On the final day of the New Year celebration, villagers gather in an open area where the communal Khu Cù Tê House is located to perform the drum ritual, marking the farewell to the ancestors as they return to the spiritual world. This communal house was built many generations ago. It has eight wooden pillars, a two-sloped roof, and a raised floor. Inside the house is a wooden tray on which a buffalo skull and buffalo horns are placed. According to La Chí beliefs, the Khu Cù Tê House is a sacred place, and no one is permitted to damage or destroy it.

On the last day of the festival, the farewell ritual takes place from midday until approximately 3:00 p.m., regardless of weather conditions. The ceremony is held outdoors beside the communal house. Mổ Cóc (the chief ritual officiant) and the So Vé (ritual assistants) arrange the prepared offerings on the ground and recite prayers to bid farewell to the ancestors, guiding their spirits back to the other world.

Following the ritual prayers, Mổ Cóc and the So Vé perform ceremonial dances accompanied by traditional drumming. When the drumming concludes, the ritual offerings – including rice wine, meat, and sticky rice – brought by the ritual specialists of each clan are shared among everyone attending the ceremony. During the communal feast, the festive atmosphere is further enlivened by antiphonal folk singing performed by a men’s team and a women’s team.

Each team consists of two performers, including one young adult and one middle-aged participant. The male singers symbolize the people who remain in Bản Díu Village, while the female singers represent those who have returned home from distant places to celebrate the New Year. Each side performs approximately three songs in response to the other, expressing the emotions, affection, and longing of those returning to their homeland for the festival. At approximately 5:00 p.m. the farewell ceremony officially concludes.

Figure 1. Preparations for the Final-Day Ritual

During the days of the Khu Cù Tê celebration, members of each clan are free to play gongs and drums as part of the ritual festivities. However, once the festival has concluded, the La Chí refrain from playing these instruments because the sound of the gongs and drums is believed to symbolize an invitation for the ancestors to return to the world of the living. According to traditional belief, repeatedly calling the ancestral spirits back would prevent them from resting peacefully in the spiritual realm. Moreover, community members are not in a position to organize such elaborate rituals at times other than the seventh lunar month, when the Khu Cù Tê ceremony is traditionally held.

Figure 2. Gong and Drum Performance during the Khu Cù Tê Ritual

Furthermore, the La Chí believe that when the ancestral spirits are invited back to the human world, malevolent spirits may also follow them, bringing harm to the health of community members and threatening agricultural production. In such circumstances, additional buffaloes would have to be sacrificed in further rituals to appease the ancestors, resulting in considerable expenditures of time and resources. This would also prolong the already lengthy New Year celebration and interfere with agricultural activities.

(Source: Dossier of the Khu Cù Tê Ritual)