THE CYCLIC AGRICULTURAL METHOD, RITUAL OF THE BRU - VAN KIEU ETHNIC GROUP IN TALES

Abstract

The Bru- Van Kieu ethnic group lives in the high mountains, they survive by farming on the fields in the mountains. Their tales told that the ancestor's cyclic agricultural method was not only for food production but also for a ritual. That's how they reached an agreement with nature for long-term survival. In Bru Van Kieu's thinking, fields are images of the miniature universe, including the measurement of time and space. Bru- Van Kieu people practice land rotation through 4 stages: selecting land and burning fields; hole punching, seeding; weeding; harvest. The rituals corresponding to the stages include: the ritual of choosing fields, choosing burning dates; the ritual of the beginning of the season; the ritual of sowing; the ritual of praying for rain and mother rice. They practice primitive agricultural rites with the notion of prosperity. For Bru- Van Kieu ethnic group, ritual acts are closely associated with agricultural labor.