Were you told that you were ‘playing with fire’ as a kid? You’re going to love today’s festival. Apologies in advance if ‘Fireball’ from Pitbull is stuck in your head while dreaming of this bucket-list experience.
- Cris

The great firedance and fireball festival

No one NEEDS an excuse to go to Vietnam - it’s one of my favorite countries and I jump at the chance to visit Hanoi whenever possible. Today we are going to dance with fire and return to our primitive nature in nearby Ha Giang province. This is the anecdote to ‘too much screen time’ and it feels fabulous.

This defies modern logic. The Great Firedance and Fireball Festival takes place each autumn following the rice harvest in Vietnam’s northern Ha Giang province. It is a rare, intoxicating convergence of ancient shamanism, elemental danger, and intense spiritual trance. It’s one of the few times when everyone is encouraged to “play” with fire.

The evening begins in deliberate stillness. Beneath the shadow of limestone mountains, a village elder—the shaman—sits beside a massive, crackling bonfire of hardwood embers. He chants in the Pa Then language, playing a wooden percussion instrument to summon the spirits of nature and earth. He lights candles and the chosen men light their own candles. For nearly an hour, the rhythmic, hypnotic sound fills the night air while young men selected from the village sit nearby in quiet contemplation. It’s peaceful, calm, and beautiful.

Then the music intensifies and the energy shifts abruptly. The young men enter a visible trance—their limbs vibrating to the beat, their eyes fixed on the central blaze. Believed to be possessed by divine spirits (the gods of fire), they leap bare-foot directly into the heap of glowing red coals. They aren’t actually possessed (they are hypnotized) but it looks like that in the dark as their dancing intensifies with the music.

I imagine what it must be like to learn to play that instrument. Could I hypnotize my husband? Could I plant suggestions that inspire him to do what I want? So many questions….

What unfolds is a mesmerizing dance with raw embers. Dancers kick, scoop, and shower themselves in glowing fireballs, tossing burning coals into the air like glittering dust. The heat radiating from the pit pushes the crowds back several paces, yet the performers move through the fire without hesitation, picking up searing embers with their bare hands or cradling them against their chest. Astonishingly, when the dancers emerge from the ashes after an hour of continuous performance, they display no signs of burns or physical pain.

I’ve heard of the ‘fire walk’ that Tony Robbins used to do on the final day of his retreats. Friends swear they didn’t get burnt…but privately tell me they “may” have had a few blisters. I wonder how these guys feel the next day, after the adrenaline has worn off. I hope the combination of sweat (it’s hot in Vietnam and they are dancing vigorously) along with some sort of lotion protects their skin through most of the dancing.

Beyond the jaw-dropping spectacle, attending the Firedance offers an immersive glimpse into an unbroken ancestral tradition. The festival serves as both a rite of passage for young men and a communal plea for health, safety, and abundant crops in the coming year. For visitors who make the journey into the remote hills of Ha Giang, the heat, crackle, and ethereal light of the festival leave a lasting, unforgettable imprint.

We need to start a female version of this so I can join. I love to dance! Fire just makes it exciting. Who’s in?

If the thought of SO many people packed together while avoiding the fire being thrown the air gives you the chills, check out 500 Hidden Places and choose your next trip at a place with very few people.

See you next Wednesday.

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