The 12-man Dam team participated in the palanquin welcoming ceremony at Tra Co Communal House Festival in 2014.
Until now, Tra Co people still pass on the song "Tra Co people, Do Son ancestors" to remember their origins. The elders in Tra Co village often tell their children and grandchildren that: About 600 years ago, 12 fishing families in Do Son (Hai Phong) were swept out to sea by storms and drifted to Tra Co peninsula. After the disaster, 6 families could not bear the hardships of life here and returned to their hometowns, saying: "What benefits do you get here? / The benefits of being rich are bitter, the benefits of being poor are old". The 6 families who stayed also had their own reasons: "Here, we enjoy the mountains of heaven / We filter water day after day to earn money to support each other", then they encouraged each other to reclaim land and settle down. They combined the names of the 2 old villages where they used to live, Tra Phuong and Co Trai, into Tra Co village to name the new land and the village communal house that they themselves established. Every year, from the first to the third day of the sixth lunar month, Tra Co people hold a communal house festival to commemorate the merits of the village guardian spirit. Tra Co communal house is not only a place for spiritual activities but also a unique architectural work, a cultural and spiritual landmark at the head of the Fatherland. After a period of interruption due to war, in 1993, Tra Co communal house festival was restored and to this day is still a cultural highlight, a source of pride for the people here. In this traditional festival, unique customs typical of the Red River rice civilization are still preserved, with strict regulations on procedures, especially in appointing people to be Mr. Dam, taking care of the pig in preparation for the ceremony that people still respectfully call "Mr. Voi"...
Before the ceremony at the communal house yard, the men often give "Mr. Elephant" water to keep his strength.
Accordingly, Mr. Dam is a person trusted by the village to serve the Thanh Hoang in that year. Before the festival, the village meets and elects 12 people from 12 typical families to be the head of the funeral. They must be men between 25 and 35 years old, married with children, healthy, good at business, moral and healthy lifestyle, harmonious family, not involved in funerals... Those who are elected by the village to be the head of the funeral are very honored and proud. Doing a good job of leading the funeral in the year means receiving fortune, good health, and good business...
However, the Dam men also have to follow many conventions and taboos. Mr. Hoang Minh Dong, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Tra Co Ward, who was appointed as the Dam men in 2012-2013, said: "In the past, the Dam men had to endure many taboos: not being allowed to cut their hair, shave their beards, not eating raw food, dog or cat meat, not burning incense, worshiping at funerals... Because according to the concept, the Dam men are children of gods. The Dam men are even not allowed to have sex with their wives within 1 year. Nowadays, these taboos have been removed a lot, but some regulations are still kept, such as not eating dog meat, raw food, not burning incense at funerals, not using foul language...
The "Elephants" are about to be brought to the competition...
There are also such strict regulations, raising "Mr. Elephant" is very elaborate. Mr. Vu Tien Nong, an elder in Tra Co, said: "In the past, the tutelary gods rode elephants to battle to protect the homeland's sea. Elephants are also animals that represent strength and power. Therefore, to pay homage to the gods, there must be elephants. And to have elephants to pay homage to the gods in the communal house festival, Tra Co people used pigs, a popular animal raised by farmers, as a substitute. This animal is solemnly called "Mr. Elephant".
Mr. Hoang Minh Dong added: “After the great ceremony on the 10th day of the 8th lunar month, the people appointed as the Elders will bring their family’s “Elephant” to the communal house to perform a ceremony to inform the gods, report to the village guardian spirit and draw lots to get a number. The “Elephant” is considered a sacred animal, protected, cared for very carefully, eats well and is clean, cool in the summer, warm in the winter…”. In particular, in daily life, people avoid calling the “Elephant” a… pig! Unlike before, the “Elephant” is a slow-growing Mong Cai pig breed, today the “Elephant” is a hybrid pig, so after less than 1 year of raising, it weighs over 200 kg, some “Elephant” even weigh over 300 kg. The 1.5m long red-painted wooden cage used to bring the “Elephant” to the communal house has also become too cramped…
On the afternoon of the 30th day of the 5th lunar month, after the ancestral worship ceremony, the festival leaders will use a red-painted cage with a beautiful, splendid fabric canopy to protect the "Elephant". The 12 "Elephant" are bathed by the festival leaders and then brought to the communal house yard to line up in two rows to pay homage to the gods. The procession of the "Elephant" includes: Gongs, vanguard drums; row flags, eight-tone two-stringed flags, five-element flags, eight-symbol flags, festival drum team, central army; then the "Elephant", followed by the sacrificial committee and the families of the 12 Elephant... After the ceremony of announcing to the gods, the festival organizing committee will evaluate and score the "Elephant" and will award first prize to the "Elephant" with the biggest, most beautiful, longest, and heaviest necklace. After the awarding ceremony, the other "Elephant" will become normal piglets, while the "Elephant" who won first prize will be kept for the village to slaughter and offer to the gods. In particular, in the offering tray, in addition to the pig's head, the shoulder hair of the "Elephant" (called "Ue Mao Huyet") is indispensable. After the offering, this shoulder hair will be placed at the banyan tree next to the communal house yard. This is a very sacred and important ritual in the Tra Co communal house festival. The ceremony to award the leader of the festival and the "Elephant" is held on the main festival, on the morning of the 1st day of the 6th lunar month.
It can be said that Tra Co communal house festival and the "Elephant" custom is a unique cultural feature that local people still preserve to this day.
