Preserving traditional cultural beauty through Ky Yen festival

The Ky Yen Festival is held in many localities, each with its own unique features, but all share the same spirit of returning to the roots, preserving and promoting precious traditional values. The Ky Yen Festival originates from the worship of Thanh Hoang, the guardian deity of the village. "Ky Yen" means praying for peace, expressing the people's wishes for a peaceful and prosperous life. The festival is usually held at the beginning or end of the year, when the crops have been harvested, to thank the gods for giving favorable weather and wind, bountiful crops, and to pray for a peaceful and prosperous new year.

In An Giang, Ky Yen festival not only has deep spiritual meaning but is also an occasion for people to commemorate the merits of those who reclaimed land, founded villages, and built their homeland. The festival is the crystallization of traditional cultural values, expressing gratitude, solidarity, and the spirit of returning to the roots of the people. Accordingly, Ky Yen festival usually takes place for 2-3 days, with many unique traditional rituals, expressing respect for the gods and the sincerity of the people. The main rituals include: The procession of the god's decree, this is the most important ritual, expressing the welcoming of the gods to attend the festival. The procession of the god's decree is often solemnly organized, with the participation of many local people. Next is the worshiping ceremony of the gods, held at the communal house, with solemn and respectful rituals. The offerings are often local products, expressing the sincerity of the people.

Ky Yen Festival is a unique cultural feature that needs to be preserved and promoted.

“My locality has just celebrated the Ky Yen festival at Hoa Binh Thanh communal house (February 16, 17, 18 of the lunar calendar). On this occasion, people in the village always eagerly go to the festival to pray for peace for their families and hope for a year of “smooth sailing”. Before that, I and many people in the village often invited each other to the communal house to help wrap banh tet as an offering when the peace-praying festival officially took place. Only by participating can we see the enthusiasm of everyone, everyone does not mind the time and effort just hoping to contribute a little bit to make the festival go well” - Ms. Doan Thi The (63 years old, living in Hoa Binh Thanh commune, Chau Thanh district) shared.

Sharing the same expectation, Ms. Nguyen Thi Phi (57 years old, residing in Dinh My commune, Thoai Son district) expressed: “The Ky Yen festival is an opportunity for my family and I to thank the gods for blessing us with a year of favorable weather and bountiful crops. I hope that the festival will be preserved and promoted so that our descendants will also know the traditional cultural values ​​of our homeland”. Coming to the Ky Yen festival of the localities, many people also personally offer offerings to the god of that communal house, such as: sticky rice, sweet soup, fruits, roast pork, etc. Looking at the way people solemnly arrange the offerings, you can see their sincerity. "I am very impressed with the solemn atmosphere of the Ky Yen festival. I feel like I am immersed in a unique traditional cultural space of my hometown" - Mr. Hoang Son (residing in Binh Hoa commune, Chau Thanh district) said.

Hat boi and hat chau van are unique traditional art forms, often performed in the Ky Yen festival. Hat boi and hat chau van plays often praise the virtues of gods and express good moral values. Folk games and the Ky Yen festival are also an opportunity for people to have fun and entertain themselves with traditional folk games, such as: Tug of war, stick pushing, boat racing...

It can be seen that Ky Yen festival is not only a spiritual event but also an important community cultural activity. The festival is an opportunity for local people to meet, exchange and strengthen solidarity. Cultural and artistic activities in the festival contribute to preserving and promoting traditional cultural values ​​of the locality. In particular, Ky Yen festival is also an opportunity for the young generation to learn about the history and culture of their homeland, thereby raising their sense of responsibility in preserving and promoting good traditional values.

In the context of modern society, preserving and promoting the traditional values ​​of the Ky Yen festival is extremely important. In order for the festival to continue to develop and spread good values, it is necessary to have the cooperation of all levels of government, the community and the young generation. Governments at all levels need to have support policies, creating favorable conditions for the organization of the festival, while preserving and promoting traditional cultural values. Along with that, the community needs to actively participate in festival activities, teaching traditional cultural values ​​to the young generation so that they can learn, preserve and promote the traditional cultural values ​​of their homeland, contributing to building a united community rich in cultural identity.

PHUONG LAN

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/giu-gin-net-dep-van-hoa-truyen-thong-qua-le-hoi-ky-yen-a417658.html