TL;DR: Tết Nào Pê Chầu is the traditional Tết of the Mông people, usually held about a month earlier than Tết Nguyên Đán (Lunar New Year), that is, at the beginning of tháng Chạp (the twelfth lunar month), with the exact date set by the village elder according to the farming season. The main sequence of rites includes sweeping the soot, worshipping Xử Ka Lò De, the year-end worship, drawing new-year fortune water and lowering the offering tray on the third day of Tết. The name Nào Pê Chầu is explained as "eating Tết on the 30th day", because the 30th day of Tết is when the main rites take place.
What is Nào Pê Chầu and why do the Mông celebrate New Year early?
Nào Pê Chầu is the traditional New Year of the Mông people, usually held about a month earlier than the Lunar New Year of the Kinh, at the beginning of the twelfth lunar month (the "Chạp" month)[2]. The date is not fixed: according to Dân Việt newspaper, it is set by the village elders' council on the basis of the turn of the farming season and favourable weather, so villages and areas may celebrate on different days[2]. The name "Nào Pê Chầu" is explained as "celebrating Tet on the 30th", because the 30th is the day of the main rituals preparing for the new year[2]. Celebrating early is also tied to the rhythm of swidden farming: once the rice is in the granary and the corn is in the bin, people can rest, gather, and give thanks to ancestors and spirits before the new season begins.
What are the main rituals of Nào Pê Chầu?
Nào Pê Chầu involves many rituals, including the soot-sweeping rite, the Xử Ka offering, the year-end offering, the rite of fetching new-year water, and the tray-lowering rite[1].
The soot-sweeping rite
The soot-sweeping rite is the first in the sequence of rituals welcoming the transition from the old year to the new. The Mông believe that sweeping soot (cleaning the house) sweeps away the bad things, misfortune, and illness of the old year, while praying for luck, wealth, prosperity, and a healthy, happy family in the new year[1]. The household head takes a broom and sweeps once around the house to cast out the bad things of the old year[1].
The Xử Ka offering
The ritual continues with offerings at the altar of Xử, Ka, Lò, and De. For the Mông, Xử, Ka, Lò, and De are considered the four most important deities that every family must worship; wherever they live, those who do not worship Xử Ka Lò De are not considered Mông[1]. So at Tet each family re-papers the Xử Ka Lò De altar to pray that the deities will shelter and bless the family in the new year[1]. In the Xử Ka offering, the household head holds a rooster to pray and casts a yin-yang divination using a buffalo horn split in two to learn whether the deities have agreed to accept the offerings. If both halves of the horn face up, the deities have not agreed to accept; if one faces up and one faces down, they have agreed but do not yet wish to receive; if both face down, they have agreed and accepted the offerings[1]. Next, the rooster is slaughtered, and the household head takes a few feathers to stick onto the new paper at the Xử Ka altar. The boiled chicken is placed on a tray with two cups of wine and a pair of chopsticks, offered to invite Xử Ka Lò De to receive the fruits of the year and bless the descendants with health, and to guard the house against ghosts and evil in the new year[1]. While the household head prays to Xử Ka Lò De, family members bring farming tools and household items next to the altar and stick votive paper on them to show gratitude to the objects that have stayed with the family throughout a year of work[1].
The year-end offering (ancestor offering)
To prepare the offering inviting the ancestors, on the evening of the 30th of Tet the Mông in Sín Chải perform many rituals to offer to various ghosts and deities[1]. Families set a table in the middle of the house with bánh dày (glutinous rice cake), wine, meat, rice, and soup. Then the household head lights incense for the Xử Ka altar, the door spirit, the pillar spirit, the house spirit, and the kitchen spirit, and invokes the offerings one by one in order[1]. For the Mông, the year-end offering is a time to remember their roots and those who have passed, and to ask ancestors and grandparents to bless the family with health, freedom from illness, favourable work, and the passing of misfortune so that good luck may come[1].
The rite of fetching new-year water
Early on the morning of the first day of Tet, the household head goes to fetch the first water of the year, carrying three incense sticks and a stack of dó paper (votive money) toward the source of the water. On arrival, the household head lights incense and burns votive money, praying for wealth and asking to bring home the water of fortune[1]. When the household head brings the water home, the Mông weigh the water. The household head pours the new-year water and the old-year water into two equal bowls and weighs each bowl in turn. The Mông believe that if the bowl of new-year water is heavier, the new year will have more rain and wind than the old year; if lighter, the weather will be drier and water scarcer than the old year. From this, after weighing the water, people prepare measures to guard against unwanted natural disasters in the new year[1].
The tray-lowering rite
The tray-lowering rite (inviting the ancestors to eat bánh dày and seeing them off) is the final ritual, held on the afternoon of the third day of Tet[1]. The largest bánh dày prepared earlier is brought out to offer and send off the ancestors. In Mông belief, this bánh dày symbolises the moon, the sun, and the universe, the origin of humans and all living things on earth, so inviting the ancestors to eat bánh dày is to give thanks and send them back to the other world[1]. The household head presents the offering tray and burns votive money for the ancestors and deities. For the Mông, the bánh dày used in the tray-lowering rite may only be eaten by women or by people of other lineages. The men of the family may not eat that bánh dày, because it is believed that if the men of the family eat it, the ancestors will have no means to return[1].
What taboos apply during Nào Pê Chầu?
During Nào Pê Chầu, the Mông observe taboos such as: not pouring water onto the floor to avoid heavy water blocking work in the fields; not sweeping the house and taking rubbish out during the first three days of the new year, to avoid sweeping away good luck; not eating vegetables, because vegetables represent poverty and scarcity and also to avoid weeds growing in the fields; not taking a midday nap, because napping means a lazy year ahead; and not quarrelling or causing trouble, to avoid harming family relationships[1].
What games and cultural activities take place at Tet?
Besides rituals thanking ancestors and heaven and earth and praying for a peaceful, happy life, Nào Pê Chầu is also a festival of solidarity that brings people closer to build and develop the village together[1]. Through arts activities such as hát ống (cha xái), blowing the khèn (tsua kênh), playing the flute (tsua cha), playing the two-string fiddle (ko tra), and playing the jaw harp (tsua chà), and folk sports such as spinning tops (tù lu) and pao throwing (pó po), the festive atmosphere fills the village, creating a joyful, lively space for the early-year festival[1].
What does the summary table of the main rituals include?
| Ritual | Timing | Main meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Soot-sweeping rite | Before the New Year transition | Sweeps away bad things, misfortune, and illness of the old year[1] |
| Xử Ka offering | After the soot-sweeping rite | Offers to the four deities Xử, Ka, Lò, De, praying for shelter and blessing[1] |
| Year-end offering | Evening of the 30th of Tet | Invites ancestors and deities to receive offerings, remembers roots[1] |
| Fetching new-year water | Early morning of the first day of Tet | Asks for wealth, forecasts the new year's weather by weighing water[1] |
| Tray-lowering rite | Afternoon of the third day of Tet | Invites ancestors to eat bánh dày and sends them back to the other world[1] |
Why do the Mông celebrate New Year earlier than Lunar New Year?
According to Dân Việt newspaper, the Mông celebrate at the beginning of the twelfth lunar month, on a date set by the village elders' council on the basis of the turn of the farming season and favourable weather[2]. Beyond that seasonal reason, no research cited here explains further why the Mông New Year falls about a month before Lunar New Year.
How is Nào Pê Chầu today?
Today, many Mông villages in the northern highlands still celebrate their own Tet at the beginning of the twelfth lunar month[2]. Some places have changed the schedule: Pà Cò commune (formerly in Mai Châu district, Hòa Bình province) once issued a notice moving the Mông Tet to coincide with Lunar New Year, which drew both support and objection within the Mông community itself[3].
What are the frequently asked questions?
When does Nào Pê Chầu take place?
Nào Pê Chầu is usually held about a month earlier than Lunar New Year, at the beginning of the twelfth lunar month, on a date set by the village elders[2].
What are the main offerings in Nào Pê Chầu?
The main offerings in Nào Pê Chầu include bánh dày, wine, meat, rice, and soup. Bánh dày is an indispensable cake on the offering tray at Mông Tet[1].
Why are the men of the family not allowed to eat the bánh dày in the tray-lowering rite?
The Mông believe that if the men of the family eat that bánh dày, the ancestors will have no means to return to the other world[1].
