(HBO) – Purple sugarcane, attaching to the life of Muong ethnic minority since ancient time, is not only a crop of high economic value, but also an indispensable item in key events of the community, especially the Lunar New Year festival (Tet) and wedding ceremony.

When being children, we were often tasked with going to the edge of the forest to cut fresh reeds to erect a neu pole and then to fields to chop down a couple of sugarcane plants as decorations for Tet. We kept fulfilling our tasks for the 27th day of the passing Lunar year’s last month without ever wondering what is the meaning of the sugarcane. Years went by; we grew up and learnt that the plants are also an integral part of any wedding ceremonies in our community.

Once I posted a photo capturing a wedding ceremony of a Muong couple. Under the post, a friend of mine from the university raised a question that why the groom's family has to carry sugarcane with them when going to the bride’s home.

The question prompted me to find an answer. I asked many people from different ages; most of them told me it is the custom. Feeling unsatisfied, I came to meet Bui Van Nhon, a manliving in Tan Lac district’s Gia Mo commune who is dedicated to learning about the Muong ethnic minority. Nhon shared my curiosity about the sugarcane and had spent time collecting related materials and studying the custom. He said the plants’ presence on Tet or at wedding ceremonies is originated from a legend about the Coi sisters.

Legend has it that once upon a time, there was a giant mosquito in the land of Muong people, which annually fed on selected locals. Then it was the Coi sisters’ turn to be the feed. The sisters loved each other so much, and both were willing to give up their lives for the other to survive. Unable to decide who would go, they went to the mosquito’s cave together so that the mosquito could choose to eat the one it wanted. Waiting for predator in front of its home during the freezing 12th month of the lunar year, they cut wild sugarcane and collected bagasse from other victims to make a fire for warmth. Unexpectedly, the smoke from their fire killed the monster. Muong people appreciated what they did and the sugarcane has since become a symbol of the sisters’ love and held a significant role in their life.

Of the same opinion is Bui Huy Vong, an artisan of folk art. According to Vong, sugarcane is cultivated with its stalks, which sprout when being placed on the ground. With such strong reproduction feature, the plant becomes a symbol of fertility and growth, which match the expectation of Muong people for a new year. Since ancient time, the community has brought home a couple of sugarcanes on Tet. The selected ones, with their roots and leaves left intact, must be long, strait, and beautifully coloured, and free from pests and diseases.

Meanwhile, at a wedding ceremony, a carefully selected couple of sugarcane must be carried by young male relatives of the groom. The plants represent an aspiration for a sweet marriage life ahead, while their carriers a hope for their first child to be a son.

In a word, all explanations show Muong people’s yearning for warmth, sweetness, growth, and the elimination of evils and bad things.

As the Year of the Buffalo approaches, we are now living our childhood memories with the tasks of bringing sugarcane home and watching for boiling pots of Banh Chung (square glutinous rice cake)./.