Co Tu’s Guol house hosts communal activities

A dance troupe of 20 members of Lang commune has practiced for several days to prepare for the festival of ethnic minority groups to be held in Tay Giang district.

Ms. A Lang Dung in Lang commune said, “All Co Tu women know dancing. I began dancing when I was a 10th grader. I learned it from my grandmother and mother. My children also learn how to dance well.”

As the host of the festival of ethnic minority groups this year, the Co Tu in Tay Giang are practicing hard to give an excellent performance of tung tung da da dance, folk dance of the Co Tu, at the festival. The village chief A Lang Bach directly teaches the dancers.

After working with the performers, A Lang Bach comes back to the Guol house, where some Co Tu men are making a neu or bamboo pole and some others making swinging toys using beer cans, pebbles, and bamboo. 

Po Lang Tu, a Co Tu man, said, “We are making toys for children. Co Tu people like these games very much. We play swings during festivals and wedding parties, and even when someone is sick.”

It is in the Guol house where patriarch A Lang Bach introduces visitors to the Co Tu tradition: “This one is called Kun and this one is called vitvot. That one is called Kneo trieng in Co Tu. This one is like a bun of the Co Tu. Previously, my hair was long.”

A Viet Hich, a Co Tu local, further explains what Mr. A Lang Bach has said “Previously, Co Tu men and women wore long hair and styled it in buns. Only wealthy men had a bun and bore tooth. They are like jewelry for Co Tu men.”

Ten swings have been made. Once the neu tree is completed, they are all ready for the festival. Outside the Guol house, dancers are still practicing along to the beats of the drums and swings.