Hue folklore tells that during the reign of King Thieu Tri, during a trip upstream the Huong River to see the construction of his tomb, one of the concubines accidentally dropped a golden spittoon into the deep abyss in front of Ngoc Tran Temple. Fearing punishment, the concubines begged the king to pray to the goddess Thien YA Na. With a rather ironic attitude, the king stood on the bow of the boat to pray, and strangely, the spittoon slowly floated to the surface of the water as a testament to the miracle. Witnessing this, the king promised to repair the temple, but he passed away before the promise could be fulfilled…
Located on the top of Ngoc Tran mountain - a mountain with a round shape like an upside-down bowl next to the Huong river, Hon Chen/Hue Nam temple is a small temple worshiping Ngoc Tran mountain goddess, the goddess who governs and protects the residents of the entire Ngoc Tran area and its vicinity.
During the reign of the first Nguyen kings, similar to many other goddess temples located on the dangerous bends of the Huong River, Ngoc Tran Son Tu was modest in scale and had not yet been included in the rituals of the monarchy.
The current glory of Hue Nam Temple was created under the reign of King Dong Khanh, who devoted his entire life to the Mother Goddess and claimed to be the 7th saint in the seven saints of the Mother Goddess worship, with the following royal writing: “… the fairy mountain Linh Son is forever beautiful, clearly shaped like a lion drinking river water, truly a place of divine beauty. That temple, thanks to its most spiritual energy, saves people, helps people; bestows blessings upon thousands, helps people protect the country; therefore, the temple was renamed Hue Nam Temple, to express the country’s gratitude, one part in a million parts.”
After the reign of King Dong Khanh, Hon Chen/Hue Nam Temple still retains its original appearance to this day with the typical Hue style of overlapping bamboo and cobblestone, glazed tile roof, porcelain inlaid ridges and eaves, and raised phoenix motifs, as an identification of this place as a temple to worship the goddess.
“The seventh month is the anniversary of the death of the Father, the third month is the anniversary of the death of the Mother”, as scheduled, the anniversary of the Holy Mother in the seventh lunar month every year, is also the day of the festival of the procession of the Mother Goddess at Hue Nam Temple, tens of thousands of followers from all over the country gather under the Huong Uyen mountain, on boats made from two Hue-style boats. They hang lights, decorate flowers, set up altars, prepare offerings, costumes for the mediums… to live fully for 3 days as mediums serving the Saint.
After the main ceremony took place at Hue Nam temple, the disciples performed the ritual of welcoming the Holy Mother to Hai Cat village, a village located next to Hue Nam temple, where many generations of people have recognized Thien YA Holy Mother as the village's tutelary god.
In the melodious sound of Chau Van music, Mother was carried on a pre-prepared plaque with a procession of the Four Palaces, Supervisors, Supervisors of the Upper Realm, the Royal Envoys who opened the road, and layers upon layers of plaques from the Phos. Arriving at Hai Cat village, the Holy Mother's statue was carried into the village communal house. Here, Mother enjoyed a whole night with the people, receiving the offerings the people offered to Mother during the village's Autumn Festival, comforting, blessing, and relieving all their hidden feelings through the mediums, through the oracles, so that the next morning, Mother would return to Hue Nam temple.
On the night the Holy Mother celebrated with the children of Hai Cat village, the attendants welcomed the Mother through the bronze statues of Ton Ong, Duc Ba, the Ladies, the Boys... on the boats moored in front of the communal house. In an invisible space axis defined by the two heavens of Thuong Thien, Thien, and below that Thuong Ngan, Thuy Phu, everywhere there were representative Saints descending to congratulate the Mother.
A vivid, colorful picture with people holding lanterns, fans, rowing boats, dancing with swords, offering incense… gathered around Mother, as a gesture to increase the solemnity of the day Mother returns to her people. At the same time, the team of mediums takes care of the spirit mediums by offering towels, pouring wine, lighting tobacco, preparing betel… wholeheartedly as a way to express their agreement, sharing, and receiving the blessings of God, together with the disciples and pilgrims.
Heritage Magazine
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