TL;DR: The Tay are the largest ethnic minority in Vietnam, living mainly in northeastern provinces such as Cao Bằng, Lạng Sơn, and Tuyên Quang. Their spiritual life is tied to Then practice, a ritual of sung storytelling about journeys to heaven to pray for peace, good harvests, and the resolution of misfortunes, accompanied by the Tính lute. It was inscribed by UNESCO as a representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity in 2019 under the nomination file of the Vietnamese state (Nomination file No. 01379). The Lồng Tồng festival (going down to the fields) in early spring is an occasion for the community to pray together for favorable rain and wind for the new crop season.
The Tay people in the ethnic picture of Vietnam
The Tay are the largest ethnic minority in Vietnam, living mainly in the northeastern mountain provinces such as Cao Bằng, Lạng Sơn, Tuyên Quang, Bắc Kạn, Thái Nguyên and Hà Giang. With a long history of settlement in valleys and along riverbanks, the Tay developed a wet-rice agricultural culture closely tied to a belief in the spirit of all things, ancestor worship and a distinctive system of spiritual rituals known as Then.
Table summarising the types of Tay beliefs and festivals covered in this article.
| Name | Nature | Time | Associated instrument or game |
|---|---|---|---|
| Then singing | A spiritual ritual combining singing, dance and performance | Tính lute, shaker cluster, fan, sword | |
| Lồng Tồng festival | The largest community festival of the year | Early spring, from the 4th day to the end of the first lunar month depending on the locality | Ném còn (throwing the ball through a ring), tug of war, stick pushing, sack race, lảy cỏ (a folk game played with stones), blindfolded duck catching, Then singing, lượn singing |
| Then for peace and wellbeing | A ritual to pray for peace and wellbeing | ||
| Then for the harvest | A ritual to pray for a bountiful harvest | ||
| Then for healing | A healing ritual | ||
| Then for funerals | A funeral ritual |
What is Then singing?
In the Tay language, Then comes from the word "Thiên", meaning heaven. The Tay believe that Then is a style of singing handed down by the immortals, used by Then masters (or Then priestesses), who act as intermediaries between the human realm and the heavenly realm, in prayer rituals. The content of a Then song is usually a long narrative poem recounting the journey of a troop of spirit soldiers on horseback crossing rivers and mountains to the heavenly court to report and ask permission from the Jade Emperor and the deities to settle worldly matters for the household, whether that means praying for peace, averting misfortune, calling back a soul, asking for a bountiful harvest, or blessing a family with a new house or a wedding.
According to the nomination file submitted by the Vietnamese State to UNESCO (Nomination file No. 01379, 2019), Then practice is tied to rituals for peace, for the harvest and for averting misfortune, carried out by Then masters, with the Tính lute accompanying the singing. This is the official state nomination document, prepared together with the Vietnam Institute of Musicology and the authorities of several provinces, so the details on the role of the practitioner and the types of ritual should follow this file.
Then is not simply performance music but a complete spiritual ritual, combining singing, dance, performance and ritual props such as the shaker cluster, fan and sword. A Then practitioner (Then master) must go through a course of study and be "ordained" by earlier masters before being able to conduct rituals for the community. On 12 December 2019, UNESCO officially inscribed "Then practice of the Tay, Nung and Thai peoples in Vietnam" on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, recognising the value of this art form, which combines literature, music, dance and folk performance.
What role does the Tính lute play in Then singing?
Then cannot be separated from the Tính lute (tính tẩu), a plucked string instrument whose body is made from the shell of a dried gourd, with a long neck and usually two or three strings. The warm, smooth sound of the Tính lute is regarded as the means that carries the Then singing up to the sacred realm. For the Tay, the sound of the Tính lute is not merely accompaniment but has a ritual function: it "opens the way" for the Then troop to move between the realms on its spiritual journey. Beyond its role in ritual, the Tính lute today is also widely performed in community cultural activities and cultural festivals of ethnic groups, and has become a recognisable symbol of Tay and Nung culture in the Việt Bắc region.
There are many kinds of Then depending on the purpose: Then for peace and wellbeing, Then for the harvest, Then for healing, Then for funerals, and so on. Each kind has its own melodies, lyrics and ritual sequence, reflecting the richness of the Tay spiritual world and worldview, in which people, nature and deities are bound together in a harmonious order.
What is the Lồng Tồng festival?
If Then is the thread connecting people with heaven in everyday life, then Lồng Tồng is the largest community festival of the year for the Tay, usually held in the early days of spring (from the 4th day to the end of the first lunar month depending on the locality). "Lồng Tồng" in the Tay language means "going down to the field", marking the start of a new agricultural production season after the Tet holiday.
The festival has two parts: the ritual part and the festive part. The central ritual is the tịch điền ceremony, in which a respected person in the village (usually the village elder or someone trusted by the villagers) makes the first symbolic furrows in the field and sows the first seeds of the season, accompanied by offerings to the Rice God, the Earth God, the Mountain God and the River God to pray for favourable rain and wind, good crops and a prosperous village. The offering tray usually includes five-colour sticky rice, boiled chicken, bánh chưng, bánh dày, wine and local produce, arranged elaborately to express the sincerity and prosperity of the villagers.
The festive part is lively, with a series of folk games: ném còn (a game with meanings of courtship and praying for the harvest, in which players throw a ball through a ring high above), tug of war, stick pushing, sack race, lảy cỏ (a folk game played with stones), blindfolded duck catching, along with performances of Then singing and lượn courtship singing between young men and women. This is also an occasion for young people from different villages to meet and socialise, and more than a few couples have come together at the love markets associated with the festival.
What is the significance of Tay beliefs in contemporary life?
Today, Then practice and the Lồng Tồng festival are not only maintained in the spiritual life of the Tay community in the northeastern villages, but are also being restored by many localities and organised as cultural tourism events, attracting visitors from within Vietnam and abroad. UNESCO's inscription of Then is an important impetus for the authorities and the community to pay greater attention to conservation and to teaching younger generations, who face the risk of losing this heritage amid urbanisation and changing lifestyles. Many elderly Then artists in Cao Bằng, Lạng Sơn and Tuyên Quang still diligently open classes to teach the Tính lute and Then singing to the young, keeping this spiritual and artistic source flowing in the life of the Tay people today.
Is Then a separate religion?
Not exactly. As presented in the nomination file submitted by the Vietnamese State to UNESCO (Nomination file No. 01379, 2019), Then is classified as an intangible cultural heritage practice of the Tay, Nung and Thai peoples, tied to rituals conducted by Then masters, and is not described as a religion with its own doctrine and organisation. The file also stresses that Then exists within the indigenous belief life of these ethnic groups, with rituals for peace, for the harvest and for averting misfortune, and with the accompanying music of the Tính lute.
Then should be distinguished from the forms of lên đồng and hầu bóng practised by the Kinh (Vietnamese majority). These are two different traditions in terms of practitioners and ethnic context, so they should not be conflated when researching. The Vietnamese State's file (2019) also notes that the inscription of Then will open up dialogue between communities of Then masters and practitioners elsewhere, in a spirit of respect for the diversity of similar ritual forms.
Who can become a Then master?
According to the nomination file submitted by the Vietnamese State to UNESCO (Nomination file No. 01379, 2019), Then practitioners are Then masters belonging to the Tay, Nung and Thai communities, who take charge of presiding over rituals for peace, for the harvest and for averting misfortune for households and villages. The file sets out the role of Then masters in both conducting rituals and teaching the next generation, and notes that the inscription of the heritage will create further opportunities for Then masters to gather students, exchange experience in conducting rituals and pass on the craft.
The earlier article mentioned that Then masters must study and be "ordained" before conducting rituals. The specific sequence of ordination is not described in the nomination file, so it is set out here only in general terms: this is a layered path of passing on the craft within the community, and those who wish to conduct rituals usually have to go through a course of study with earlier masters.
