Report on gratitude for the merits of the Two Great Bodhisattvas and the process of preparing a dossier to propose recognition of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage of Tong Nam Phu Festival. Chairman of Thanh Tri District People's Committee Nguyen Xuan Phong said that Thanh Tri is a land of talented people, rich in revolutionary history and long-standing cultural traditions. The whole district currently has 154 historical and cultural relics, of which 88 are ranked (65 are ranked at the national level, 23 are ranked at the city level). The district has 45 traditional festivals, the most typical of which is Tong Nam Phu Festival - a sacred ceremony to pay tribute to the Two Bodhisattvas Ly Tu Thuc and Ly Tu Huy, two princesses of the Ly Dynasty who gave up the glory of the palace to practice, propagate Buddhism and bring a peaceful life to the people.
Understanding the suffering of the people of Tong Nam Phu who were living in poverty, the Two Princesses practiced Bodhisattva conduct, giving the people more than 3,000 acres of rice fields, instructing them in rice cultivation, mulberry planting, and silkworm raising, and teaching traditional crafts such as: making cakes in Tranh Khuc, making vermicelli and tofu in Dong Phu, weaving in Tu Khoat, making combs in Tuong Truc,... Respecting the Two Princesses as the incarnation of Buddha and Bodhisattva in everyday life, from then on, the people of Tong Nam Phu commemorated and called them the Two Bodhisattvas. To show their gratitude for the great merits of the Two Bodhisattvas, the local people carved statues to worship at Hung Long Pagoda, Hung Phuc Pagoda, Pho Quang Pagoda, Thanh Lien Pagoda, and Linh Quang Pagoda. During the Le So Dynasty, the two princesses were ordained as Great Saint Bodhisattvas.
Every March of the lunar calendar, the entire Tong Nam Phu region is bustling with the sacred and solemn atmosphere of the traditional festival - one of the unique and special spiritual cultural features of Thanh Tri - Thuong Tin. Held on the 14th, 15th, and 16th of the third lunar month every year, the festival is an occasion for people to respectfully remember and pay tribute to the Two Great Bodhisattvas - two Zen masters who incarnated for the people, leaving a deep mark on the spiritual life of the Vietnamese people for more than nine centuries.
The unique feature of the Tong Nam Phu Festival lies not only in its historical length with a tradition of more than 900 years, but also in its widespread spread throughout the space and consciousness of the community. Six sacred pagodas, including: Hung Phuc Pagoda, Thanh Liem (Ngu Hiep Commune); Hung Long (Dong My Commune); Long Khach, Kim Cuong (Duyen Ha Commune) and Pho Quang Pagoda (Ninh Xa Village, Ninh So Commune), spread across Thanh Tri and Thuong Tin districts, have created a strong spiritual connection system, a symbol of harmony, solidarity and close community ties for generations. In order to preserve and promote the unique cultural values of the Tong Nam Phu Festival. In the past time, the People's Committees of Thanh Tri and Thuong Tin districts have actively coordinated with the Department of Culture and Sports, the Department of Cultural Heritage, to research, survey, collect historical documents; build a dossier to submit to competent authorities to propose the inclusion of the Tong Nam Phu Traditional Festival in the list of national intangible cultural heritage. On February 19, 2025, the Tong Nam Phu Traditional Festival was decided by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to be included in the list of national intangible cultural heritage.
Representing the heritage practice community, Chairwoman of Dong My Commune People's Committee Le Thi Hong Thu said that in the coming time, the communes will continue to join hands and unite to effectively implement the National Action Program to preserve and promote the heritage value of Tong Nam Phu Traditional Festival in particular and cultural heritages in general according to the motto: Taking people as the center, the subject of activities; turning heritage into assets serving the economic development of each locality; contributing to building an advanced Vietnamese culture, imbued with national identity, truly becoming an endogenous strength, an important driving force in the new era, the era of national growth.
The registration of the Tong Nam Phu Festival not only honors the virtuous merits on the occasion of the 930th anniversary of the Nirvana of the Two Bodhisattvas, but also opens up new opportunities for the heritage value to continue to spread widely in the future.
Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/ghi-danh-le-hoi-tong-nam-phu-vao-danh-muc-di-san-van-hoa-phi-vat-the-cap-quoc-gia-698714.html
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