Fire-dancing tribe exorcise the demons in northern Vietnam

The Pa Then ethnic minority group in the northern provinces of Ha Giang and Tuyen Quang gathered on Friday and Saturday for their traditional Fire Dancing Festival. The spring festival, which is held to exorcise spiritual demons and pray for a healthy harvest, began with a local shaman playing a traditional stringed instrument to invoke the spirits.

Before the festivities started, the shaman made offerings to the fire and water gods.

The fire dancers, selected from young Pa Then men, watch the ceremony as they eagerly await for their turn to participate in the festival.

A large bonfire was lit in the middle of the field. Before the ceremony, each of the dancers took turns sitting opposite the shaman while he performed a ritual to induce them into a trance.

Once the rituals were finally concluded, the dancers, protected by the spirits, leapt into the bonfire.

A fire dancer jumps around on the burning logs while grabbing and throwing red-hot coals into the air with his hands.

The dancers repeated their performances every 20 minutes, and they got even more exciting each time.

None of the fire dancers had any protection on their hands and feet apart from the thick skin earned from years of climbing mountains and working in the fields.

Despite spending about 30 minutes in the fire, none of the dancers were burnt.

This year, the festival attracted a crowd of about 10,000 people, both locals and visitors. Once dismissed as superstitious and banned by the Vietnamese authorities, the fire dance is now performed publicly and is listed as intangible cultural heritage by the government.