Muong ethnic group’s Khai Ha Festival in Hoa Binh province in 2024

DNHN - From 15th to 17th February, the People’s Committee of Tan Lac district solemnly organised the 2024 Muong ethnic group’s Khai Ha Festival at Phong Phu communal stadium (Tan Lac district).

The Muong ethnic group’s Khai Ha Festival in Hoa Binh is usually held in the first lunar month of the year with many unique rituals that create a distinctive feature of the festival. The time and location of the festival vary depending on each Muong region. The Khai Ha festival of the Vang Muong (Lac Son) is held on the 4th day of the first lunar month according to the Vang Muong calendar at Ang Ka Temple and some other locations; the Khai Ha festival of the Thang Muong (Cao Phong) is held on the 6th day of the first lunar month according to the Thang Muong calendar at Ca Temple; the Khai Ha festival of the Dong Muong (Kim Boi) is held on the 3rd day of the 5th lunar month, which is the 4th day of the fourth lunar month according to the Dong Muong calendar at Muong Chanh Temple.

In Tan Lac district, the Khai Ha Festival is held on the 7th and 8th day of the first lunar month every year (which is the 6th and 7th day of the fourth lunar month according to the Bi Muong calendar). The festival is a cultural and religious activity of the community, associated with the legend of the Mother Goddess Hoang Ba, the mother of Saint Tan, who taught the Bi Muong people how to farm, eat, and live; Tan Vien Son Saint, the son-in-law of the 18th Hung King, who helped the King fight foreign invaders and brought peace to the people; Ai Ly and Ai Lo, the two gods who taught the Bi Muong people how to dig canals to bring water for agriculture, etc. After more than 20 years of restoration and organisation, the festival has attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors and people to attend, contributing to promoting the potential and strengths of local tourism to a large number of domestic and foreign visitors.

The organisation of the Muong ethnic group’s Khai Ha Festival is an activity to implement the Project on Preserving and Promoting the Cultural Values of the Muong Ethnic Group and the “Hoa Binh Culture” for the period 2023 - 2030 in Hoa Binh province to promote the culture, people, and beautiful natural scenery of Hoa Binh to develop tourism.

In his opening speech at the festival, Comrade Bui Van Tinh, Chairman of Tan Lac District People’s Committee, affirmed: The Muong ethnic group’s Khai Ha Festival in Hoa Binh is also known as the Going to the Field Festival, the Opening of the Forest Festival, which is the largest traditional festival of the Muong people in Hoa Binh. This is a cultural and religious activity of the Muong people that has been formed for a long time, typically in the four Muong regions of the province: Bi, Vang, Thang, and Dong. The festival has the meaning of respecting the gods, commemorating those who have made contributions to land reclamation, establishing Muong, and praying for all things to flourish, for a bumper crop, and a prosperous and happy life.

The fact that the Muong people’s Khai Ha Festival has been included in the list of national intangible cultural heritage and the province has decided to make the festival an annual traditional festival of the province meets the expectations of the people of all ethnic groups in the province, contributing to educating the tradition of patriotism, national pride, so that culture is truly the source and the driving force for the sustainable development of the province; promoting Hoa Binh’s tourism products to domestic and foreign visitors.

The opening ceremony included a gong offering and Muong gong ensemble with the participation of over 500 actors and artisans; a special art performance to welcome the festival with the theme “Greeting the Year of the Dragon 2024” consisting of 3 parts: Part 1: Muong gong performance “The sound of four Muong”; Part 2: Art performance to welcome the festival “Flowers of Muong land”; Part 3: Integration and Development.

Within the framework of the festival programme, there are many diverse and rich activities such as the Muong ethnic costume performance contest; cultural and culinary camp exhibition; competition in traditional sports (crossbow shooting, tug-of-war, stick pushing) and the 2024 Khai Ha volleyball cup; traditional knitting contest (chicken coop knitting, egg basket knitting), antiphonal singing. In addition, there are performances including singing, fortune-telling, traditional brocade weaving, making cakes, sticky rice, and folk games such as hitting the target, flag snatching, blindfolded drumming, walking on stilts, swinging, seesaw, and throwing the "còn". At the festival, there are also booths displaying agricultural products, handicrafts, OCOP products, culture, tourism, etc. of localities in the province; and activities of consulting and introducing jobs.

Duc Phuong - Hoa Binh Representative Office