New rice season in Ha Nhi village

According to traditional customs, every year in the 7th and 8th lunar months, the Ha Nhi people in the highland villages of the old Bat Xat district hold a new rice celebration. The new rice celebration shows the gratitude of the Ha Nhi community to the land and ancestors who have blessed them with bountiful crops and a prosperous life.

From the legend of the divine horse to a prosperous harvest

In autumn, the whole sky and land of the Northwest highlands are dyed with the brilliant yellow color of ripe rice. On the terraced fields, ethnic minorities are bustling about the rice harvest. For the Ha Nhi people in some communes of Y Ty, Muong Hum, Trinh Tuong, autumn is also the most anticipated season of the year because they can go to the fields to harvest rice, carrying bags of rice filled with joy home.

In autumn, on the terraced fields the rice is ripe and the highlanders are harvesting rice.

According to the Ha Nhi people's concept, to have a bountiful harvest, along with the sweat and effort of each person in the fields, there is also the blessing of gods and ancestors. In the spiritual beliefs of the Ha Nhi people, there are gods of land, water, fire, and forest who always protect the life of the village. The Ha Nhi people in the highland communes of Bat Xat area also worship the horse god with the hope that the god will bless the corn and rice to grow well and have a prosperous life.

Bustling harvest atmosphere on the terraced fields in the highlands of Muong Hum commune, Trinh Tuong, Y Ty.

Meritorious artisan Ly Seo Cho (Lao Chai village, Y Ty commune) is 80 years old this year, his hair and beard are as white as silk. Despite his old age, Mr. Cho is still lucid and often tells his children and grandchildren folk tales and legends of the nation, especially the legend of the Divine Horse Mountain. The story goes that, in ancient times, the Ha Nhi people split mountains, led water, and built terraced fields in The Pa valley at the foot of a towering rocky mountain. On the top of that rocky mountain, there was a white horse that often flew down to the fields to eat grass. To prevent the divine horse from destroying the crops, the elderly held a ceremony to worship the divine horse, and since then the crops have always been good.

However, after several years, the villagers forgot to hold a ceremony to worship the white horse, so the horse came down to destroy the rice, causing the rice to not produce grain, the corn not to form ears, and famine to rage everywhere. At this time, the elders in the village instructed the villagers to make Ha Gu (stone tigers) and place them facing the mountain top and hold a ceremony to prevent the divine horse from destroying the crops. On the occasion of the Kho Gia Gia Festival, the villagers also did not forget to take a bushel of rice and a handful of grass to worship the divine horse. Therefore, the crops were good again, and the Ha Nhi village had a prosperous life again.

Ha Nhi people harvest rice grown on terraced fields.

Nowadays, the Ha Nhi people in the villages still do not forget to worship the divine horse, praying for favorable weather, good harvests. At the foot of the Divine Horse Mountain today, terraced fields stretch out golden. The The Pa Valley is the largest rice granary in the region, feeding the Ha Nhi, Mong, and Dao people in the old Y Ty, Ngai Thau, and A Lu communes (now Y Ty commune) for many years.

Joy of new rice season

In the golden sunshine of the September autumn day, we went down to The Pa valley to admire the golden rice and white clouds. These days, people of various ethnic groups are urgently harvesting rice on terraced fields. On the fields, Ha Nhi, Mong, Dao boys and girls are bustling with sickles cutting rice, their voices and laughter resounding. Ha Nhi women carry heavy baskets of rice on a rope across their foreheads, transferring the rice to the concrete road. From early morning to late afternoon, on the road along The Pa valley, the sound of rice threshing machines is crisp. On sweaty faces are smiles of farmers when they harvest the fruits of their labor.

Choosing a good day, Ha Nhi families go to the fields to cut rice and hold a new rice offering ceremony.

Holding a bundle of rice with heavy rice grains in his hand, Mr. So Co Suy, Choan Then village, Y Ty commune happily boasted: This year, the weather is favorable, the rice in The Pa valley is a good harvest, my family harvested 60 bags of rice (about 3.5 tons of rice). For farmers in the highlands, a house full of rice means a year of happiness and peace of mind. People in Y Ty now not only have enough rice to eat all year round, but also have rice to sell to make ends meet. This year, the corn and rice harvest is good, the harvest is bountiful, people eat a lot of new rice.

According to the Ha Nhi people's concept, the day to go get new rice and the day to harvest rice must be chosen on a good day to bring good luck.

Sharing the joy of a prosperous harvest, Mr. Phu Suy Tho, Mo Phu Chai village said: According to the traditional customs of the Ha Nhi people, on the first Dragon day of the 8th lunar month, Ha Nhi families will cook new rice to thank heaven and earth, and ancestors for giving them a prosperous harvest. Before that, choosing a good day, Ha Nhi people go to their family's rice fields to cut 3 or 9 bundles of rice, each bundle has 3 or 9 flowers to make rice offerings. If on the day of the new rice offering, the rice is still green and not enough to cook rice, they will take a little new rice and old rice mixed together to make offerings. In addition, there is chicken, pork, wine and vegetables, tubers, and fruits produced by the family to offer to the altar to thank the gods and ancestors.

A special thing about the Ha Nhi people is that when they eat new rice, families always feed the dog first. Legend has it that, long ago, the dog was in heaven, often sleeping in the granary. When the dog came down to the Ha Nhi village, it brought down the rice grains stuck on its fur. Thanks to that, the Ha Nhi people had rice seeds to plant.

The new meal is an occasion for the Ha Nhi people to thank heaven and earth, their ancestors, and is also a time for family reunion.

There is also a legend that, in the past, when the Ha Nhi people encountered a year of famine and had nothing to eat, a dog brought rice back for the people to use as seeds. Since then, the people have grown rice, had a lot of rice to eat, and life has gradually become more prosperous. To show gratitude to the dog that brought rice seeds to the villagers, when offering new rice, the Ha Nhi people often feed the dog first. On the day of the new rice festival, family members and neighbors gather together and wish each other good wishes.

Coming to Ha Nhi villages during the new rice season, visitors can admire the beauty of the golden season, enjoy a warm and meaningful new meal and learn about the cultural identity of the highlands.

Coming to the villages of the Ha Nhi people during the rice harvest season, we felt the bustling atmosphere and the joy of prosperity. The bowls of fragrant, new rice soaked in the sweat and effort of the farmers and the rain and sunshine of the land and sky are offerings that people offer to thank the gods, the sky and the earth, and their ancestors with the prayer for a prosperous, peaceful, and abundant life.

The beauty of autumn in the highlands of Y Ty.

Later, no matter where they go or return, when the new rice season comes, every Ha Nhi person remembers the memories with their warm family, remembers the bowl of fragrant new rice by the red fire filled with love. For hundreds of years, the new rice season in Ha Nhi village has been like a joyful melody amidst the yellow of terraced fields and the green of the majestic forest.

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/mua-com-moi-o-ban-ha-nhi-post881750.html