Vietnamese Culture

Killing the Inner Insect Festival in Vietnam Vietnam has a rich culture that has been shaped by many different civilizations throughout history. Through many long struggles, the Vietnamese people have created their unique culture. Thanks to these particularities, there are many national celebrations in Vietnam such as Vietnamese New Year, Mid-Autumn Festival, Huong Pagoda Event. Besides Vietnamese New Year, Killing the Inner Insect Festival is the second most significant celebration of Vietnam. It is one of the most interesting celebrations in Vietnam because of its name special, the myth behind it, and two traditional types of food associated with it. First, the name of this festival has a special meaning, and its Vietnamese definition is also interesting. Killing the Inner Insect Festival was called Tet Doan Ngo in Vietnamese. Literally, Tet refers to festival, Doan means the start, and Ngo is the seventh animal of the Chinese zodiac – the horse. In addition, it is known as Tet Giet Sau Bo – sau bo means pests, and giet is kill, or Tet Thang 5 – to be celebrated on the fifth of the fifth lunar month. The name Tet Giet Sau Bo derives from the fact that farmers, on this day, get rid of all worms to start growing their crops for the new season. Furthermore, this is the midyear festival year for the prevention of disease to ward off evil spirits.

Therefore, on this occasion, the whole family must wake up early and eat fermented sticky rice and fruits. The worshipping is held at noon, hour of Ngo – 12.00p.m, and then the family has lunch. In short, this festivity shows not only its especial name but also a deep meaning. Second, this amazing celebration starts with elder females retelling the fictitious story of two snakes – Thanh Xa and Bach Xa. A long time ago, in a small village had two orphan brothers who were well-known among the locals because of their intelligence and kindness. There were two snakes that lived with the brothers in their house. After a long time living, the snakes fell in love with them, and then Thanh Xa and Bach Xa transformed themselves into beautiful girls to charm the men; hence, the brothers soon were attracted to them. As a result, they decided to marry; Thanh Xa married the older brother, and Bach Xa wedded the younger one. Day by day, the men grew unhealthy, they were scared of daylight and lived in festering darkness, and their neighbor realized their lives were at risks, so they told a Taoism hermit. He made some spirit type tests and confirmed that the men’s house had a case of the evils.

After that, he brewed a wine potion, which was called the fermented sticky rice, and gave it to them to eat in the early morning of the fifth day according to lunar calendar. As soon as the brothers had it with their breakfast, their wives were revealed as the snakes they were, so the brothers were free. Since that day, Vietnamese people have eaten the fermented sticky rice on Killing the Insect Day, in the hope driving away bad spirits. In brief, this folk tale helps Vietnamese how to maintain quintessence and avoid bad things now and then. Finally, the two irreplaceable dishes to be eaten on this holiday are banh u and com ruou. Banh u is a pyramidal sticky rice cake which is wrapped by a banana leaf. It makes of glutinous rice, bean, meat, and coconut, creating its dominant flavor.

The most necessary food is com ruou which literally translates as rice wine. The process of making com ruou is not quite complicated but time consuming. At first, the rice is steamed twice for about thirty minutes and would be left for a while to get cool. After that, it is mixed with yeast, allowing it to ferment for two or three days, depending on the weather. This particular dish brings a strong and delicious taste. To sum up, in the Vietnamese traditional concept, these kinds of food can kill any parasites in the body, and Vietnamese people mostly like eating the fermented sticky rice and banh u. In conclusion, Killing the Inner Insect Festival expresses one of the part of the Vietnamese tradition and culture up to now. This occasion plays a significant role in every Vietnamese life for practical and holy meaning. Enjoying the atmosphere of Doan Ngo Festival, people will get to know more about value and spirit of Vietnamese culture.