Scope of the article: which Tay people, recorded in which source?
This article discusses only the Tay people in Thai Nguyen according to records that Bao Thai Nguyen cites from the Thai Nguyen Gazetteer in two 2022 articles. The areas specifically mentioned by the source are Thuong Nung commune and Nghinh Tuong commune (former Vo Nhai district, before 7/2025), along with the Thai Hai Ethnic Ecological Stilt House Village Conservation Area (former Thai Nguyen city). The content below does not generalize to the Tay people in Cao Bang, Lang Son, Tuyen Quang or to the entire Tay ethnic group. The names in the source are Tet com moi, Tet Com moi 10-10, cung com moi (lua moi); the cited sources do not use the name Trung Thap, so the article does not use that name.
知识类别: 史料历史文献. 有文献、年代与出处；旁边的注释编号指向该出处。 五类标签According to the Thai Nguyen Gazetteer, in the culture of the Tay ethnic people in Thai Nguyen, the new rice festival is one of 6 important Tet occasions in the year1. The 3/11/2022 issue of Bao Thai Nguyen also recalls this list of six Tet occasions and states that Thai Nguyen then had over 150 thousand Tay people, accounting for nearly 12% of the population2. These figures are tied to the time of the 2022 article, not current figures.
Six Tet occasions in the year of the Tay people in Thai Nguyen according to the Gazetteer
| Tet occasion | Time | Note in the source |
|---|---|---|
| Nguyen dan | Beginning of the lunar year | In the list of 6 important Tet occasions12 |
| Ram thang Gieng | 15th day of the first lunar month | In the list of 6 important Tet occasions12 |
| 3-3 tao mo | 3rd day of the third lunar month | In the list of 6 important Tet occasions12 |
| 5-5 diet sau bo | 5th day of the fifth lunar month | In the list of 6 important Tet occasions12 |
| Ram thang 7 | 15th day of the seventh lunar month | In the list of 6 important Tet occasions12 |
| 10-10 cung com moi (lua moi) | 10th day of the tenth lunar month | In the list of 6 important Tet occasions12 |
What is the new rice festival 10-10 understood to be in the source?
The new rice festival is an occasion to give thanks after the year's rice harvest ends. According to the custom recorded by the source, on the exact day of 10-10 lunar, families prepare a colorful tray of rice and cakes made from newly harvested produce to offer thanks to heaven, earth and ancestors1. This occasion is also when the Tay people express gratitude to their production tools and to the plants that gave them food and grain, while praying for favorable rain and wind and good crops12.
Mr. Luong The Hoanh in Trung Thanh hamlet, Thuong Nung commune (Vo Nhai), told Bao Thai Nguyen that the new rice offering ritual on 10-10 lunar carries the meaning of thanking heaven and earth and ancestors for granting a bountiful harvest; the family places a bundle of rice ears on the tray with traditional dishes and cakes2. In the family, each person is assigned a task, and according to him, that is how children and grandchildren are taught to know how to do it later2.
Not just one day: the young rice offering in mid-eighth lunar month
知识类别: 流派：Then Tay流派解读. 某一流派或某部典籍的理解；其他流派可能理解不同。 五类标签Mr. Hoang Van Hai, a Tay Then master in Nghinh Tuong commune (Vo Nhai), said that in reality the Tay new rice festival has two different days: commonly the offering on 10-10 lunar, and earlier, around mid-eighth lunar month, when young rice grains are still milky, the Tay choose an auspicious day to prepare an offering of new rice1. In that young rice offering tray, besides traditional dishes and cakes, young rice grains still milky are especially indispensable for offering to deities and ancestors1. According to this Then master, if the 10-10 ritual carries the meaning of thanking heaven and earth and ancestors for a bountiful harvest, the mid-eighth lunar month new rice ritual carries the meaning of praying for a more bountiful crop1. This is how the two rituals are distinguished according to a Then master cited by the newspaper, not a general rule for all places.
What is on the family offering tray?
The offering tray on 10-10 in the family of Mr. Luong The Hoanh in Trung Thanh hamlet, Thuong Nung commune, is listed by Bao Thai Nguyen as including chicken meat, pork, day cakes, te cakes, wine, and especially plain rice and sticky rice cooked from newly harvested grain2. A bundle of rice ears is placed on the tray with traditional dishes and cakes2.
| Offering | Recorded by source |
|---|---|
| Plain rice, sticky rice cooked from new grain | Family offering tray in Trung Thanh hamlet, Thuong Nung commune2 |
| Bundle of rice ears placed on the tray | Family offering tray in Trung Thanh hamlet, Thuong Nung commune2 |
| Chicken meat, pork | Family offering tray in Trung Thanh hamlet, Thuong Nung commune2 |
| Day cakes, te cakes | Family offering tray in Trung Thanh hamlet, Thuong Nung commune2 |
| Wine | Family offering tray in Trung Thanh hamlet, Thuong Nung commune2 |
| Young rice grains still milky | New rice offering in mid-eighth lunar month, according to the Then master in Nghinh Tuong1 |
| Five-color sticky rice, chung cakes, khao cakes, puffed rice, roast pig | Community ceremony at Thai Hai Conservation Area1 |
| Five-color sticky rice, chung cakes, khao cakes, puffed rice, pork | Community ceremony at Thai Hai Conservation Area, 3/11/2022 article2 |
Thuong Nung commune then had 260 Tay households, living mainly in An Thanh, Tan Thanh, Luc Thanh and Trung Thanh hamlets, according to Ms. Luong Thi My Chai, Chairwoman of the commune People's Committee, cited in Bao Thai Nguyen in 20222. She said Tay households in the commune all maintain the custom of offering on the new rice festival 10-10 to thank heaven and earth and remember ancestors2. Mr. Nguyen Viet Hung, Head of the Vo Nhai District Ethnic Affairs Office, told the newspaper that the Tay community then accounted for more than 20% of the district population and the new rice festival 10-10 is preserved and maintained by the people1. These figures are tied to the time of the two 2022 articles.
Why is the ceremony kept even when people no longer farm?
Bao Thai Nguyen cites cultural experts' assessment that most Tay households in the province still maintain this custom; even for families no longer farming, the new rice festival 10-10 is still maintained as a spiritual ritual, thanking heaven and earth and remembering ancestors1. This explanation shows that the spiritual and filial layers of meaning can be separated from the specific farming conditions of each household.
At village scale, how is the ceremony organized?
At the Thai Hai Ethnic Ecological Stilt House Village Conservation Area, the Tay people living there organize the new rice festival on the exact day of 10-10 lunar according to tradition but at village community scale, alongside worship in each family12. A large number of people gather at the village festival yard to prepare offerings to deities and ancestors with agricultural products and foods prepared by Tay women, such as five-color sticky rice, chung cakes, khao cakes, puffed rice and roast pig1.
The ritual sequence is described by the source: the village head, also a spiritual master respected by the people, offers incense to deities and ancestors, then leads a group holding thanh la, chiec and mo around a large cay neu to thank heaven, earth and deities and send wishes12. Alongside the rituals, people also perform ancient Then pieces praying for peace and blessings for all village members and for those attending the new rice festival12. The 3/11/2022 article adds wishes for a prosperous life and good health for everyone2.
This is a reconstructed ceremony, not an intact original
Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Hai, Director of the Thai Hai Ethnic Ecological Stilt House Village Conservation Area, told Bao Thai Nguyen: the main purpose of reconstructing the new rice festival is to preserve traditional culture while creating a unique tourism product for the Conservation Area1. Ms. Le Thi Nga, manager of the Conservation Area, also told the newspaper that the unit reconstructs the new rice festival to preserve traditional culture while creating a unique tourism product attracting visitors2. Therefore, when reading the description of the community ceremony at Thai Hai, one should remember this is a deliberate activity of a conservation area linked to tourism, not an original record of every Tay village in Thai Nguyen.
Bao Thai Nguyen also records that the new rice festival is a tourism product attracting domestic and international visitors to Thai Hai village in recent years, and cites the opinion of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Do Van Tru, Chairman of the Vietnam Cultural Heritage Association, that this ritual is valued and preserved by the Tay from generation to generation, and if replicated could be a distinctive tourism product of Thai Nguyen1. This is an individual assessment cited by the newspaper, not a general conclusion.
Legend and distinguishing layers of meaning
The sources cited in this article do not tell a legend about a figure specifically worshipped for the new rice festival in Thai Nguyen. The ritual part in the source is presented as folk custom and belief, directed toward heaven, earth, deities and ancestors in general. Therefore, the article does not assign any specific legendary figure to this festival.
Three layers should be distinguished in what the sources say. The first layer is data on the timing and the list of six Tet occasions, taken from the Thai Nguyen Gazetteer. The second layer is description of practice: family offering trays, community ceremony at Thai Hai. The third layer is the meaning that insiders and interviewees assign to the ritual, such as thanking heaven and earth, remembering ancestors, educating morality and lifestyle for generations, and preserving and promoting traditional cultural beauty12. This is the understanding of the community and spokespersons, not a scientific proposition requiring verification.
Points to note when researching the new rice festival
First, geographic scope. The source records only the Tay people in Thai Nguyen, with specific points being Thuong Nung commune, Nghinh Tuong commune (former Vo Nhai district) and Thai Hai Conservation Area (former Thai Nguyen city). It should not be generalized into a common custom of the entire Tay ethnic group in other provinces.
Second, the number of offering days. According to the Then master in Nghinh Tuong cited by the newspaper, there are two milestones: mid-eighth lunar month offering young rice and 10-10 offering new rice, with different meanings1. This is information from one Then practitioner in one commune, and should be read as such.
Third, the nature of the ceremony at Thai Hai. This is a community ceremony reconstructed with preservation and tourism purposes, as the conservation area management states clearly12.
Fourth, the time markers of the figures. The numbers on the Tay population in Thai Nguyen, the proportion in Vo Nhai district, and the number of Tay households in Thuong Nung commune are all figures published by Bao Thai Nguyen in 2022, not current figures.
The diversity in naming and organization between families, between family and village, and between the ceremony in Thuong Nung and the ceremony in Thai Hai is what the source records, not a deviation from any model.
