result is read, per the sources: if one stick falls face down and one face up, the offering must be made again; when both sticks fall face up or both face down, the offering is considered successful[2].
A notable point is that the yin and yang casting here takes a matching result as the sign of success, not an opposing one. The sources do not explain further why the convention is so, so the article does not speculate.
How do the invitation of the ancestors and the rice offering proceed?
After the land spirit offering comes the new rice offering[2]. The invitation of the ancestors is described as opening the new rice festival: the ritual master respectfully invites the ancestors to attend and recounts the origin of the festival and the clearing and cultivating of the swidden fields[1][2]. In the prayer, the ritual master recalls the ancestors' merits in protecting the descendants, helping them tend the swidden fields and crops[1].
Next comes the rice invitation rite. The ritual master presses two wine jars with one hand so the wine flows, then prays inviting the ancestors to share the offerings; this is followed by a prayer asking the ancestors to keep protecting the family and granting it all good things[1]. The two wine jars thus serve both as offering and as the means of the invitation rite.
Why is there a scramble for sticky rice and a scattering of green rice?
These are the two rites the sources describe most fully and the part that draws the attention of visiting spectators[2]. In the luck rite, the housewife carries a steamer of red sticky rice holding two coins to the middle of the house, tips the steamer onto the ground with the phrase: "Eat and prosper, remember"[1][2]. A great many people then jostle to dig out the coins, hoping for health, smooth work and a bountiful harvest in the coming year[1][2].
After the scramble, the ritual master performs the blessing rite. The householder carries a plate of green rice holding five coins and scatters the green rice around five times[2]. The Khơ Mú believe that whoever a coin lands on will be lucky in the coming year[2].
In folk belief, those attending the celebration trust that the sticky rice and coins they win, or that a coin lands on them, bring luck for the coming year[1][2]. This is the belief as reported by the sources, not a claim about the rite's actual effect.
What does the festive part include?
After the ritual part comes the festive part with many games and dances[1]. The TTXVN source records the "Hưn mạy" dance and a jar wine drinking contest[1]. Once the rice is eaten and the wine drunk, gongs and drums are brought out and everyone joins hands in the xòe dance[1]. The VietNamNet source adds the jar wine drinking contest and the gong and drum xòe, and describes the new rice dance performed to the sound of gongs and drums, where the drummer not only beats the drum but also joins in the dances[2].
As for who sings to welcome the new rice, the VietNamNet source quotes Mrs Lò Thị Hằng, then 78 years old, saying that by custom the elderly woman of the village leads the singing to welcome the new rice[2]. The TTXVN source describes a kindly elderly woman representing the villagers singing to celebrate the family's good harvest over the past year[2].
What meaning is this celebration understood to carry?
According to the Khơ Mú people quoted in the sources, the new rice festival carries a sacred meaning: it is the occasion to offer the ancestors new rice and traditional dishes, to pray for the ancestors to protect the family members' health and for a bountiful harvest[1]. The sources also record that it is an occasion for grandparents and parents to teach children to value labour, helping the family and the clan to be more united and close-knit[1].
It should be noted that this is the community's own understanding as reported by the sources, that is, an insider's belief, not an independent research conclusion about the rite's effects.
How does the locality carry out preservation of the celebration?
The TTXVN source quotes Mr Trần Quang Chiến, Vice Chairman of the Than Uyên District People's Committee, saying the district cares about preserving the cultural identity of the ethnic groups in the area, including the new rice festival, and that 2023 was the second year the locality organised a re-enactment of this festival[1]. The source also says Than Uyên district worked with commune People's Committees to support the restoration and staging of Khơ Mú rituals; to preserve and promote certain forms of folk song, folk dance and ethnic instruments; and to organise cultural and sporting activities combined with folk games[1].
On how it will be maintained, the source quotes the district leadership saying that in the coming time Than Uyên will continue to hold this festival annually on the occasions of annual holidays and Tết and encourage residents to take part in cultural activities[1].
What should be kept in mind when reading these records?
First, this is a record of a re-enactment organised by the district on 1/9/2023, not a record of a household rite held spontaneously in the community[1][2]. The ritual sequence in this article reflects that re-enactment.
Second, the sources do not fully agree on some details. On who sings to welcome the new rice, one source describes a kindly elderly woman representing the villagers, while another gives a specific name and says the elderly woman of the village leads the singing[2]. On the list of forest produce, one source names only fish and crab, while another adds rat and squirrel[1][2]. The article gives both differences rather than choosing one side.
Third, the sources do not say whether this celebration has any heritage designation, so the article assigns it none. Figures such as the two bamboo sticks about 10cm long and 2cm wide, two coins, five coins and five scatterings of green rice are all figures from the 2023 sources[1][2].
Fourth, the sources recount no legend about a particular deity or figure worshipped in this celebration, so the article adds none. The ritual master's prayer, per the sources, speaks of the origin of the festival, the clearing of the swidden fields and the ancestors' merits[1], and names no legendary figure.
