Unique drum beating festival of Ma Coong people in Quang Binh

The Ma Coong Drum Festival in Quang Binh is held on the 16th day of the first lunar month every year. It is a traditional festival of the Ma Coong people living in the Truong Son Mountains in the villages of Thuong Trach commune. This is the largest and most important festival of the Ma Coong people and has been recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Attractive tourist destinations in Quang Binh

Legend of Ma Coong Drum Festival

According to the legend of the Ma Coong people, long ago, in the land where the Ma Coong people lived, a yellow monkey appeared. Every night, it often entered the fields of the villagers to eat corn, destroy rice and fruit trees. Since the appearance of the monkey, the Ma Coong people have had continuous crop failures, famine, and constant illness. The Ma Coong people have tried many ways to chase away the monkey but to no avail.
The night before the full moon of January, the village elder dreamed that Giang (the god of heaven) appeared and told him that if he wanted to chase away the monkeys, he should make a drum with a loud sound and beat it on the brightest moonlit night, when the evil monkeys came to destroy the crops.

The very next day, the Ma Coong men quickly completed a beautiful drum, with a loud, warm sound that echoed far and wide in the heart of the Truong Son mountain range. Waiting for the monkey to arrive at the brightest hour of the full moon on the 16th night, the young men took out the drum and took turns beating it. The evil monkey was so frightened by the sound of the drum that it fled this land, never to return.
To commemorate the Ma Coong ancestor and repay the kindness of Giang, the delicious and rare foods of the Ma Coong land are selected and displayed in a grand offering ceremony.

Ma Coong People’s Feast

To prepare for the festival, before the 16th day of the first lunar month every year, the Ma Coong people make drums, set up camp, and prepare food to welcome people from other villages to attend.

At the drum beating festival, the offerings to Giang are prepared including: Can wine, chicken, fish, sticky rice, wild banana flowers, rattan tops, pieces of doac tree trunks, etc. The village elder is trusted by the villagers to preside over the Giang worship ceremony, hoping for a new year with favorable weather, good crops, and good health for everyone.

Special about Ma Coong Drums

The Ma Coong drum is also very special. The drum body is made from the chi cup tree (a hollow medicinal plant that lives for decades in the deep forest and can be used year after year). The drum face is covered with the skin of a large, strong buffalo. The drums in festivals are tied together with crisscrossed rattan ropes, then tightly wedged with bamboo.

The drum must be beaten until it is broken before dawn, so that heaven and earth can witness everyone’s sincerity and have a good harvest in the coming year. While beating the drum, the young men shouted loudly in the forest: “Roa lu ​​Giang oi!” – until the drum’s surface is broken, the festival ends. The sooner the drum is broken, the sooner the young men can lead their lovers into the forest to make love. Only the elderly, middle-aged people and children are left to play by the fire, or sip wine from jars.

Through many changes, the drum beating festival of the Ma Coong people still retains its indelible cultural values, hidden deep inside is the fertility belief in cultural activities and life.

Expected to become an attractive tourist destination in Phong Nha Ke Bang heritage

Living in the middle of the majestic Truong Son mountain range, the Ma Coong people of Thuong Trach commune still preserve many unique traditional customs of the people. To reach the village, one must cross countless dangerous streams and dozens of kilometers of forest roads. However, thanks to investment, the road to the Ma Coong people is now convenient and much shorter. From Phong Nha Tourism Center to the Ma Coong people is about 70km with majestic nature in Phong Nha Ke Bang, beautiful and pristine stilt houses.

Phong Nha Travel Experience

Currently, many tourists have come here to participate in the Ma Coong festival activities. In the future, we expect many more tourists to come here to experience the culture and life of the people here.