Cattle procession to welcome Lunar New Year,

On the occasion of the traditional Lunar New Year, the Khmer ethnic minority people in southern Vietnam often organise a buffaloes and bulls procession according to the ancient custom. Traditionally, villagers model bulls in clay and place them in the middle of the fields with a view to disinfecting diseases detrimental to bulls. Villagers also model buffalos to kill diseases for them. Locals gather to make a palanquin on which 9 five-inch-tall human cultivators made of earth, 12 15-metre-tall human statues, one wrist-size buffalo – bull statue, 12 smaller buffalo – bull statues, are placed. Number 12 symbolises 12 months of a year. If it is a leap year, the number of buffalo and human statues is added with one more. A promoter of the ceremony is the oldest villager called A-cha. The palanquin carriers set off from A-cha’s home to travel along all the roads in the village in the morning, which is followed by a musical troupe and villagers. Having carried the palanquin to the field, buffalo-bull statues are placed down on the ground and people return home. Villagers think that throughout afternoon and night of that day, statues will bear any diseases for human beings and cattle. Next morning, A-cha and villagers go to the field and break nine human and buffalo-bull statues and take small statues back to the village and submit them to village’s officials. Under the custom, village officials will award the organisers a token amount of money. Today, the cattle procession ceremony has been changed. Together with carrying human and buffalo statues, a buffalo-bull statue made of bamboo with the same size as a real one is also carried. The body of this statue is painted with five colours symbolising metal, wood, water, fire and earth. Behind the palanquin, there is a real buffalo or cow. The carriers go along all the roads in the village and stop in front of a temple called Mr Ta, often in the field. After that, the palanquin comes back to the point of departure. Then the animal is slaughtered and divided to villagers. The head of the buffalo or cow is for the most senior representative in the region. Villagers take its blood to apply beneath rocks that symbolise Neak Ta God (Mr Ta) to pray for rain and bumper crops for villagers. (Source: Nhan Dan)