THE TET POLE IN NEW YEAR DAY

Source: http://www.hueworldheritage.org.vn/

Author: Hải Trung/translated by Ý Nhi

Photo: Ý Nhi

           The Tet pole erecting at Hue Imperial city is rehabilitated at Hue Monuments Conservation Centre in the early morning of Lunar December 23th. Basing on the historical background, the Centre has compiled a scenario to create a highlighted royal activity bringing about the animated atmosphere in the Lunar New Year.

           To begin the poem “My mother’s Tet”, poet Nguyễn Bính wrote :

“My mother is strenuous at Tet

A great many thing she must catch

The brick yard, the lime wall… all of that

The holy circle, the Tet pole she herself sets”

            The verse reminds me of the atmosphere of the Tet preparation in the Vietnamese spiritual life. Especially, it mentions the Tet pole erecting, a rite that is significant with the Vietnamese ancients taken root, inherited and promoted in different ways. This is a popular rite in the folk, Buddhism and royal life of Nguyễn dynasty.

The Tet pole erecting in the ancient folk

            For that reason, the Buddha taught that in front of each house, it was needed to erect the high bamboo pole above which the flag and chime were hung. Besides, on the ground, people must create a circle of lime and the arch together with the arrow around the pole as the limitation. The higher the bamboo tree might be, the further the devils would be from that. The hanging of chime or gong was to create the sounds for threatening the devils. In the folk, people also prepared the altar to welcome the genie with the bamboo basket keeping the areca-nut and betel, gold and silver, red vertical flag, chime, the pandanus amaryllifolius or the banyan leaves. Next, people created the lime circle as the territory that was several tens meters from the Tet pole, the arch and arrows focusing on the direction where the devil stayed. Some families also hung the amulet or the caryota mitis to prevent the devils.As legend goes, the Tet pole erecting belongs to the Buddhism. In the old time, the devil often occupied the land of human, and the Buddha helped the people against that. With the abundant mysteries, the Buddha drove away the devils, but at the same time took off their capacity of finding food. Hence, they entreated the Buddha to let them know where would be his land so that they were able ignore. The Buddha, hence, told them that wherever there were the chime or gong sounds and flag, there would be his land.

The Tet pole erecting (the wooden picture printed in the Technique du peuple Annamite of Henri Oger compiled in 1908

    The Northern people of Vietnam erected the pole in Lunar December 23^rd since in the early morning of this day, the Kitchen Genie were left for the meeting in the heaven. Without these genie, the devils may devastate the folk. Thus, the Tet pole was erected until Lunar January 7^th for driving the devils.

The Tet pole erecting in the ancient imperial city

            In the life of Hue former imperial family, before Tet the Tet pole erecting ceremony was taken place to inform the coming of the new year. The word Tiêu (標) (Tet pole) in the Tet pole erecting (上標) means the “top of the tree” at the highest point for the convenience of observation. Before Tet, the Tet pole erecting was held to mark the coming of the new year. Its original purpose was to welcome the Tet, then to worship the genie and ancestors for the goodness of their family. The dynasty also wished for the great peace and the natural harmony and public prosperity.

           In the royal poem of Minh Mạng emperor, there mentioned the verse with the image of the Tet pole as follows: I wonder why the spring time has yet to be warm/It’s cold as the days have gone/The winter turns colder with rain squalls/The Tet pole is wrapped with the chilly wind.

       In this poem, the emperor explained in details the Tet pole erecting ceremony. As regulated, as soon as the Lunar December 25^th, no document would be received. This day was for the ceremonies of closing the seal and Tet pole erecting. As for the second ceremony, people used a bamboo tree on which there hung a bamboo chime, a bamboo basket keeping the paper currency, areca and betel nut, the amulet (on which there wrote the genie’s names) to worship the genie. Apart from keeping the genie’s name, on the amulet, the spring couplets were written like what had been done under the Song dynasty of China.

          Besides, Minh Mạng emperor thought that the emperor must not be restful. Moreover, if the seal was closed or hidden, how could the urgent political affairs be solved? According to the order of Minh Mạng emperor, in each of the Tet pole erecting, the dynasty only chose some seals of minor importance to be symbolically hung on the bamboo basket. Until Lunar January 7^th, the royal seals were opened, and the Tet pole was detached, and then the “Genie Seeing-Off” was carried out to begin a new year.

     Under the reign of Tự Đức emperor, however, the dynasty regulated that until the Lunar December 30^th was the Tet pole erected. That meant the Tet holiday was shorter. When the Tet pole was erected, it was the time for the vacation of Tet.

          As regulated, after people saw the royal Tet pole, the mass would soon start erecting the pole for their families. The Tet pole erecting of the mass must be after that of the dynasty. Tú Xương’s poem reflected this regulation as follows:

“The spring has just informed from the dynasty

The spring belongs to all, not only to one properly.”

      The Tet pole was erected as an introduction of Tet. Nguyễn Khuyến in his retirement, due to the poor condition of eyes, did stumble over the Tet pole erected at night of December 30^th.

“The sound of fire cracker I hear at the last day of the year informs me it’s Tet,

The Tet pole I stumble over at the first day of the year tells me that’s spring.”

The restoration of the Tet pole erecting at present Imperial City

             From Hiển Nhơn gate, the Tet pole escorting is taken place out solemnly. 10 guardians carrying the Tet pole in shoulders are well dressed. The ensemble starts with the sounds of Small Music, go further to the Imperial City and arrive at the main entrance of Thế Miếu Temple, the incense table together with the offerings are well prepared. The Tet pole erecting ceremony is solemnly organized. Such rites as Genie welcoming and Genie Seeing-off  are taken place with the sounds of the Great Music. After the that, the 10 guardian erect the Tet pole.The Tet pole erecting at Hue Imperial city is rehabilitated at Hue Monuments Conservation Centre in the early morning of Lunar December 23^th. Basing on the historical background, the Centre has compiled a scenario to create a highlighted royal activity bringing about the animated atmosphere in the Lunar New Year.

The Tet pole erecting at Thế Miếu Temple            

           After the ceremony at Thế Miếu Temple, the Tet pole erecting will be done at many other places within the complex of Hue Monuments with simpler scale from Lunar December 28^th to 30^th. Tourists and local people coming to hue relics these days may see a cultural beauty of Vietnamese people that has been maintaining in present time.

          The Tet pole image has long been considered the most solemn symbol of Vietnamese Lunar New Year. It connects to a profoundly humane legend. The Tet pole erecting in the springtime is for the good hope of the coming year. The Tet pole under the sunshine expresses the awakening spring power in the hearts the Vietnamese. Those are nice significances transformed by Vietnamese ancients to the young generations. For this reason, at many Vietnamese villages in the days before Tet, many families set up the Tet pole in front of the village temple in the witness of the villagers. Many Hue culture address have enhanced this traditional cultural beauty by carrying out the Tet pole erecting formally.

            The Tet pole erecting is a long-standing tradition of Vietnamese people. In the first days of the year, this ceremony brings about the animated atmosphere. It is not popular not only in hue but nationwide until now.

Some photo about Tet pole erecting in Hue Imperial City.

Photo by Ý Nhi

KTCHEN GODS – THE GOD FOR ALL FAMILY

         The stove is considered the soul of the family. The Vietnamese believed that good stoves will guarantee peace in the family, while bad ones bring strife. The standing mud-covered brick stoves in a traditional Vietnamese kitchen are huge. They are built up from the floor against a wall of the kitchen and look something like altars and in fact, they are. The family stove, apart from its functional importance, was believed to house the Kitchen God, also called the Lord of the Hearth, one of the oldest gods worshipped in Vietnam.
Hang Ma is the street where sacred papers are sold and it entered its busy period around one month ago. The street is decorated in red and yellow, the colors of traditional sacred paper products. Today Ma street seem become more crowed with people.  They  are flocking the street and buy worship items for the Kitchen God’s day (23rd of the last month of lunar year).

         To prepare for the journey of Kitchen God to the Heaven,   the worship items are included: Votive, snacks, sweet cakes, fruit… Votives with paper carps, horses and clothing (hats, robes and boots),  are very important. Following the old  legend and still in some countryside homes, cooking occurs over clay tripods. Three stones were all that was needed to hold up the pot over the fire. Few people spend time thinking about the nature of the Kitchen Gods or the specific meaning of the items that are associated with them. The three Hearth Gods are represented at Tet by three hats and shops sell sets of three miniature paper hats: two men’s hats and one woman’s. These are burned as offerings to Ong Tao. The God will also need a new pair of boots to wear as he travels to Heaven. Two favorite gifts for the triad of household deities are gold and wine. In the central part of Vietnam, cooking tripods or blocks that make up the family hearth, even if they are still usable, are ritually discarded when the God leaves. One week later, new blocks will greet his return or the arrival of his replacement assigned by the Jade Emperor.

           Nowadays, Everything changes, people think that :Tran sao am vay(Life in the earth is same underworld). That’s why besides the traditional worship items, they burn modern funiture like: paper mobile, paper house, paper motorbike…

           After the Kitchen God has left, preparations one week ( from  23rd to 30th  of lunar month) for the New Year festivities begin. After the Kitchen God’s day People will clean and decorate their home with hoping removing old year and welcome New  year with good things for their families

* Bonus:  ORIGIN OF KINCHEN GODS

        In Vietnamese folklore, the Kitchen Gods (Vietnamese: Táo Quân) are spirits that inhabit the kitchen of every home. They are responsible for monitoring the daily affairs of the kitchen, until the last day of the lunar year in which they then travel to Heaven to give the Jade Emperor an annual report. There are three Kitchen Gods: Trọng Cao, Thị Nhi, and Phạm Lang. Originally normal people, the three became kitchen spirits by the magic of the Jade Emperor after hearing their tragic tale. In old Vietnamese kitchens, the traditional clay stove pot is supported by three posts, which represent the three Kitchen Gods.

Origins

        Trọng Cao and Thị Nhi were husband and wife. One day they quarreled, and Trọng Cao threw his wife out of the house. Thị Nhi still loved her husband but had no choice but to obey. She set off on a journey and eventually found a nice man, Phạm Lang, and they eventually married. Trọng Cao was filled with remorse, waited for his wife’s return, until he could wait no more. He set out in search for her, but eventually ran out of food. He had to beg for food. One day he knocked on a door, and found, to his surprise, his (former) wife. Remembering her love for her first husband and moved by his presence, she invited him inside and fed him. Phạm Lang was then heard coming home. Thị Nhi could not be seen with another man inside the house, so she had Trọng Cao hide in a straw of hay. Phạm Lang lit the hay on fire in order to create fertilizer. Trọng Cao dared not move so that he may preserve his wife’s virtue, and so accepted his fate. Thị Nhi could not save her first husband, and did not want to tell the truth, lest she be branded an infidel, and so she jumped into the fire. Phạm Lang, unable to comprehend why his wife jumped in the fire, decided to jump into the fire with her. The Jade Emperor heard this tale, and was moved, and so used his power to bind the three souls to become the spirits of the kitchen.

5 FOODS MUST TO TASTE WHEN YOU VISIT HUE

Com Hen

         Com Hen (rice with mussel) is a very unique cuisine of Hue. Com Hen contains rice, boiled mussel, star fruit, fish sauce, cabbage, onion, pepper, peanut, chili, and a variety of herbs. The specialty is all of these elements are cold. When people eat Com Hen, they add all the above ingredients to a bowl, and slowly add boiled mussel broth with chili sauce into the bowl (the broth is the only hot thing in Com Hen). Com Hen has an extremely spicy flavor as such, so gastronomes remember it just after one time enjoying.

Bun Bo Hue

           Bun bo Hue (Hue style beef vermicelli) or more detail, Bun bo gio heo (beef and pig’s knuckle vermicelli) is a popular Vietnamese soup vermicelli dish, and one of the most typical foods of Hue, Vietnam. Fine combination of ingredients make the food famous; the broth is prepared by simmering beef and bones for a long period of time, after that a large range of different spices containing lemon grass and chili are added in. Shrimp paste holds no less importance. Hue people usually add thin slices of beef shank, chunks of boiled oxtail, and pig’s knuckles or pork into the bowl. It can also contain cubes of maroon brown congealed pig blood, which are good for those suffering from high blood pressure. The specialty is commonly served with a plenty of herbs like sprouts, lime wedges, cilantro sprigs, onions, and sliced banana blossom. Thinly sliced purple cabbage or iceberg lettuces are used in case of lacking in banana blossom. It is highly recommended for tourists to add a few of shrimp paste directly into the soup.

Banh Beo

        Banh beo (water fern cake) is a kind of small steamed rice pancake. The name is to refer from the shape of the cake (like a water fern-Beo in Vietnamese). It is white in color, sometimes nearly transparent and usually has a dimple in the center, which is covered with savory recipes including chopped dried or fresh shrimp, scallions, mung bean paste, crispy fried shallots, fish sauce, rice vinegar, and oil.

Banh khoai

            Banh khoai (delicious pancake) is so much like Banh xeo (sizzling pancake) since they both are made from rice flour, water, turmeric powder, added slivers of fatty pork, shrimp, bean sprouts and then pan fried. Banh khoai and Banh xeo also are wrapped in mustard leaf, lettuce leaves or rice paper, and stuffed with variety of herb, like mint leaves, basil and served with a sweet and sour mixed sauce. In Hue, Banh khoai is placed open-face instead of being folded in half like Banh xeo. Moreover, Banh khoai always goes with a fermented soy bean sauce, and people consider it a winter food owing to its greasiness and spicy taste of the sauce. Therefore, most Hue citizens only make them when winter coming.

Mam tom chua

         The central of Vietnam is reputable for its Mam tom chua (sour shrimp sauce) and Hue is the best place for this unique sauce. Unlike normal shrimp sauce (has brown color and smooth surface), Sour shrimp sauce has orange color while shrimps still keep its original shape. It is quite simple to make this sauce. First, shrimps are clean by salt water (do not use normal water to avoid bad smells) and “cook” by strong rice wine. The shrimps will turn red. After that, carefully mix the shrimps with sticky rice, sliced lesser galangal, garlic and chili. Slowly put all the mixture into a jar covered by guava leaves. Just need to wait for 5-7 days and we have the mouthwatering sour shrimp sauce of our own making. This is the best sauce for boiled pork with vermicelli.