Works made from pebbles attract a large number of viewers at the New Rice Festival in Ngoc Chien commune.

New Rice FestivalNgoc Chien commune in 2024 includes the ceremony and the festival.

The ceremony with the new rice offering ritual at Don Ho Church, Muong Chien village and Sa Mu tree god church, Na Tau village.

The shaman performs rituals to express gratitude to ancestors, heaven and earth, praying for favorable weather, bountiful crops, a prosperous and fulfilling life, and a prosperous and happy country.

After the ceremony at the ancestral shrine, households prepare a new rice offering ceremony at home. Depending on each family's circumstances, guests are invited to join in the fun.

At the end of the ceremony, the host invites guests to enjoy a jar of rice wine and wish each other good things.

Leaders of Ngoc Chien commune perform the new rice offering ceremony at Don Ho Church, Muong Chien village.

This year, the festival part of the New Rice Festival attracted thousands of people and tourists from inside and outside the province to attend. Especially, the art performance with the theme "Ngoc Chien New Rice Season" performed by artisans and art troupes from 15 villages of Ngoc Chien commune attracted a large number of viewers.

Comrade Bui Tien Sy, Secretary of the Party Committee of Ngoc Chien Commune, said: This is the 7th year that Ngoc Chien Commune has organized the New Rice Festival during the rice harvest season in late August and early September. This is an opportunity for the commune to restore, preserve, maintain and promote the fine traditional cultural values ​​of ethnic minorities; encourage people to build a cultural life, and expand the specialized sticky rice growing area.

Fishing and rice pounding competition at the New Rice Festival in Ngoc Chien commune, Muong La district.

The organization of the New Rice Festival also contributes to promoting and introducing the potential and cultural identity of the ethnic groups in Muong La district in general and the unique culture of the people of Ngoc Chien commune in particular, attracting tourists inside and outside Son La province to experience, enjoy, find investment opportunities, exchange, cooperate, develop and integrate deeply.

Within the framework of the New Rice Festival of Ngoc Chien commune, there were reenactments of folk games, exchanges, and sports competitions, such as: Thi ngu kin khiet (snake eating frog), thi sua kin mu (tiger eating pig), men's and women's soccer, performing arts, making green rice, catching fish, culinary, stilt walking, balancing bridge walking, etc.

This year, Ngoc Chien commune organized a contest for national costumes and the beauty of the girls of the fairyland of Ngoc Chien.

Especially, in this year's New Rice Festival,Ngoc Chien communeThere was also a contest to create and decorate paintings from pebbles from Chien stream and a contest to showcase traditional costumes and the beauty of girls from fairy tales with the theme "The charm of fairy tales".

To the melody of folk songs of the ethnic groups in the Northwest region, 42 contestants representing 15 villages performed beautiful ethnic costumes, meeting the criteria of traditional costumes, imbued with the ethnic identity of Ngoc Chien commune.

The contest aims to honor the value of traditional costumes of ethnic groups, the beauty of girls from fairy tales, arouse the beauty in culture, aspirations, national pride, promote the value, self-reliance and self-reliance of ethnic groups in Ngoc Chien.

The women's soccer competition and the contest to find the "Buffalo Prince" also attracted a large number of participants.

Cultural and artistic activities organized by Ngoc Chien commune on the occasion of National Day September 2 have contributed to encouraging people to build a cultural life and expand the specialized sticky rice growing area.

This is also an opportunity for Son La province to promote and introduce the potential and cultural identity of ethnic groups in Muong La district in general and the unique culture of ethnic groups in Ngoc Chien commune in particular to tourists inside and outside Son La province to experience, enjoy, find investment opportunities, exchange, cooperate, develop and integrate deeply.

QUOC TUAN