Khu Cu Te festival, celebrated in the seventh lunar month every year, has a significant meaning in the cultural and spiritual life of the La Chi ethnic community in Hoang Su Phi district, Ha Giang province. It is the biggest traditional festival of the La Chi people in the year, in which they cheer for a bumper crops and pray for peace and happiness.
The festival was recognised as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2014 by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
On the occasion, pieces of red paper are glued on the house to welcome the New Year
Gathering to make black ‘banh chung’ (square glutinious rice cake), an indispensable dish of the festival
Rice is mixed with rice straw ash to create the black colour of the cake, which is filled with green beans and pork
Children happily flock to the festival
To open the festival, a celebrant, called ‘Mo Coc’, dances around under the beats of gongs and drums to invite the ancestors to join the celebration with the villagers.
A man taking part in the ‘con’ throwing game. ‘Con’ is a small ball made of colourful pieces of cloths, and players try to throw the ‘con’ through a hoop.
Competing in a tug-of-war competition
Participants cheer competitors vying in the competition
At the end of the day, heads of the clans gather at the house of the village’s patriarch to have a feast welcoming the New Year.
