TL;DR: Kin Pang Then is the spring-opening ceremony of the White Thai people in the Northwest, held by Then masters so that adopted children can return to give thanks and celebrate the Then destiny. It usually takes place after Tết Nguyên đán (Lunar New Year), from before the full moon of the first lunar month to before the full moon of the third lunar month, with a large celebration once every three years. It is both a spiritual ritual tied to the Then tradition and an occasion for festivity across the whole village and muong.
What is Kin Pang Then and who organises it?
Kin Pang Then is an early-spring festival of the White Thai, organised by Then practitioners so that their adopted children can return to give thanks and celebrate the Then life-force. The name combines three Thai words: "Kin" means to eat, to celebrate; "Pang" means festival, festival-goer; "Then" refers to the deities of Muong Troi (the Heavenly Realm)[1]. In the Muong So and Khong Lao areas of Phong Tho district (before July 2025), Lai Chau province, people shorten it to Then Kin Pang, meaning inviting Then down to earth to celebrate with the villagers[2].
One of the special heritage elements passed down by the White Thai of Dien Bien province to this day is the Kin Pang Then ceremony, at Na Nat hamlet, Na Lay ward, Muong Lay town[1].
Then practitioners usually come from families with a Then tradition. From the time they enter the profession, they must learn prayers, learn the instrument, memorise thousands of song verses, know how to sing then, hat mang, hat xao xen along the ritual journey of prayer-singing, and be proficient in the accompaniment of the tinh tau lute[1].
When during the year does the festival take place?
Kin Pang Then takes place in early spring, after Tet Nguyen Dan, from before the full moon of the first lunar month to before the full moon of the third lunar month, and a large celebration is held every three years[1]. The festival lasts from three to five days, longer or shorter depending on the number of adopted children[1].
Each year at this time, not only the White Thai but also many ethnic groups in the region come to attend the festival[1].
In Lai Chau, the community-level festival usually chooses the 9th to 10th of the third lunar month as the main day. In 2022, the festival at Khong Lao commune took place from 8 to 10 April (solar calendar), i.e. the 8th to 10th of the third lunar month[2]. In 2023, it took place on 28 to 29 April (solar), i.e. the 9th to 10th of the third lunar month[3]. In 2024, it took place on 17 to 18 April (solar), also on the 9th to 10th of the third lunar month[5]. In 2025, according to the announcement made before the festival, it took place on 6 to 7 April (solar), i.e. the 9th to 10th of the third lunar month, and this is the first time the festival is held at provincial level[4].
Who is invited and what are the offerings?
Before the festival, the Then practitioner invites guests and adopted children to attend, and also invites siblings, relatives and helpers to discuss the organisation and assign tasks[1]. At the Then practitioner's house, everyone buys food, makes offerings from wool, folds paper, hangs the pang tree like a forest banana flower, animal figures, swallows, swallow nests, symbols of drums, gongs, con balls, ribbons, fish[1].
Adopted children who attend prepare thank-offerings including incense, wine, sticky rice, a pair of chickens (one cock, one hen), fruit, cakes and sweets[1].
The White Thai believe that Muong Troi is ruled by deities, that humans on earth are subject to the sky and the deities; Then is the representative of the heavenly court who comes down to meet the villagers, granting favourable rain and wind, good harvests, peaceful villages, and also the representative of the earthly realm who conveys the thoughts and wishes of the people to heaven[2].
How are the pang tree and the Then altar arranged?
The pang tree is the centre of the ritual. The chosen tree must have a root, a straight beautiful trunk, an uncut top, fresh green leaves, and be brought home and erected inside without touching the roof[1]. Once the tree is chosen, the Then practitioner must pray to the mountain god and tree god for permission to bring it home for the ceremony[1].
The base of the pang tree is set with six sections of banana trunk representing a herd of buffalo. On the tree are placed forest flowers, colourful silk strips, and iridescent ribbons to make it more brilliant. After decoration, the pang tree is brushed with lime water on the trunk and branches, implying that the souls of the participants are kept from lingering in the Then realm and losing their way back to earth[1].
The Then altar is cleaned, decorated with swallow-tail flowers, con balls, and newly woven animal figures such as crickets, crows, pigeons, cicadas; two posts supporting the altar hang two banana flowers symbolising heavenly banana flowers. On the altar are placed cakes, sweets, fruit, incense; below the altar is where the offerings of the adopted children and relatives are placed[1].
In front of the Then altar is an offering tray including white silver coins, a folded scarf, betel leaves, a raw chicken egg, rice, a porcelain bowl, incense, a bell cluster representing horse bells, hoa trung quan flowers, a small candle, plates, cups, packages of rice, packages of salt, wine, a bowl of water, a tobacco pipe, a betel tray, a large roll of white woven cloth. The ritual master's implements include a sword, a silver bracelet, a plate for yin-yang coins, a deer horn, a stone axe head (thunder god's axe), a small long stone (horse's leg), a small stone (Then noi, i.e. little Then), a bag of amulet gems, yin-yang coins, a bronze bell cluster, a tinh lute, a knee cover, a shirt, a headscarf, a belt, a paper fan, a wild boar's tusk, a small mirror[1].
How do the main rituals in Kin Pang Then unfold?
Kin Pang Then takes place before the Then altar in the ritual master's house. Assisting the ritual master throughout the ceremony are a bao khoa, a xao chay, two me da (one principal, one assistant), along with helpers who arrange offerings, light incense, present offerings, serve water, wine, betel, listen and convey Then's words to the offerers, and shake the bell cluster for Then[1].
The ritual master, bao khoa and xao chay wear shirts and hats used in the ritual; attendees and adopted children wear ethnic clothing. Instruments used include the tinh lute, the shook percussion, drums, gongs, and cymbals. Throughout the ceremony, the Then practitioner plays and sings according to ancient then melodies such as hat mang, hat then, hat xao xen[1].
Early in the morning of the opening day, the ritual master's family sets a common offering tray representing the community to the left of the Then altar, including a boiled pig with its organs placed at the tail, two boiled chickens (one cock, one hen) with their innards inside, four handfuls of sticky rice, bowls and chopsticks, cups of wine[1].
When the adopted children's offering trays are placed before the Then altar, the ritual master lights incense to ask permission from ancestors, the original Then, the spirits of the muong and village and Muong Troi to open the Kin Pang Then festival. The ritual master performs the spirit possession ritual, asking for yin-yang divination to introduce the Then spirit, stating the reason for the ceremony, and asking the deities to bless the muong with warmth and happiness[1].
Next, the ritual master chants to ask for a clear throat, prays to the singing and feasting gods to grant a clear, resonant, expressive voice, so that the whole ceremony can be completed without hoarseness; prays to Ai Tao Noi for flexible joints to play well and dance flexibly; asks the Then king to bless and grant power so that words have authority[1].
The ritual master sings to announce the adopted children's offerings: reading names, ages, addresses, and offerings of each person to the kings and Then officials of Muong Troi, asking them to witness their sincerity and pray for a new year of health, happiness, and good luck in work[1].
The ritual master sings the song of opening the way, calling the heavenly soldiers to open the path to Muong Troi, reminding helpers to go up and return together, not to linger and lose the way back to Muong Tran. The journey to heaven is arduous, passing through many dangerous terrains, and at each place offerings must be made with the melody of offering to the mountain god[1].
Upon reaching Muong Troi, the ritual master sings the melody inviting the Sky King, Then King and all deities who have not yet come down to attend. Back in Muong Tran Gian, the ritual master sings the melody inviting the Sky Kings and Then Kings to the ceremony, then sings the melody reporting on the preparation and how the adopted children and relatives, despite long distances and poverty, have tried to prepare offerings[1].
Each adopted child offers wine and thanks the deities, while the ritual master reads their names, recounts illnesses and misfortunes that Then has resolved, and asks the Then officials to bless them. For adopted children learning to be Then to help people, the ritual master's teacher also diligently instructs them, teaching every word, speech, and melody, helping them quickly become proficient to help life[1].
Taboos of Then practitioners before and during the festival
Before and during the Kin Pang Then ceremony, Then practitioners avoid the death anniversary of their biological parents, abstain from marital relations, abstain from eating white pig, white buffalo, catfish, eel, shrimp, do not eat leftovers, do not walk under clotheslines or water troughs[1].
These taboos show that Kin Pang Then is not just a celebration but first and foremost a ritual period of high purity, where the ritual master must keep himself clean both physically and ritually before communicating with the deities.
How does the Then Kin Pang festival in Lai Chau differ from the Kin Pang Then ceremony in Dien Bien?
The two names sound alike and both relate to Then among the White Thai, but the sources describe two different events in presider, scale and focus. The table sets the two descriptions side by side and does not claim they are one festival.
| Criterion | Kin Pang Then ceremony in Dien Bien | Then Kin Pang festival in Lai Chau |
|---|---|---|
| Recorded area | Na Nat hamlet, Na Lay ward, Muong Lay town[1] | Khong Lao commune, Phong Tho district (before July 2025)[2] |
| Presider | Then practitioner in a family with Then tradition[1] | Then master, Then woman performing rituals at the Then house[2] |
| Time | After Tet Nguyen Dan, from before the full moon of the first lunar month to before the full moon of the third lunar month, large celebration every three years[1] | 9th to 10th of the third lunar month[4] |
| Scale | Three to five days, depending on number of adopted children[1] | Two to three days, with ritual and festive parts[2][3] |
| Highlights | Rituals at the ritual master's house, then singing along the journey to Muong Troi[1] | Then worship, water splashing, hair washing, folk games, cooking contest[2][3] |
In Lai Chau, the festival has two parts: ritual and festival. The ritual part is held at the Then house with worship, incense offering, expressing gratitude to heaven and earth, deities, praying for blessings and protection, a spiritual support for the people in the region[3]. The festive part includes activities such as con throwing, crossbow shooting, blindfolded drumming, stick pushing, costume performances, arts, and cooking contests[2].
In particular, an indispensable part of the annual Then Kin Pang festival is water splashing, a bustling activity for delegates, locals, and tourists to immerse themselves in the cool space of the stream, splashing water for good luck and peace for themselves, their families and the village[3].
The festival also reenacts the hair-washing ritual "Ap ho chieng", reenacts water activities such as casting nets for fish, and holds contests for Thai ethnic cultural space and cooking[5].
Why is Kin Pang Then important to the White Thai?
For the White Thai, Then Kin Pang holds an important place in spiritual life, a distinctive cultural feature preserved for generations and increasingly spreading in the community[2].
The festival is an occasion for the Thai ethnic people to remember and thank Then for bringing prosperity, favourable rain and wind, bountiful harvests, peaceful and prosperous villages[3]. It is also an occasion for people of all ethnic groups to gather for cultural exchange, increasing understanding, combining traditional and contemporary culture[3].
The Thai are the largest ethnic group in Lai Chau, accounting for 31.8% of the 20 ethnic groups living there[4].
The upgrading of the festival to provincial level aims to preserve and promote the fine traditional cultural identity of the Thai people in the spirit of Resolution No. 04-NQ/TU of the Lai Chau Provincial Party Committee on preserving and promoting the fine traditional cultural identity of ethnic groups associated with tourism development for 2021-2025, with orientation to 2030[4].
Visiting the festival, tourists can immerse themselves in the richly cultural space of the Northwest, home to the art of Xoe Thai and the art of Then singing, honoured by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage of humanity[5].
Nhat Nguyet's suggestion: from which angle to learn about Kin Pang Then?
If you want to learn about Kin Pang Then as a cultural phenomenon, start with the ritual framework: who presides, who attends, what the offerings are, and the order of the then singing layers. This is the part that can be verified through heritage sector documents and on-site reports.
If you are interested in the belief aspect, clearly distinguish what is a description of the actual ritual in documents and what is the insiders' interpretation of its meaning. These two layers of information are often mixed in popular articles, so reading sources carefully will help you avoid confusing interpretation with fact.
For travellers, the reasonable time to witness the festival in Lai Chau is around the 9th to 10th of the third lunar month, when the ritual at the Then house and the festive part by the stream both take place. Follow local announcements as the solar date changes each year.
