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The “Quế héng” festival of the Dao people
Quế héng, is a word in the language of the Red Dao ethnic people in Hoàng Su Phì district, describing the community’s fire dance festival – an occasion that excites many a visitor who come to the region.
In Hà Giang province, the Red Dao community lives mainly in the districts Bắc Mê, Vị Xuyên and Hoàng Su Phì… The fire dance festival, Quế héng, is a distinctive characteristic of the Red Dao people, passed down through
Quế héng usually takes place on New Year’s Eve (Vietnamese Lunar New Year). This is an opportunity for the village boys to showcase their maturity, courage and bravery through the ritual of jumping barefoot into a bed of burning coal.
In order for a ceremony to take place, the most important figure is the shaman who will be in charge of setting up the altar, making offerings to report to the ancestors. The offerings are presented quite simply, including 5 cups of wine, 1 boiled chicken, a few stacks of paper crafted from straw in Dao tradition, an incense stick. The shaman would then the hours-long offering ritual, in which the names and addresses of the people participating in the fire dance ceremony are mentioned for the ancestors to ‘witness’. At the same time as the shaman is performing the ritual, a large fire is lit in the courtyard.
When the chanting part of the ritual is completed, gongs are played and the young people participating in the fire dance ceremony will sit on a bench in front of the fire, faces down, eyes half-closed, and immerse themselves in the rhythm of the gongs. The shaman will continue his ritual and ‘invite’ the spirits of the ancestors to join in and witness the festival. As the rhythm of the gongs intensifies, the participants can be see moving their hands and feet more energetically to the beat. Then, one by one, in the music’s captivation, will stand up and start ‘diving’ into the embers. Their bare feet touching and kicking the hot coal, creating sparks of light and fire that shoot into the dark of the night and excite the crowd even more.
The sight of bare feet touching fire easily with no harm done leaves a deep impression on visitors, who are captivated by the spectacular performance. For the local community here, it is their belief that the blessings by ancestors are the main force helping their bodies to overcome fire and in broader terms, ‘evil spirits’. The festival is also a way for the community to have fun, to show the spirit of bonding between people, to create a bond between ancestors and posterity, to protect the community’s roots, as well as to express one’s ability to have certain control over an element of nature. The festival also serves as an occasion for the community to pray for peace, warmth and happiness.
Taking turns, the young men perform their fire dances until their bodies are drenched in sweat and exhaustion and the fire from the coal has nearly extinguished. As the ceremony ends, the whole crowd would then celebrate with a feast, enjoying Dao culinary specialties, sharing rice wine in the spirt of friendship and happiness.
Join Hà An Tea in looking at more impressive scenes from the Red Dao people’s Quế héng fire dance festival which has been recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage in Viet Nam.
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