E-magazine Jrai people of Ia Pech commune hold a ceremony to thank the Forest God

Attending the forest worshiping ceremony were leaders of the district People's Committee, representatives of departments, branches, associations and more than 100 people from the two villages of De Chi and O Grang and guests from neighboring villages.

To prepare for the Forest God Thanksgiving Ceremony, from early morning, everyone in O Grang village followed a small path into the forest, to the Ia Cor stream about 1 km from the village - the place where village elder Siu Doih chose to hold the ceremony. Here, in addition to jar wine and some processed foods, people organized to grill bamboo rice, pork, chicken... for the village festival.

Under the vine with large roots, roughened by time, old man Siu Doih prepared offerings including: roast pig, grilled chicken, jar wine, a set of chicken liver and a piece of raw pork. In traditional costume, old man Siu Doih read aloud the prayer inviting the Forest God, Mountain God, and Water God to witness and protect the villagers so that they can have a peaceful and prosperous life.

Ia Pech commune currently has about 560 hectares of forest, all of which are managed and protected by the communities of O Grang and De Chi villages. In recent years, with the encouragement and support of the district and commune authorities, the people of the two villages have taken turns organizing forest worship ceremonies, thereby raising awareness of forest protection and development, while creating solidarity within the community.

Ograng and De Chi villagers have been holding the ceremony alternately. This year, Ograng village held the ceremony, and next year, De Chi village held the ceremony. Everyone in the village was proud and excited to join hands in preparing the ceremony.

Not only preserving the traditional culture with strong humanistic features, the forest worshiping ceremony is also a special ritual expressing the spirit of solidarity and oath to protect the forest between the Jrai community and the authorities, whileeducating the younger generation to love the forest and preserve the forest for future generations.