The reward - the message of couple happiness
During holidays and Tet, take a small road leading to the H'Mong villages of Co Ma commune, on flat fields, easily see groups of H'Mong men and women gathering to throw rice balls. In the low-roofed houses, women wea fabric and stitch a special thing: The frog.
The gan (called lu po in Mong language) is round, about the size of an orange, made from many pieces of colorful flax fabric, inside are stuffed with flaxseeds. The H'Mong people believe that flaxseeds symbolize prosperity and prosperity. Therefore, to make a beautiful apricot, women must stitch it skillfully, the seams are tight and square to suit their needs.
Ms. Lau Thi Ly ( Po Mau village, Co Ma commune), one of the people who has been making brocade and embroidery for many years, shared: "When H'Mong men go to find wives, the first standard is to look at the girl's skill - from weaving fabric, embroidering dresses to embroidery. A good apricot is not too hard to hold, nor too soft. H'Mong daughter is confident that she must know how to make beautiful hoaxes. Although many people now use tennis or rubber balls for convenience, the stitched fruit from fabric and stuffed with flaxseeds has a true soul and preserves its traditional value.
According to the elders, in the past, a girl of the age of acupressure who did not know how to make rice balls would have a hard time getting the boy to notice. Therefore, the seaweed is both a toy and a measure of the ingenuity and quality of the H'Mong girl. New big girls often stitch small, simple black frog fruits; while girls who are old enough to fall in love will make large, colorful frog fruits, showing vitality and charm.
Puss - a game of love and community cohesion
The atmosphere of throwing on the sea is often busiest during traditional Tet, new rice festivals or love markets in Moc Chau and Van Ho. When the sound of the flute and the whistle rang out in the middle of the large plot of land, the young man and woman surrounded it in two opposite rows, 5 - 8m apart. In their hands, the soft balls fly back and forth, following the rhythm of their throwing hands, following the meaningful sight.
Mr. Song A Chia (Long Sap Commune) smiled gently when he said: I met my wife and also used the Jade Throwing game. That day, when I went to the spring festival, I saw her throwing a ball skillfully and laughing charmingly. I pretended not to pay the fruit, then found an excuse to go home. So let's get married."
During the National Day on September 2 or Tet, in all the highlands where the H'Mong people live, the image of dozens of couples throwing on the fields in the cultural yard, vacant land or stadium has become a unique activity, attracting tourists. Sometimes the players just want to try their skills, sometimes the saw is a "connector" for the couple to find each other. The H'Mong people also have a love song:
"I threw a net, you don't catch it/
I don't love you, the fruit has fallen..."
In that rhythm, if a guy falls in love with a girl, he will deliberately keep it a secret, use the excuse to bring it to the family to get acquainted, and express his feelings. Although it is just a game, throwing on the rich contains both humanistic meaning and connection between individuals - families - communities.
Mr. Song A Tua - Head of Pha Luong village, Chieng Son commune, affirmed: "Nem ke khong chi la choi giai tri. It is also the cultural feature that makes up the identity of the H'Mong people. Through the fruit, the boy and girl get to know each other, while the community is more connected. Now, many festivals in Moc Chau, Bac Yen, Sop Cop, Thuan Chau have restored and thrown the cadres as an indispensable part.
Preserving unique cultural values
The game of throwing on the internet has been included in community cultural activities by many localities in Son La, becoming a " highlight" in spring festivals such as: Peach blossom Festival, Moc Chau Cultural - Tourism Festival or the October 2nd Independence Festival of the H'Mong people. The fields are filled with brilliant brocade dresses, clear laughter, and water lilies flying in the spring sky - all of which create a vivid cultural picture of the Northwest mountains and forests.
Mr. Cu A Dang, Chairman of Chieng Hoa Commune People's Committee, said: "We encourage villages to maintain the act of throwing on the sea worms during the holiday, both preserving traditional beauty and attracting tourists. Tourists coming here are excited to witness it firsthand, even participate with the people, thanks to which Mong culture spreads more strongly".
However, in some remote areas of Van Ho and Sop Cop, this game is somewhat fading away because young people are addicted to phones and social networks. Some students no longer know how to make traditional banh canh. Faced with this situation, many schools and cultural clubs have included acupressure in their extracurricular programs. Thanks to that, they have both practiced their skills and become more proud of their ethnic culture.
Teacher Dao Hong Quan - Principal of Phieng Pan Primary and Secondary Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities, said: "Every spring, the traditional Lunar New Year of the H'Mong ethnic group or in extracurricular programs, we organize acupressure competitions for students. The students were very excited, everyone stacked the trays themselves to take to the competition. This is a way to arouse traditional love, helping the game not to be forgotten.
Today, along with the khen, the flute, the brocade dress, and the flute, they have become a cultural symbol imbued with the identity of the H'Mong people in Son La. That simple game contains faith, the desire for happiness, prosperity, and at the same time shows community cohesion.
From Co Ma commune to the Mong villages in Moc Chau, Van Ho, Bac Yen, Sop Cop, Thuan Chau, the act of throwing rice balls is always present. Under the new sunlight, when the victorious banh da flies, it is also the time when love between couples is nurtured, community joy spreads, so that the cultural beauty of the H'Mong people will last forever in the Northwest mountains and forests.
