As a remote and isolated commune, located in a difficult area of Lao Cai province, Phong Du Thuong is home to 6 ethnic groups, mainly Tay, Dao and H'Mong ethnic minorities.
This year, the Long Tong Festival is held for two days, March 2nd and 3rd. This is not only a traditional crop praying ritual, but also a cultural and tourist destination that attracts tourists in the first days of the year.
According to reporters' records, from 6:30 am on March 2nd, ethnic minorities here and tourists excitedly flocked to the commune stadium to watch the festival.
Ms. Lo Thi Xoan, Lang Chang village, Phong Du Thuong commune, said that Long Tong Festival is a big festival for people in the first days of the new spring.
The villages all try to contribute their efforts to the booths to make them attractive. The goods are all local products, harvested by the people themselves from the forest and fields. This is also an opportunity for villagers to meet and interact.
This year's festival is opened by the "to the highlands" race taking place on February 28, attracting 108 athletes from professional and amateur clubs to participate, running through the roads of Phong Du Thuong highland commune.
Next is a series of side activities such as displaying booths of products and cuisine of each village. In the afternoon of March 1st, village elders, village chiefs and local leaders came to report at the ancient communal houses in the commune to invite the village tutelary gods to celebrate the Festival together.
Exactly at 0:00, on March 2nd night, the ritual of slaughtering buffaloes for worship, the procession and worship of the God of Agriculture express the wish for favorable weather, bumper crops, and the proliferation of all things.
Next is the tịch điền ritual (going to the fields). The head of the locality performs the first plowing lines on the selected field, opening a new production season amidst the bustling drums and the joy of the people.
After the ceremony ended, the festival activities took place with attractive folk games such as throwing con, pushing sticks, tug-of-war, blindfolded drumming, stilt walking... attracting a large number of people and tourists to participate.
Talking to Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Luong Xuan Thu - Chairman of Phong Du Thuong Commune People's Committee said that the Long Tong Festival originated from the agricultural production needs of the Tay people when living as villages. A cultural heritage of the nation, a sacred symbol, connecting the community.
Over time, the Festival not only gathers the most unique cultural nuances of the Tay ethnic group but also spreads to other ethnic groups such as: Dao, Thai, Mong.
The festival is not only an opportunity to pray for favorable weather and bumper crops, but also an opportunity to connect the community and pass on good cultural values to future generations.
