The Dinh Thi Festival and the reception of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage Certificate will take place on April 12 and 13.

Ritual at Dinh Thi festival.

Thi Temple is located in Trung Thanh village, Yen Le commune (now Trung Thanh quarter, Yen Cat town, Nhu Xuan district, Thanh Hoa province). Thi Temple is the place to worship the famous general Le Phuc Thanh of the post-Le dynasty, who had great contributions to the Lam Son uprising (1418-1428) in the early years of the arduous resistance war against the Ming invaders. After the country was victorious, he was granted a land grant in Set village, held the important position of quan lang, gathered and recruited militiamen and people from the region to come here to "open the mountains and break rocks", turning the dense forests and wild swamps into prosperous villages.

The communal house was built in 1495, during the early Le Dynasty, and is looked after and worshiped by the villagers all year round. Over time and the harshness of nature, the old communal house was abandoned and was restored and rebuilt in the early 21st century. In 2007, Thi communal house was restored and the deity of the famous general Le Phuc Thanh was brought to worship at the old communal house. During the feudal dynasties, the Vietnamese court always conferred royal decrees on famous generals. The communal house still preserves two royal decrees of the Nguyen Dynasty, granted by King Khai Dinh in 1922 and King Bao Dai in 1934. Over the years, with the attention of all levels and sectors, Thi communal house has been invested in and restored to its full potential and is not only a place for spiritual and cultural activities but also a bond connecting the cultural community of the village.

Panoramic view of Dinh Thi from above.

According to Plan No. 50/KH-UBND, within the framework of the festival, many special activities are organized such as palanquin procession, traditional rituals, and buffalo sacrifice.

In particular, the sacrificial ceremony is held according to traditional customs from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on April 12 (March 15 of the lunar calendar). The buffalo offering ceremony is held from 0:00 a.m. to 0:30 a.m. on April 13 (March 16 of the lunar calendar). On the morning of April 13 (March 16 of the lunar calendar), the procession from the communal house to the tutelary god's tomb and vice versa is held from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. The main sacrificial ceremony is held from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. on April 13 (March 16 of the lunar calendar). The festival includes a number of activities such as folk games and performances; mass cultural exchange; and sports activities such as women's volleyball competition at the communal house yard.

Games and performances at the festival.

Up to now, the preparation for the festival has been basically completed. The Organizing Committee has directed and assigned tasks to relevant departments, offices and member units to urgently complete the tasks. At the same time, the district focuses on doing a good job of propaganda on mass media and visual propaganda to widely promote the value of Dinh Thi Festival as a national intangible cultural heritage.

This is an opportunity for the people and tourists to honor and commemorate the contributions of General Le Phuc Thanh. Through the festival, we aim to preserve cultural values ​​for future generations, thereby educating the tradition of patriotism, love for the homeland, national pride, and awareness of the roots for local people. At the same time, it is an opportunity to widely promote the cultural and tourism potential, the image of the land and people of Nhu Xuan to a large number of friends and tourists.

Duong Bich (Contributor)

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/le-hoi-dinh-thi-va-don-nhan-bang-cong-nhan-di-san-van-hoa-phi-vat-the-quoc-gia-se-dien-ra-trong-2-ngay-12-va-13-4-nbsp-244178.htm