Pounding Com Festival, a unique cultural feature of the Tay
People choose the best variety of rice for the Com Pounding Festival (photo: Van Ty/VNA) |
The village is filled with the scent of grilled young sticky rice, the sound of people pounding rice in mortars, and cheerful voices and laughter.
When the sticky rice fields turn a little bit yellow in the ninth lunar month, the Tay hold the Com Pounding Festival to welcome the new rice and prepare for the Lunar New Year. The festival, which gives people an opportunity to get together, has a spiritual significance.
Ma Duc Muon of Trung Ha commune said, “On the 15th or 16th day, people cut the green sticky rice to make com to offer to the Heaven God. We pray for his protection, for abundant crops, and for good luck. We need to hold this festival to feel economically secure.”
While pounding the young sticky rice, people cheer to the beat of the pestles.
A pestle and mortar is the traditional tool used to husk the rice grains. When the culinary culture sublimates into spiritual culture, the pestle and mortar becomes a musical instrument.
The pestle, about 1.5 meters long, is made from an oak trunk. The wooden mortar is made from a tree hollowed out like a dugout canoe.
The rice used to make com is carefully selected. The young sticky rice grains must have a light yellow color. The young rice is boiled or roasted and allowed to cool before being pounded in a mortar to remove the husk.
Quan Thi Hien, a Tay woman in Trung Ha commune, said, “We make cốm from a special type of local-grown sticky rice called nếp cái hoa vàng. We also make cốm cakes.”
Pounding young sticky rice is re-enacted in six songs with different rhythms to express spirituality and fertility. The songs praise love, morality, personal will, and emotions, connect the community, and rekindle pride in cultural traditions, Hien said.
“I grew up in a Tay village, in the rice fields, and was raised on rice. I’m proud of our unique festival, through which we preserve our culture and promote the cultural values handed down from our ancestors,” said Hien.
To preserve the delicious flavor and soft texture of the green rice grains, the rice is carefully wrapped in banana leaves or dong leaves. A delicious dessert is made of freshly pounded green rice and ripe bananas. The soft, aromatic green rice grains and the sweet ripened bananas make an appealing combination.
Green sticky rice is also cooked with duck broth to make a greasy, thick porridge. The pounded green rice grains can be popped to make a crispy rice popcorn. Tay women also steam young rice to keep it soft all day.
At the Com Pounding Festival, the Tay offer the best rice grains, the first bowl of green rice porridge, and the first bowl of steamed rice to the house ghost, the land genie, and the ancestors.
Seo Van Su of Trung Ha commune said, “Trung Ha is a pure agricultural commune. The Com Pounding Festival, one of the time-honored cultural activities of the Tay people, aims to preserve ethnic cultural identity and promote local agricultural products.”
The Com Pounding Festival of the Tay in Tuyen Quang has been added to the list of National Intangible Cultural Heritages by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
See also
Việt Nam promotes location opportunities at Busan International Film Festival
09:41 | 11/10/2024 Culture
Hanoi – World’s Leading Culinary City Destination
16:15 | 10/10/2024 Lifestyle
Pride and patriotism: the ‘expat’ view
09:19 | 10/10/2024 Culture
German Film Awards winner opens Kinofest in Hà Nội
09:16 | 10/10/2024 Culture
Phở festival helps promote Việt Nam - RoK culture exchange
09:20 | 08/10/2024 Culture
Lai Châu Tourism - Culture Week 2024 slated for November
09:17 | 08/10/2024 Culture
See more news
Flying the flag for Liberation Day
09:13 | 08/10/2024 Culture
Hà Nội celebrates 70th Liberation Day with áo dài extravaganza
10:48 | 07/10/2024 Culture
Michael Learns To Rock back to Vietnam for November concert
15:21 | 06/10/2024 Culture
Hà Nội’s 'vitality and belief’ showcased in art exhibition
10:40 | 04/10/2024 Culture
Series of activities celebrates Hà Nội’s liberation day
10:35 | 04/10/2024 Culture
Art exhibition spotlights Hanoi’s history of culture and resilience
10:18 | 03/10/2024 Culture
Golden linga of Binh Thuan becomes national treasure
16:40 | 02/10/2024 Culture
Mashed banana with coconut, a must-try dish in Tiền Giang Province
10:43 | 02/10/2024 Culture
Special TV shows to mark 70th Liberation Day anniversary of Hà Nội
10:37 | 02/10/2024 Culture
Museum displays memorabilia of Vietnamese women soldiers
15:17 | 01/10/2024 Culture
Ca Mau Province accelerates public investment disbursement
17:29 | 11/10/2024 Investment
East Asian Summit calls for cooperation to enhance mutual understanding
17:22 | 11/10/2024 Cooperation
PM attends 12th ASEAN-US Summit in Vientiane
17:18 | 11/10/2024 News and Events
Vietnam ready to turn off 2G service
16:34 | 11/10/2024 Science - Technology
WTO highlights Vietnam’s role in restructuring of global supply chains
14:37 | 11/10/2024 Trade
Multimedia
Hanoi Liberation: Important milestones
15:39 | 09/10/2024 Infographic
Vietnam makes active contributions to ASEAN development
09:15 | 09/10/2024 Infographic
France becomes Vietnam's 8th Comprehensive Strategic Partner
08:57 | 08/10/2024 Cooperation
Two historic battles of the capital’s armed force and people
09:53 | 07/10/2024 Infographic
Numerous cultural, tourism activities to welcome 70th Hanoi’s Liberation Day
10:43 | 05/10/2024 Infographic
Multiple laws under review for revisions
08:55 | 11/10/2024 Policy
Top leader attends Hà Nội's Liberation Day anniversary, highlights potential to drive growth
20:31 | 10/10/2024 Policy
Vietnam, Cuba bolster defence cooperation
16:36 | 10/10/2024 Policy
NA urges capital market revitalisation
20:15 | 09/10/2024 Policy
MoIT approves price framework to purchase electricity from Laos
08:38 | 11/10/2024 Energy
Foreign investors interested in green development, semiconductor industry in Vietnam
17:34 | 09/10/2024 Industry
Việt Nam seeks Japan's cooperation in hydrogen energy development
14:33 | 09/10/2024 Energy
Việt Nam's industrial production saw positive growth in nine months
14:20 | 08/10/2024 Industry
Ca Mau Province accelerates public investment disbursement
17:29 | 11/10/2024 Investment
HCM City approves US$9b Cần Giờ coastal urban development project
10:04 | 11/10/2024 Investment
Bac Ninh leads nation in FDI attraction in nine months
18:05 | 09/10/2024 FDI
Total social investment capital disbursed in nine months up 6.8%: GSO
14:41 | 08/10/2024 Investment
PM urges WB to provide concessional loans for key infrastructure projects
08:52 | 11/10/2024 Finance-Banking
DIC Corp completes buyback of $18.6 million in bonds
09:25 | 10/10/2024 Finance-Banking
Update on exclusive partnership between Manulife Vietnam and Techcombank
14:52 | 08/10/2024 Finance-Banking
VPBank, LOTTE C&F cooperate to provide financial service with “Buy now pay later” product
09:31 | 07/10/2024 Finance-Banking
Leveraging power of community to protect unique Yok Đôn ecosystem
14:49 | 09/10/2024 Environment
Little cooperation from zoo operators in mass deaths of tigers, lions, panther: authorities
09:18 | 08/10/2024 Environment
Issuing “passports” for forest visits
22:12 | 05/10/2024 Environment
Vietnam’s forestry sector leads in achieving net negative emissions
09:16 | 04/10/2024 Environment
Vietnam ready to turn off 2G service
16:34 | 11/10/2024 Science - Technology
Digital infrastructure strategy approved
09:50 | 11/10/2024 Science - Technology
Vietnam, India seek further development through sci-tech cooperation
09:46 | 11/10/2024 Science - Technology
Digital transformation creates new momentum for national development
16:35 | 10/10/2024 Science - Technology
Implementation of Red River Delta Region Planning approved
09:00 | 11/10/2024 Society
Nine Vietnamese universities make global rankings 2025
17:05 | 10/10/2024 Society
Hanoi develops as dynamic, pioneering, innovation city: Int’l media
11:33 | 10/10/2024 Metropolis
Hà Nội's remarkable transformation after 20 years
11:25 | 10/10/2024 Metropolis
Fifteen Vietnamese banks named in the global top 500 banking brands
16:24 | 10/10/2024 Vietnamese Brands
Việt Nam's second rice brand enters picky Japanese market
09:03 | 10/10/2024 Vietnamese Brands
Ben Tre to export first batch of fresh coconuts to China in October
09:41 | 08/10/2024 Vietnamese Brands
Mê Linh harnesses the potential of OCOP products
09:36 | 07/10/2024 Vietnamese Brands
Việt Nam promotes location opportunities at Busan International Film Festival
09:41 | 11/10/2024 Culture
Hanoi – World’s Leading Culinary City Destination
16:15 | 10/10/2024 Lifestyle
Pride and patriotism: the ‘expat’ view
09:19 | 10/10/2024 Culture
German Film Awards winner opens Kinofest in Hà Nội
09:16 | 10/10/2024 Culture
Hà Nội develops tour to explore Thường Tín’s craft villages
09:32 | 11/10/2024 Tourism
Vietnam Airlines promotes tourism in Germany
09:27 | 10/10/2024 Tourism
Việt Nam sees surge of tourists from visa-exempt countries in 2024
09:46 | 08/10/2024 Tourism
Cultural tourism requires more investment to become cultural industry
09:24 | 08/10/2024 Tourism