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TL;DR: The Dao Quần Chẹt people in Phú Thọ celebrate Tet with distinctive rituals such as ancestor worship, making chung cakes and day cakes, and community activities. Tet is not only a time for family reunion but also an occasion to remember their roots and pray for a lucky new year and bountiful harvests.
What are the origins of the Dao Quần Chẹt community?
The Dao Quần Chẹt are a local group of the Dao ethnic minority, residing mainly in northern mountainous provinces of Vietnam, including Phú Thọ. Their name comes from their traditional costume with tight-fitting trousers, distinguishing them from other Dao groups like Dao Đỏ or Dao Tiền. They typically live in small villages on mountain slopes, cultivating swidden fields and terraced rice paddies, closely connected to nature.
For the Dao Quần Chẹt, the Lunar New Year (Tet) is not just a rest after a hard working year, but also a sacred time to connect with ancestors, deities, and the community. Their Tet customs reflect their spiritual life, beliefs, and unique cultural identity, preserved through generations.
Summary table of Tet customs and activities of the Dao Quần Chẹt people in Phú Thọ by timing.
| Timing | Main activities | Offerings or items | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Around the 20th to 25th of the twelfth lunar month | General cleaning of the house, yard, sweeping around the house and the clan cemetery area, wiping the altar, replacing old votive paper with new | New votive paper, cay neu | Driving away the misfortunes of the old year, creating a clean space to welcome the new year, marking the boundary between the old year and the new year, warding off evil spirits |
| The 29th or 30th of Tet | Wrapping banh chung and banh day | Forest dong leaves, glutinous rice, mung beans, pork | Banh chung symbolizes the Earth, banh day symbolizes the Sky |
| New Year's Eve | First worshiping the New Year's Eve outside, then worshiping inside the house | Banh chung, banh day, a whole boiled chicken, colored sticky rice, white wine, fruits | Welcoming deities and ancestors returning from afar, praying for health, favorable business, and good harvests |
| Tet days | Worshiping the forest god at the village's sacred forest | Chicken, wine, cakes, incense | Thanking the deities for protection in the past year, praying for a peaceful new year |
| Tet occasion | Worshiping the patron deity for each member | Strengthening the connection with the guardian deity, praying for health and peace | |
| New Year's Eve and the morning of the first day | Lighting a fire in front of the house, scattering kitchen ash or salt around the house, hanging green branches or talismans in front of the door | Fire, kitchen ash, salt, green branches, talismans | Driving away evil spirits, preventing bad things from entering |
| The first day of Tet | Worshiping ancestors, eating the first meal of the year, visiting neighbors and relatives to wish Tet greetings | Traditional tray of food, a bottle of wine or a small package of cakes | Expressing affection and community bonds, wishing health, bountiful harvests, and thriving livestock |
| The second and third days | Family and clan gatherings | Reviewing memories, discussing new year plans, resolving conflicts to create harmony | |
| Tet occasion | Going to pagoda ceremonies, visiting ancestral graves, sweeping and offering incense | Incense | Praying for peace, expressing the moral principle of remembering the source when drinking water |
| Tet occasion | Playing folk games such as spinning tops, con throwing, tug of war, stick pushing, love duet singing | Bonding the community, an occasion for boys and girls to get to know each other | |
| Tet occasion | Preparing specialty dishes | Smoked meat, sausage, pickled vegetables, forest vegetables, white wine fermented from glutinous rice, colored sticky rice dyed from forest leaves | Colored sticky rice symbolizes luck and prosperity |
How do the Dao Quần Chẹt prepare for Tet?
Cleaning and decorating
Around the 20th to 25th day of the 12th lunar month, each Dao Quần Chẹt family begins a thorough cleaning of their house and yard. This act symbolizes sweeping away misfortunes of the old year and welcoming the new one. They also clean around the house and the family cemetery area. The worship space inside the house is carefully cleaned, with new votive papers placed on the ancestor altar. A neu tree (if any) is often erected in front of the house to mark the boundary between old and new year and to ward off evil spirits.
Making chung and day cakes
Chung cake (square sticky rice cake) and day cake (round glutinous rice cake) are indispensable in the Tet feast of the Dao Quần Chẹt. Chung cake symbolizes Earth, day cake symbolizes Heaven, reflecting the round-square philosophy common in Vietnamese culture. They wrap chung cakes with mung bean and pork fillings, using dong leaves from the forest. The cakes are boiled for many hours until tender. Day cakes are pounded from fragrant sticky rice, shaped round and flat. These activities usually take place on the 29th or 30th of the lunar year, gathering family members around a warm fire.
What are the main rituals on New Year's Eve and Tet days?
Ancestor worship on New Year's Eve
At the moment of transition from old to new year, the head of the family lights incense on the ancestor altar. The offering tray includes chung cake, day cake, whole boiled chicken, colored sticky rice, white liquor, and local fruits. The Dao Quần Chẹt believe that ancestors return to earth to reunite with descendants, witnessing their sincerity and blessing the family.
Unlike the Kinh people, the Dao Quần Chẹt often perform the New Year's Eve offering outdoors first, facing the main door or yard, to welcome deities and ancestors from afar. Then they offer indoors. In prayers, they ask ancestors for health, prosperity, and good harvests.
Rituals to forest gods and personal guardian deities
The Dao Quần Chẹt practice polytheism, with forest gods, mountain gods, and personal guardian deities playing important roles. During Tet, they often hold ceremonies at the village sacred forest to thank deities for protection in the past year and pray for a peaceful new year. Offerings typically include chicken, liquor, cakes, and incense. This ritual shows respect for nature, the source of community life.
Additionally, each family performs a ritual to the personal guardian deity for each member. According to Dao belief, each person has a guardian deity since birth. During Tet, they offer sacrifices to strengthen the bond with this deity, praying for health and safety.
Warding off evil spirits and attracting luck
On New Year's Eve and the morning of the first day, the Dao Quần Chẹt often light fires in front of their houses, both for warmth and to drive away evil spirits. They also sprinkle ash or salt around the house to prevent bad things from entering. Some families hang green leaves or amulets at the door, following folk beliefs.
On the first day of the new year, people avoid sweeping the house, fearing to sweep away fortune and luck. Children are told not to cry or say unlucky words. Adults wake up early, light incense, and exchange good wishes. They believe that what happens on the first day influences the whole year.
What are the customs during Tet days?
First day: Ancestor worship and New Year greetings
On the morning of the first day, each family prepares another offering tray for ancestors with traditional dishes. After the offering, the family shares the first meal of the year. The Dao Quần Chẹt have the custom of visiting neighbors and relatives to wish them a happy new year. Visitors often bring a bottle of liquor or small cakes, showing affection and community bonds. New Year wishes often include health, bountiful harvests, and livestock growth.
Second and third days: Visiting and gatherings
On the second and third days, the Dao Quần Chẹt often hold family and clan gatherings. Descendants living far away return home, sharing memories and planning for the new year. This is also an occasion to resolve any clan conflicts, if any, to promote harmony.
Visiting pagodas and graves
Although their main belief is polytheism, due to Vietnamese cultural influence, many Dao Quần Chẹt families also visit pagodas during Tet to pray for peace. They also visit ancestral graves, clean and light incense, showing gratitude to their roots.
Community games and activities
Tet of the Dao Quần Chẹt is incomplete without folk games such as spinning tops, throwing con (cloth ball), tug of war, and stick pushing. These activities often take place in the village yard or open land, attracting many young people. Especially, antiphonal singing between men and women is a distinctive cultural feature, strengthening community bonds and providing opportunities for courtship.
What food is eaten during Tet?
Besides chung and day cakes, the Dao Quần Chẹt prepare specialties like smoked meat, sausages, pickles, and wild vegetables. White liquor fermented from sticky rice is indispensable in the feast. Colored sticky rice (red, purple) dyed with forest leaves often appears during festivals, symbolizing luck and prosperity.
How is Dao Quần Chẹt Tet changing?
In the context of modernization, many Tet customs of the Dao Quần Chẹt have changed. Handmade chung cakes are less common due to the convenience of industrial cakes. However, rituals to ancestors and deities remain central to the community's spiritual life. Local authorities and cultural organizations in Phú Thọ are striving to preserve the intangible cultural values of ethnic minorities, including the Dao Quần Chẹt, by encouraging traditional festivals and passing knowledge to younger generations.
The traditional Tet of the Dao Quần Chẹt in Phú Thọ is a vivid picture of cultural beliefs and community. Understanding and respecting these customs not only helps preserve ethnic identity but also serves as a bridge for generations to understand their roots, enriching Vietnam's diverse cultural landscape.
