When talking about the land of Nhu Xuan, we cannot help but mention the outstanding traditional and intangible cultural features that the Tho ethnic people here have preserved and developed for generations. These are lullabies, games such as the slow boat performance, gong singing, frog catching dance... associated with the Dinh Thi festival held in the middle of the third lunar month every year.
Scene of Dinh Thi festival. (Photo: Archive)
Thi Communal House in Trung Thanh village, Yen Le commune (now Trung Thanh quarter, Yen Cat town) was recognized as a provincial historical-cultural relic according to Decision No. 98/QD-VHTT dated December 14, 1995. In 2011, the Provincial People's Committee granted a certificate of ranking as a provincial historical-cultural relic.
The communal house is about 5 km from the district center and is the most notable relic of the Tho community, worshiping the God of Fortune Le Phuc Thanh - who contributed to the Lam Son uprising against the invading Ming army in the 15th century.
The communal house leans against the mountain, the front facing the field (also called Dong Set), exuding a majestic and imposing appearance. To the south is Mun Tuong mountain (locals call it Chop Non mountain). To the north is Dong Co mountain. Behind is Lanh field and the village below. The main hall of Dinh Thi is built in traditional architectural style, the main material is wood, consisting of three compartments, with a front hall and a back hall. In addition, there are other items such as the Uncle Ho worship area...
Since 2007, Thanh Hoa province and Nhu Xuan district have restored the original Dinh Thi festival. Since then, the festival has been held to restore, preserve and promote the unique cultural capital of the Tho community in Thanh Hoa.
Dinh Thi Temple prepares for the 2024 Festival
Dinh Thi is first of all a place to worship the village tutelary god Le Phuc Thanh. According to the remaining documents, Le Phuc Thanh was a Tho, with the surname Cam, his ancestors were from the Nua mountain area (Nong Cong - Trieu Son today). Hearing that Le Loi had raised the flag of uprising, he joined the Lam Son army from the early days (1416-1417), becoming a general participating in many battles and achieving many feats. After the uprising was successful, the king granted him the national surname (changed to Le) and sent him to Set village (now Trung Thanh neighborhood) to reclaim land, establish villages, and organize people to make a living.
At that time, Set village was mainly inhabited by Tho people, with mountainous terrain interspersed with rice fields. The mountains and hills were suitable for many types of precious timber, and the rice fields were suitable for growing rice. Realizing that this was a rich and fertile land, Le Phuc Thanh worked hard with the residents to build Set village in harmony, peace and prosperity, turning dense forests and wild hills into prosperous villages.
After his death, the villagers and descendants built a temple and appointed him as the village's tutelary god.
According to historical records, Dinh Thi was probably built in the 16th century and was looked after and preserved by the local people. After many ups and downs, Dinh Thi was demolished in 1949. Later, the people and local authorities relied on the remaining foundation to restore and build the communal house in the style of a mallet handle, including a back palace and a three-room front hall, three 12-panel door frames that open and close, three front hall rooms, a wide porch with columns supporting the roof, and the main construction material was ironwood.
Dinh Thi Festival is associated with the cultural life of the Tho ethnic group.
In Dinh Thi, there are two gods worshiped: "Dang Canh Bach Y Thuong Dang Toi Linh Than" and Dang Canh Thanh Hoang Le Phuc Thanh. The communal house has a throne, a set of incense tables, and all the worshiping objects are gilded. In addition to the altar of Le Phuc Thanh, there are also 4 altars for his sons. Relics related to Dinh Thi include 4 silk curtains, decorated with patterns in the art style of the late Le Dynasty and early Nguyen Dynasty. In addition, there are two royal decrees from the reigns of King Khai Dinh and King Bao Dai.
Dinh Thi Festival is organized according to custom, every 5 years a grand ceremony is held, in the ceremony there is a buffalo sacrifice which is the most special ritual. According to the elders, to prepare for this ritual, the head of the Le family will have people in the area find and select a young male buffalo, then give it to a young unmarried man to carefully herd. Every day the buffalo is bathed and scrubbed clean. Women and children are not allowed to go near the buffalo. Before the ceremony, the buffalo is led to the communal house, the head of the temple will inform the village god about the buffalo sacrifice to the gods. The celebrant holds three incense sticks and a cup of wine, prays to the gods for permission to perform the buffalo sacrifice, then walks around the buffalo nine times and pours wine and incense on the buffalo's head, called the awakening ceremony.
On the main day of the ceremony (at 0:00 on the 16th day of the third lunar month), the sacrificed buffalo is tied by the legs, not beaten but only its throat is cut. The buffalo's blood is stored in a bamboo tube, and the buffalo's meat is cut into a feast to offer to the tutelary god. The offerings to the tutelary god include the buffalo's head, blood, intestines, liver and tail, along with a tray of offerings including sticky rice, chicken, banh troi, banh it, banh chung... In addition to the offerings from Set village, Pheo village, Thi village, Thuong village, and Thuong Coc village also have their own offerings to offer to the god.
After the sacrifice, the offerings and food trays are divided among the villages to enjoy and eat together. From the 10th to the 16th, the sacrifices are always held in order from one village to another. The sacrifice rituals are carried out solemnly and respectfully, expressing faith in the village guardian spirit, praying for favorable weather, good crops, and prosperity for the people.
Along with the ceremony, the long-standing traditional cultural activities of the Thai, Tho, and Muong ethnic groups such as sand dance, bamboo rattling, khap singing, bamboo pole jumping, con throwing, tug of war; dot singing, lullabies, love songs, stick pushing, con throwing, gong dancing, stilt walking... are all performed in a lively and attractive manner.
Nowadays, in addition to the rituals, offerings, games and performances, they are restored but simpler than before. The festival time is shortened to two days on the 15th and 16th of the third lunar month, the procession only takes the palanquin from the communal house to the tomb of the tutelary god and vice versa. As for the festival, some new activities have been added such as cultural village camps, mass art performances, beauty pageants in Tho ethnic costumes and modern sports activities.
With the successful restoration of Dinh Thi festival, Nhu Xuan district is showing the right step in using and combining economic development, political stability and building a culture with strong identity.
The Dinh Thi Festival in 2024 will be held at the district level from April 23 to April 24, 2024 (ie March 15 to 16 of the lunar calendar) for the people of all ethnic groups in Nhu Xuan district in general and the Tho ethnic group in particular to honor and remember the merits and demonstrate the morality of "when drinking water, remember the source" towards General Le Phuc Thanh.
At the same time, the Party Committee and the government of Nhu Xuan district are proactively coordinating with competent authorities to build a scientific dossier on Dinh Thi Festival as a national intangible cultural heritage, contributing to preserving the cultural identity of the Tho ethnic group and preserving the cultural nuances of the Vietnamese ethnic community in general and Thanh Hoa in particular.
Minh Hieu
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