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Before the banana blossom festival, participating families bring offerings to the host family, including rice, chicken, wine, three roasted birds, fermented fish sauce, chili salt, etc. Once the dishes are prepared, the host arranges them all on a woven bamboo tray and places them in rows in order on the sacred ground at the beginning of the village where the festival is held. Before the host performs the ceremony, the families light incense at their offerings and pray: "Thanks to our ancestors and the blessings of heaven and earth, which have helped us to produce the rice that sustains humanity, today, the village is holding the banana blossom festival. Our family has prepared this meal and placed it in the sacred ground at the beginning of the village, inviting our ancestors, the earth god, the forest god, the stream god... to witness our devotion to the deities and the deceased." When the incense burns out, the host bows, asks permission to burn the offerings, and signals for the families to remove their offerings. The dishes were divided into two trays: one tray for the men, male relatives, and male guests, and another tray for the women.
After a hearty meal, the head of the group and several young men perform the ritual of planting banana trees in the ceremonial area. Around the banana trees are placed various wildflowers, including red banana blossoms symbolizing good fortune. Once prepared, pairs of young men and women perform harvest-praying dances, depicting actions such as plowing, harrowing, planting, harvesting, and hunting, offering new rice and local specialties: dried stream fish, dried rat meat, wild bird meat, taro, etc.
During the banana blossom festival, Xa Pho families forbid anyone from taking anything out of their house. Families from other villages that have not yet held a banana blossom festival are not invited to attend.
