Origin of Doan Ngo festival
An ancient legend says that one season, farmers had a successful harvest and the trees were laden with fruit. However, I don’t know where the insects came from, eating all the fruit trees in the garden. Having a headache and not knowing how to deal with all these insects, suddenly an old man named Doi Truan appeared.
He instructed people to set up worshiping altars with simple offerings, including only ash cakes and fruit. After worshiping, people go together to the front of the house to exercise. Just like that, all the insects left, not a single one remained.
Mr. Doi Truan explained that this is the strongest and most aggressive insect season. Every year, if you follow his instructions, you will kill all the insects. He was very happy because he had chased away all the insects. Before people could thank him, he was gone. Since then, people still call this day the Insect Extermination Festival or Doan Ngo Festival and worship in the middle of the Horse hour.
According to ancient Vietnamese beliefs, Doan Ngo Tet should be worshiped at the main hour of the 5th day of the 5th month (lunar calendar). Doan means the beginning, and Ngo means the time from 11 to 13 o’clock. Doan Ngo Festival is when the weather is the hottest, and at the same time, the seasons change when insects have the opportunity to reproduce. Therefore, people perform rituals to kill insects and offer incense to pray for disaster relief, recovery, and a good harvest.
What to eat during the Doan Ngo Festival?
Doan Ngo Festival is also known as Doan Duong Festival. According to Eastern medical philosophy, the fire energy (yang element) of heaven and earth and in the human body is at its peak on Doan Ngo day.
At this time, the yang part of the body will tend to rise and radiate out, the yin part hides inside, and the yang increases but the yin is lost, and it is very easy to get sick and injured, ( heatstroke, sunstroke), pestilence causing loss of new epidemics (such as diarrhea and dehydration caused by cholera bacteria, bacillary dysentery… of Western medicine), rashes, urticaria (pimples, rashes, allergies) …
According to this special weather, the ancients flexibly applied traditional medicine to collect medicine and regulate the body’s blood to prevent and treat diseases for everyone. In addition to sticky rice wine, plums, mangoes… used to kill insects, cool foods and drinks such as ash cake, watermelon, luffa, and rice water… are also added to suppress yin and generate new fluids (compensate). water and minerals), clears heat, and detoxifies the body.
For people with hot constitutions, lots of fire and gas (dominant of Pitta and Vata according to Ayurveda), rice wine is hot, so it should not be used for people with hot constitutions, fruits such as plums, lychees, mangoes. ,… also. For people with this condition, they should rest, exercise gently, and eat cool foods. According to Oriental medicine, banh gio has a light taste, is cool and easy to digest. This cake is suitable for the elderly, children, and people with heat and fever. In addition, you can drink bancha tea, lotus leaf tea, or oresol to help cool the body and eliminate excess salt through urine.
For people with cold constitutions and many earth and water elements (dominant of Kapha according to Ayurveda), stimulating the body to increase positive energy will help reduce cold energy. You can eat hot and stimulating foods. gases such as sticky rice wine, and mango lychee… combined with appropriate exercise and drinking black tea, and rose tea, to eliminate cold and toxic gases that the body has accidentally absorbed during cold, humid days.
Sophia Ngo – Ayurvedic Instructor