The “crying buffalo” ritual of the Co Tu people

Especially in the buffalo stabbing ceremony, there is a ritual of crying buffalo (place).

Buffalo in the life of the Co Tu people

Coming to the villages of the Co Tu people on the Truong Son range, from the highlands (Co Tu Dal) to the lowlands (Co Tu Phuong), visitors will see that almost every Guol house has a beautiful wood carving of a buffalo. Wooden statue of a buffalo head on the doorstep to enter the house. The image of a buffalo’s head is engraved from the front, with curved horns on both sides, the head is slightly bowed and the eyes next to the ears are turned down.

The Co Tu people call the buffalo T’tri. In the past, the buffalo was considered by the Co Tu people as a precious possession that the bride’s family offered to marry during the engagement ceremony, similar to the gifts the groom’s family gave to the bride’s family, including agates, gongs, and jars. People also often exchange and buy one thing for another with the price unit being buffalo: 1 buffalo, 2 buffaloes. When someone violates the village’s customary law, they will be fined 1 buffalo, 2 buffaloes…

Village elder Y Kong (93 years old, residing in Tong Coói village, Ba commune, Dong Giang district, Quang Nam province) told us about the unique traditional culture of his Co Tu ethnic group, which is the “buffalo crying” ceremony. : Accordingly, in the past, every new rice season, villagers often held a big ceremony. Every house prepares a few delicious dishes at home. After the buffalo stabbing ceremony, they took everyone to Guol’s house to gather together, held a feast for a week, and the buffalo stabbing ceremony also had many complicated rules and customs.

Accordingly, no matter how poor they are, around January, villagers gather money and send people across the mountains to the plains to buy buffaloes. The villagers prepare the newest and most beautiful costumes such as loincloths (Cha lon), short-sleeved shirts (A doot), robes (Aduong), ao dai (Code-ech)… to wear during the stabbing festival. buffalo.

Village elder Le Quang Viet (85 years old, residing in Phu Son village, Ba commune, Dong Giang district, Quang Nam province) said that the Co Tu people have the custom of stabbing buffaloes during harvest festivals (Bhuoi Aví), New rice festival (Cha ha roo Tomeê), Guol festival (Langtori). In the evening of the night before the buffalo stabbing day, a prestigious village elder in the village held a buffalo offering ceremony at the Guol yard. The Co Tu people call it sexual desire. To worship, you must have a pig’s head, boiled chicken and a bottle of wine offered at xnur and pray to Yang that everything is ready and tomorrow, ask Yang to let the villagers kill buffaloes.

Ritual of crying buffalo

Tomorrow, when the buffalo is stabbed, the night before, the whole village gathers to dance and sing happily until late at night, then everyone leaves, only the old people stay up until morning to sacrifice and cry for the buffalo (place). At the beginning of the “eulogy”, the village elders often “cry”: “Dear buffalo, the buffalo has been tied to the anchor, where can I untie it?”… The content of crying for the buffalo often expresses feelings and regrets for the buffalo that has passed its entire life. attached to and served humans, now he becomes a sacrifice to worship Yang.

We had the opportunity to meet Mrs. Truong Thi Soi, nearly 85 years old this year, residing in Gian Bi village (Hoa Bac commune, Hoa Vang district, Da Nang city) who is a “crying buffalo singer” with an inspiring voice. Local people say that with the passionate lamenting songs in the buffalo crying ritual, many buffaloes can understand and hear the cries, so the buffaloes often shed tears. In the middle of the night in the silence and solitude of the vast mountains and forests with a few glimmering fires burning in the middle of Guol yard. About 5 – 6 people sat there while worshiping and beating drums accompanied by plaintive and sorrowful words. The space at this time was very sacred and somber. Singing during the buffalo sacrifice ritual is very unique in the culture of the Co Tu people…”.

“The ritual of crying for the buffalo began when an old person with a prominent position in the village, with a talent for speaking and singing, represented the villagers, stood close to the buffalo, and mourned the buffalo with a very earnest tone such as: ” Dear buffalo, don’t blame the villagers, this is a traditional ritual of the villagers who annually sacrifice the buffalo to heaven, earth, and ancestors to pray for the villagers to be safe, free from diseases, wild animals, and flowers. The colors are lush, everyone is healthy. Pray for the buffalo’s soul to return to heaven safely…” – Village Elder Le Quang Viet confided.

Tung Tung Dance – Da Da

After the “crying buffalo” ritual, groups of Co Tu men, young people, and women carry drums, gongs, swords, spears… dance around the Guol pillar with the Tung tung – Za za dance. Men’s sword dance is very majestic, women’s dance is very graceful.

After this dance they started stabbing buffaloes. First, the village elder stabbed him a few times and gave the spear to the group of healthy young men. A boy who only stabs a buffalo and makes it fall is praised by everyone, or a boy who stabs a buffalo without falling is criticized by everyone.

When the buffalo falls, blood spurts out from its heart, wetting the entire area under the Guol pillar. Some people use sticks to dip this blood and “smear” it on the Guol pillar. This custom is called “Sot ham ca piu mirror”, with the meaning of letting people who have hidden their faces and eyebrows appear on high tree tops without the permission of the “divine emperor” to attend so they enjoy the “blood dish”. That buffalo. In addition, when the buffalo died, the Co Tu people brought pigs, chickens, and beautiful mats to “gift” the buffalo back to the nine streams to use.

Finally, they cut off the buffalo’s head along with a jar of wine and placed it close to the Guol pillar to worship heaven, earth, ancestors, and grandparents, while the buffalo’s body was slaughtered and divided equally among each village household. In the afternoon, after the village elders finished praying for the buffalo head, they took it away to clean and cook for those who contributed to organizing the eating festival the next day.

Nowadays, the custom of buffalo stabbing has been abolished

Nowadays, the Co Tu people respond to cultural and civilized life and people do not go into the forest to hunt wild animals anymore, so the custom of buffalo stabbing has become less frequent and since 2016, the custom of buffalo stabbing has been gradually abolished in the area. highlands of Quang Nam and lowlands of two communes Hoa Phu and Hoa Bac (Hoa Vang district, Da Nang city.

Currently, when conducting the festival, there is also a real buffalo to lead around the hanging Guol pillar buried in the middle of the yard (in some places it can be replaced with a wooden buffalo). After finishing the sacrifice, the buffalo is led behind Guol’s house to cut the meat to offer to Yang and provide food for the attendees.

Retaining traditions such as buffalo crying singing in the Co Tu community, even when the buffalo stabbing ritual has been abolished, is an important way to maintain and preserve spiritual and cultural values. The elderly are often the ones who preserve and transmit this tradition to the younger generation, helping to create a link between the past and the present. Maintaining elements such as song lyrics, lamentations, and emotional singing still retains a deep meaning in the cultural life of the Co Tu community.