Folk festivals of ethnic minorities in Kon Tum

Festivals of ethnic groups in Kon Tum have their own regional characteristics. Community festivals are born in the conditions and circumstances of living and working closely with the vast and endless mountains and forests; from there, they contain a unique cultural nuance - a culture that takes humans as masters, the earth and sky as models, a culture that is the harmony of sunshine and rain, of mountains and forests and fields.

Folk festivals of ethnic minorities in Kon Tum

Folk festivals of ethnic minorities in Kon Tum are all small-scale festivals, performed within the scope of a family, a family group, and at the highest level, a village community.

The festival system of ethnic groups in Kon Tum is divided into three main lines including: First is the festival system surrounding the human life cycle with the concept that from birth to death, humans must go through a process of behavioral relationships, personal relationships with individuals; individuals with the community; individuals, communities with supernatural beings (Jàng). While human survival conditions are still full of difficulties, facing hunger, poverty, disease, wild animals, death, etc. Therefore, the human life cycle is also associated with a system of corresponding festivals in each period and specific situation.

Some typical festivals about the life cycle of ethnic minorities in Kon Tum are shown as Wedding Ceremony: considering from the marriage ceremony - the important work of each individual, the basic factor, the premise of human birth. Marriage is given special attention by the family and community, from rituals, ceremonies, rich material and spiritual conditions, special emotional nuances, multi-dimensional behavioral relationships... in the cultural space of the community. Ear-blowing ceremony: has many meanings because the result of marriage is the children of the family - new members of the community. It comes with corresponding rituals. From the ceremony to pray for a favorable birth, the ceremony to name, especially the ear-blowing ceremony; if the ear-blowing ceremony has not been performed, one is not considered an official member of the community. When the child is about 3-4 years old, the family and community organize the ear-blowing ceremony. Depending on economic conditions, the family organizes it on a large or small scale, that condition is not important. The most important and humane thing is that during the ceremony, the village elders, parents and everyone whisper into the child’s ear (blow) the life force – the best things, with the meaning of orientation, guidance, advice, wishing the child to grow up to be a good child of the family and society. And from here, the child is recognized as an official member of the community.

Sickness worship ceremony: In the current living conditions of the people in the Central Highlands in general and in Kon Tum in particular, there are still many difficulties in terms of material conditions, living conditions, environment, harsh climate…; moreover, knowledge of medicine is very limited, people do not know the cause or type of disease. They believe that sick people are possessed by forest ghosts, stream ghosts; therefore, the only way is to hold a worship ceremony to pray for help. At that time, the shaman is invited to come and perform the ceremony. The offerings used for all these ceremonies are wine and chicken. Through the ritual, the intention is to pray for Jang to return the soul to the sick person so that they can recover quickly. If the offering does not cure the illness, people will continue to offer and use larger offerings such as pigs, cows, buffaloes, etc.

Funeral: The primitive belief of some ethnic minorities in Kon Tum believes that death is not the end, death is just a move to the ancestors and continues to be reborn in another life (reincarnation). Therefore, the funeral is just a farewell full of nostalgia between the departed and the living. When a family member dies, the family members play gongs and drums to signal the whole community to come and join the family in preparing the funeral. The deceased is given new clothes, skirts, and loincloths, taken out of the house and placed in the funeral home. The house has just been built by the whole community for the deceased out of thatch, bamboo, and rattan, called a tomb. The deceased is placed in a coffin made from a large, hollowed-out, covered with a lid, tied tightly, and then filled with clay to seal the gaps. At this time, everyone brings wine, pigs, chickens and the host's house as a farewell community meal for the deceased. The whole community eats, dances, and beats gongs continuously all day around the ghost house. On the third day (sometimes 4-5 days), people bury the deceased in the village cemetery. The deceased is divided equally with the living because they believe that in a new place they need tools and means to continue living and working. The divided assets include: gongs, jars, baskets, axes... but all of these are broken or cracked, because according to their concept, the ghost world is the opposite world of the living world - bad is good, broken is safe, day is night...