The traditional boat racing festival on Tra Khuc River is held every two years in Tinh Long Commune, Quang Ngai City, on the 5th and 6th of Lunar New Year. Photo: Vien Nguyen
On February 2, at Tra Khuc river wharf, An Loc village, Tinh Long commune, Quang Ngai city, Quang Ngai city People's Committee held a ceremony to announce the list of national intangible cultural heritage of Tinh Long commune's traditional boat racing festival and organize the traditional boat racing festival on Tra Khuc river.
The traditional boat racing festival of Tinh Long commune was announced by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (VHTTDL) as a national intangible cultural heritage. This festival originated in ancient times, associated with the process of land reclamation and settlement of Vietnamese people from the end of the 16th century and has existed for hundreds of years. The festival is held every two years, in early spring, creating a bustling festival atmosphere during the Lunar New Year.
Mr. Nguyen Hoang Giang - Chairman of Quang Ngai Provincial People's Committee (far right) - presented the Certificate of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on the inclusion of the Tinh Long Commune Boat Racing Festival in the list of National Intangible Cultural Heritage. Photo: Vien Nguyen.
From the morning of the 5th day of the Lunar New Year, thousands of people from all over gathered at Tra Khuc river wharf, passing through An Loc village, Tinh Long commune, to watch the traditional boat racing festival with the competition between racing teams. The festival has the participation of 4 racing teams, representing the villages in the commune. The 4 racing boats symbolize the four sacred animals: Dragon, Unicorn, Turtle, and Phoenix. Each racing boat consists of about 16 people. Each team participates in 6 racing laps, each race track is about 250m long.
After the race ends, villagers carry the racing boats back to the village temple to perform a ceremony to thank the gods for protecting the village boats and winning the festival. At the same time, they pray for the gods to protect the village boats and give them a new year of peace, prosperity, happiness, and economic development, creating an atmosphere of traditional religious activities and strong community solidarity.
The boat racing festival takes place on Tra Khuc River, the largest river in Quang Ngai province. Photo: Vien Nguyen
Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Nguyen Hoang Giang - Chairman of Quang Ngai Provincial People's Committee - acknowledged and praised the efforts, consensus and joint efforts of the people of Quang Ngai City, especially Tinh Long commune, in preserving and promoting the traditional cultural identity of the locality.
According to Mr. Nguyen Hoang Giang, to promote the effectiveness of this cultural heritage, departments, branches and localities continue to pay attention to preserving and promoting the value of cultural heritage; develop specific plans and programs to preserve and promote the cultural values and rituals of the festival. Create favorable conditions to support people in Tinh Long commune to maintain and organize the annual festival. Combine festival activities with tourism programs and activities to create a series of rich, diverse and attractive activities to serve people and tourists, contributing to promoting the tourism image of Quang Ngai. Strengthen propaganda and education for the younger generation about the value of heritage.
The traditional boat racing festival in Tinh Long has been maintained for hundreds of years. Local people believe that the village whose boat finishes first in the race will have good luck in the new year. Photo: Vien Nguyen
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