On the morning of the first or second day of the Lunar New Year, the three biggest clans (the Ly, Ban and Trieu families) in Ta Pin commune come together to discuss the organization of Tet Nhay or “Dancing Tet” festival.

The festival is organised to both worship and invite their ancestors and gods to join the feast. One dance in particular will always catch people’s attention. For the Put tong young men in a trance-like state step over burning charcoal and even throw burning rocks against their bodies. This ceremony is said to purify locals’ spirits and bodies before welcoming ancestors and gods back to their homes.

Under the guidance of a Shaman, dancers lose themselves to the sounds of the Pi le horn and drums. The movement is freeform. There is no routine. The dance is a harmonious combination of the real world and afterworld. There are fourteen kinds of dances that greet dead parents, ancestors, fairies and genies respectively.

A red Dzao shaman gives the signal for the ceremonial dance to begin.

After the dancing the locals will form a procession and carry statues of mandarins off to be uncovered and washed. The bath water is usually made from aromatic herbs and bark from the forest. After that, a live red cockerel is sacrificed. To end the ceremony and a flag dance is performed by all villagers.

The Dzao is the ninth largest ethnic group in Vietnam. The women wear some of most colourfull and diverse costumes of all ethnic groups but can be identified by their black trousers richly embroidered with flower or small star patterns.

Their jackets can be red or black and usually feature embroidered borders. The ensemble is toppled by a black or red turban together with chunky silver jewelry. A great diversity of the Red Dzao people can be found across northern Vietnam in the provinces of Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Ha Giang, Cao Bang and Quang Ninh.

(Source: Time-out)