The ritual part of the festival was conducted in a solemn atmosphere, linked to the story of villagers expressing gratitude to the thay mo (shaman) who cured illnesses for the community. Over time, the festival has retained its spiritual values and become a symbol of community solidarity and a distinctive cultural feature of the Thai people in Moc Son.

Vi Van Phinh, a resident of Na Ang neighbourhood in Moc Son ward, said the festival is a thanksgiving ritual of the Thai people. In the past, shamans who cured illnesses would adopt those they had cured as their children. These adopted children would later bring offerings during the Lunar New Year, and when there was no time to organise a ceremony, the festival would be held in the second lunar month or around March.

Following the ritual, festive activities took place with traditional games such as tung con, to mak le and bamboo bridge walking. Highlights included competitions among local neighbourhoods in fire-making, chicken boiling and showcasing traditional cuisine.

Held annually in March, when ban and ma flowers bloom across the mountains, the festival helps present the locality, its people and its distinctive cultural identity to domestic and international visitors.

Nguyen Van Nam, a visitor from Hung Yen province in northern Vietnam, said he was impressed by the traditional costumes and local cuisine, adding that he would like to return to Moc Son in the future.

The Het Cha festival was officially recognised as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2015, providing a basis for Moc Son to continue preserving and promoting the cultural values of the Thai ethnic community and enriching the tourism landscape of the Moc Chau National Tourist Area.

Nguyen Quoc Tuyen, Vice Chairman of the Moc Son People’s Committee, said the festival is part of efforts to develop local tourism. This year’s event was organised at ward level with participation from all neighbourhoods, and in the future, Na Ang neighbourhood is expected to host the festival annually, while the ward plans to organise it every three to five years.

This year’s festival was held alongside experiential tourism activities within the “Colours of Moc Son” cultural space, part of a broader programme to promote tourism development linked to local cultural values in 2026.

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