Chang Ha Festival of Gin Ethnic Group

Festival Overview and Origin Legend

The Ha Festival (唱哈节) is the most grand and solemn traditional festival of the Gin people (京族). In the local Jing dialect, the term “Ha” means singing, so the festival is also widely known as the Singing Ha Festival. This time-honored festival originates from a beautiful ancient legend that has been passed down for centuries.
During the Chen Dynasty of ancient Vietnam, a celestial singer traveled to the inhabited lands of the Gin people. Under the guise of teaching folk songs and dances to the local people, he united and guided the Gin community to resist the oppressive rule of the Chen Dynasty. His kindness, courage and extraordinary musical talent won him profound love and sincere respect from all Jing villagers. To permanently commemorate and honor him, local people built a special venue called the Ha Pavilion (哈亭). In particular, his melodious and graceful songs were deeply beloved by generations of locals. Later generations inherited his ballads and sang praises of his virtues through folk singing. With the passage of time, this annual singing and commemorative activity gradually evolved into the grand traditional Ha Festival celebrated by the Gin people to this day.

Regional Differences in Festival Dates

The specific celebration date of the Ha Festival varies across different Gin settlements. In Wanwei (万尾) and Wutou (巫头) areas, the festival falls on the tenth day of the sixth lunar month. In contrast, the celebration in Shanxin (山心) area is observed on the tenth day of the eighth lunar month, forming distinctive regional festival customs.

Festival Venue: Ha Pavilion

All core rituals and celebrations of the Ha Festival are held at the traditional Ha Pavilion. Constructed with carefully selected high-quality timber, the pavilion features exquisite craftsmanship and unique ethnic architectural styles exclusive to the Gin people. The interior of the Ha Pavilion is solemnly arranged with deity statues and ancestral memorial tablets, serving as a sacred venue for ancestor worship, deity tribute and festival gatherings.

Pre-festival Preparations and General Celebration Arrangements

As the Ha Festival approaches, local Gin people rush to finish all pending farm work and household chores in advance. Every family thoroughly cleans and decorates their houses to welcome visiting relatives and guests from all directions.
On the official festival day, people of all ages and genders dress up in splendid traditional ethnic costumes and gather in front of the Ha Pavilion. A series of grand ceremonial activities are held in order, including ancestor worship, deity greeting, and traditional Ha singing performances. Professional folk singers known as “Ha Sisters” (哈妹) are specially invited to deliver wonderful performances. Meanwhile, various mass recreational activities are organized to enrich the festival atmosphere. The entire Ha Festival consists of four major ritual procedures, among which the seat-taking banquet and Ha singing performance serve as the core highlights of the celebration.

Four Core Ritual Procedures of the Ha Festival

Deity Greeting

On the eve of the Ha Festival, local villagers hold a solemn deity greeting ritual. People respectfully invite the village patron deity into the Ha Pavilion for worship. For instance, the local deity “King of Guarding the Sea” (镇海大王), the protective god of Wanwei area, is welcomed and enshrined during this procedure to pray for village peace and maritime safety.

Deity Worship Ceremony

The formal deity worship ceremony kicks off at around 3 p.m. on the festival day following the deity greeting ritual. The whole procedure includes a complete set of traditional ceremonial rituals. The first step is the sacrificial offering of “Yang Xiang” (羊牲, ceremonial sacrificial sheep).
The chief host of the Ha Festival presides over the preparation of sacrificial offerings and organizes participants to raise sacrificial sheep. The strongest, fattest and finest sheep will be selected through evaluation as the exclusive “Yang Xiang” for the grand worship ceremony. After the sacrificial ritual is completed, the mutton is distributed in a fixed rule: part of the meat is shared among all festival participants, while the remaining portion belongs to the sheep’s owner.

Seat-taking Banquet and Ha Singing Performance

Following the deity worship ceremony, the traditional seat-taking banquet officially begins. In accordance with age-old Gin customs, only local adult male clansmen are eligible to take seats at the banquet, with different age thresholds in different regions: 12 years old in Wanwei, 18 years old in Wutou, and 19 years old in Shanxin.
All male participants must take their seats on the layered steps on the east and west sides of the Ha Pavilion’s central hall strictly according to their seniority and social status. The banquet adopts an eight-person per table seating system. While enjoying feasts and fine wine, attendees appreciate wonderful live songs and dances. The banquet and performance last continuously for three days and three nights.
By traditional custom, women are not allowed to take formal seats at the banquet. They can only sit beside the venue, help serve dishes, and enjoy the Ha singing performances. The Ha singing performance requires three core professional performers: one male accompanist called “Ha Brother” (哈哥) and two female lead singers called “Ha Sisters” (哈妹). These professional performers are usually specially invited from Vietnam.
The two Ha Sisters take turns to sing lead vocals, while the Ha Brother plays traditional trichord musical instruments to provide continuous accompaniment. The leading singer stands in the center of the Ha Pavilion, singing melodious ballads while beating small bamboo clappers to keep the rhythm. The other supporting singer sits on the ground, striking bamboo clappers simultaneously to join in the chorus. After the lead singer finishes each line of lyrics, the Ha Brother plays a corresponding melodic phrase with the trichord, forming a perfect vocal and instrumental echo. When the leading singer feels tired, the other Ha Sister takes over as the lead singer to continue the performance.
The Ha singing performances follow exclusive ancient songbooks traditionally written in ancient Nan characters (喃字). The lyrics cover rich and diverse thematic content, including Gin ethnic folk poems, ancient legendary stories, traditional Han classical poems, and vivid folk love songs, carrying profound ethnic and cultural connotations.

Deity Sending-off

The final procedure of the Ha Festival is the deity sending-off ritual, which is held after all Ha singing performances and banquet activities come to an end. Villagers hold a solemn farewell ceremony to send off the worshipped deities, marking the successful conclusion of the entire Ha Festival celebration.