One day after the clan-based rituals are held at the homes of the clan heads, the heads of all clans gather at the village head’s house to conduct a communal ceremony. On this occasion, the village head serves as the Mổ Cóc (chief ritual officiant), while the clan heads assume the role of So Vé (ritual assistants), jointly presiding over the ceremony. Since the Mổ Cóc is selected annually through an election and a divination ritual using chicken feet, both the village head and the location of the ceremony may change from year to year.

The person chosen as Mổ Cóc must construct an auxiliary ritual house adjoining the main house. This structure is built with the assistance of the entire community. Inside, a horizontal wooden beam is installed to suspend the ceremonial gongs and drums. In the past, the La Chí community also used a pair of bronze drums—one male and one female—for ritual purposes. After each ceremony, these sacred drums were stored in a cave in the mountains. However, in 1976, a member of the community mistakenly believed that the drums contained valuable “black bronze,” stole them, and destroyed them for sale. Since then, the community has no longer possessed these sacred ritual objects.

During the ceremony, the Mổ Cóc and the So Vé wear long ceremonial robes together with black conical cloth hats. At the top of each hat is a strip of fabric symbolizing a woman’s hair. According to La Chí oral tradition, ancestral worship was originally performed by women. One day, however, a woman heard folk songs echoing from the distant mountains and left to join the singing, forgetting that she was responsible for conducting the ancestral ritual. To ensure that the ceremony was not interrupted, the man of the household dressed in the woman’s ceremonial clothing and wore a hat decorated with a strip of cloth to resemble a woman’s hair before performing the ritual. Since that time, men have assumed responsibility for conducting the ancestral ceremonies while continuing to wear the traditional female ritual attire.

Unlike many other Vietnamese ethnic groups, the La Chí do not burn votive paper during their rituals. According to ancestral legend, when the La Chí and other ethnic groups first searched for land to cultivate, the other groups moved more quickly and marked their territories by burning dry grass into small piles of ash. The La Chí, traveling more slowly, stopped to cook by building three-stone hearths with firewood. Because the mountainous region was frequently exposed to strong winds and heavy rains, the ash markers created by the other groups were scattered and washed away, while the blackened stone hearths built by the La Chí remained visible. Although the other groups claimed ownership of the land, they could no longer locate their original markers and ultimately ceded the territory to the La Chí. For this reason, the La Chí believe that other ethnic groups scatter votive paper at funerals to symbolically “purchase” burial land from them. As the La Chí already possess sufficient land and need not buy land from anyone else, they have never adopted the custom of burning votive paper.

The Mổ Cóc performs the opening prayers, after which the clan heads conduct their own rituals. If the selected Mổ Cóc has not yet mastered all of the ritual chants, the most knowledgeable village elder assists by prompting and guiding the recitations. This assistant wears attire different from that of the Mổ Cóc: instead of the ceremonial hat, he wraps a cloth around his head, wears a short jacket rather than a long robe, and dresses in wide-legged trousers. He may also assist the So Vé whenever necessary during the ceremony.

The Mổ Cóc recites prayers inviting the La Chí ancestors to return and celebrate the New Year with the villagers, sharing the buffalo meat raised by the community, the sticky rice harvested from the fertile fields of Bản Díu, and the sweet traditional rice wine (rượu hoẵng), offered as a symbol of the villagers’ sincerity and gratitude. Throughout the ritual, the Mổ Cóc also waves a Đoọc Khâu branch back and forth while praying for healthy rice plants and abundant harvests.

After the Mổ Cóc completes the opening ceremony, each clan head begins his own ritual. Holding a buffalo horn filled with rượu hoẵng, each clan head calls upon the ancestors of his lineage to witness the devotion of their descendants. Through these prayers, they ask the ancestors to bless the clan with a growing population, strong and healthy family members, abundant stores of maize and rice, and flourishing herds of buffaloes and horses. As the prayers are recited, the clan heads drink the ceremonial wine, eat pieces of buffalo meat and sticky rice, symbolizing the arrival of the ancestral spirits. They then share the ritual food and wine among themselves, expressing solidarity, mutual support, and unity among the different clans.

The ceremony concludes with the traditional performance of gongs and drums. It begins with two gong players and two drummers standing upright without dancing while performing an introductory rhythm. The clan heads then rise one by one, holding drumsticks and bowing respectfully to the Mổ Cóc and the other clan heads. Each drummer standing on the right gently bends in rhythm with the drumbeats before moving clockwise to play the opposite side of the drum. This sequence continues until every So Vé has performed. The ceremony officially ends when the final drumbeat fades away. After the ritual, the host family prepares a communal feast, inviting everyone who attended the ceremony to share rice wine and buffalo meat in celebration.

Source: Dossier of the Khu Cù Tê Ritual, Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Tuyên Quang Province, Tuyên Quang Provincial Museum.