Tien La Festival: National Intangible Cultural Heritage

Tien La Temple is one of the few temples with the most massive stone architecture in the Red River Delta.

Historical mark of Tien La temple

During the third lunar month, Hung Ha people in particular and tourists from all over the world in general turn to the ancient land of Da Cuong (today's Hung Ha district), where Tien La temple worships Dong Nhung Dai Tuong Quan Vu Thi Thuc - a national heroine who saved the country and people from the domination of the Eastern Han army, whose name was recorded in history books and forever honored and praised by generations of Vietnamese people.

The story of Tien La Temple is still passed down to this day, telling about an excellent female general named Vu Thi Thuc, also known as Thuc Nuong. She was born into a family of herbalists and healers. She was beautiful, virtuous, both literary and martial, and compassionate and patriotic. At the age of 18, she was engaged to the son of the district chief, Pham Danh Huong, and the district chief of Nam Chan. Before the wedding day, she was captured by the soldiers of To Dinh, who was then the governor of the feudal lords of the North, and forced to marry him. She refused to submit, so To Dinh found a way to kill her father and Pham Danh Huong, then hunted her down. She was helped by the villagers to escape, found her way to the riverbank, rowed a boat for several days, and finally reached the land of Da Cuong. Here, she recruited troops to revolt against the Northern invaders with the four golden words "Bat Nan Tuong Quan". The army led by her grew stronger and stronger. In 39 AD, Hai Ba Trung raised the flag of uprising, calling on heroes from all over the country to gather, she and soldiers from Da Cuong region joined forces to fight against the Eastern Han army. In the spring of year 40 of the first century, Hai Ba Trung's uprising was completely victorious. After ascending the throne, Trung Vuong bestowed upon her the title of Dong Nhung Dai Tuong Quan Vu Thi Thuc, leading the generals. In 42 AD, the Eastern Han king sent Ma Vien to lead the army to reoccupy our country. Dong Nhung Dai Tuong Quan Vu Thi Thuc led the vanguard with Hai Ba Trung to fiercely fight back the Eastern Han army. The enemy was strong, the soldiers were weak, by the end of year 43, the uprising army was heavily defeated, Hai Ba Trung heroically sacrificed. She and her army retreated to Tien La to defend. On March 17, year 43, she drew her sword and committed suicide at Kim Quy hill by Tien Hung river.

In gratitude for her heroic spirit and merit, the people in the surrounding area built a temple to worship her. The temple of the Holy Mother Dong Nhung Dai Tuong Quan Vu Thi Thuc is located on both banks of the Tien Hung River with majestic and splendid architecture, gradually worthy of the great contributions of the national heroine, becoming one of the cultural and spiritual tourism highlights of Hung Ha district.

Mr. Dang Vu Tran Nha, the head of the Tien La temple, said: Tien La temple was built at Kim Quy hill (located in the middle of Tien La village) according to the original ancient architecture "first front, second back", from the columns, rafters to the curved roof with the shape of two dragons facing the moon, the front of the temple faces Tien Hung river, near the junction to Luoc river. The temple has 3 main halls: front hall, middle hall and back hall or also known as the harem. In particular, all construction materials are made of stone, the harem alone consists of 3 compartments, in which the middle compartment is the throne and the statue of Dong Nhung Dai Tuong Quan Vu Thi Thuc, surrounded by her generals. On the roof of the harem hangs the large inscription "Van co anh linh". Legend has it that this is also the place where her tomb is located. Along with its unique architecture, Tien La temple also preserves many sacrificial objects and worshiping objects dating back to the Tran and Le dynasties.

With a history of about 2,000 years, Tien La Temple is one of the few temples with the most massive stone architecture in the Red River Delta. The uniqueness of the architectural art and the mysterious sacred land of Kim Quy hill where the temple is located, have created a strong attraction, converging the humanistic values in the Mother Goddess worship of the Vietnamese people. This is an important highlight, a great source of encouragement for Hung Ha district to continue to strive, preserve and promote the value of the relic complex worshiping Dong Nhung Dai Tuong Quan Vu Thi Thuc for future generations.

March to Tien La festival

According to traditional customs, every year on the 10th day of the third lunar month is the opening day of the Tien La festival. This is an occasion for local people and tourists from all over to come and burn incense to express their gratitude to the national heroine.

Mr. Dang Vu Tran Nha, the head of Tien La Temple, added: Tien La Temple was recognized as a national historical and cultural relic in 1986. Currently, the temple still preserves many valuable historical objects... Tien La Festival has become a beautiful cultural and spiritual feature of the community, a flow throughout time, connecting the past - present - future, arousing and promoting traditions, honoring the morality of "When drinking water, remember its source". On April 15, 2016, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism included Tien La Festival in the list of national intangible cultural heritage. This is an important highlight, a great source of encouragement for us to continue to strive, preserve and promote the value of the relic complex worshiping Dong Nhung General Vu Thi Thuc for future generations.

These days, tourists from all over the world flock here, both to commemorate General Vu Thi Thuc and to enjoy an ancient architectural work with a poetic landscape. The most prominent feature of the relic complex includes a system of temples, shrines, stone steles, and communal houses where worship is related to the life and career of General Vu Thi Thuc. Mr. Nguyen Van Nhan, a tourist from Ho Chi Minh City, shared: Every year, when the Mother Goddess's death anniversary is approaching, my family returns to my hometown to burn incense and pray for everyone's health. Every time we return to Tien La Temple, we are very impressed with the hospitality of the local people and admire the spiritual and architectural cultural values of the temple. In particular, when learning about the long-standing cultural values of our people, I am even more proud and love my homeland and country more.

Tien La Temple has a strong traditional ancient architecture with a sophisticated and unique artistic style, restored over many periods but still retains its ancient appearance. The main structures such as the three-entrance gate, the main worship hall, the rear palace, the bell tower, and the drum tower are all elaborately carved with dragon, phoenix, and four sacred animal motifs, demonstrating the sophistication of wood and stone carving by ancient artisans. The temple preserves many precious artifacts such as royal decrees, stone steles, and ancient parallel sentences that are valuable for research and preservation, contributing to the study of history and culture. In particular, the festival preserves and promotes many traditional art forms such as worshiping, palanquin processions, and sacrifices with solemn rituals, creating a vibrant atmosphere, attracting a large number of people to participate, demonstrating the cultural identity of the Northern Delta region. Mr. Vu Xuan Thang, member of the Tien La Temple Management Board, said: The rich folk cultural activities such as singing, singing, dragon and lion dance, rice cake pounding competition, betel and phoenix-winged betel making competition, tug of war, flag and clay firecracker competitions... have been carefully prepared up to this point, thereby reflecting the lifestyle and solidarity of the community, creating a vibrant atmosphere, attracting a large number of people to participate, helping to preserve and promote traditional cultural values.

Mr. Doan Van Can, Chairman of the People's Committee of Doan Hung Commune, said: In order to create an impression on visitors as well as promote the historical and cultural relic site of Tien La Temple to all regions of the country, the festival organizing committee has increased propaganda work before, during and after the festival. At the same time, the campus has been renovated to create an airy and peaceful space for visitors to visit. In addition, we have also carefully prepared the conditions for performing the rituals to ensure safety and solemnity.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuyet, Tien La village said: The whole Tien La village from young people, middle-aged people to the elderly all share the same excitement, eagerness, and anticipation for the festival days. This year, I continue to participate in the rituals and the contest of pounding rice cakes and making betel leaves with the desire to offer the Mother Goddess the most meaningful items.

Tien La Temple is not only the pride of Hung Ha people but also a precious heritage of the Vietnamese people. Preserving and promoting the value of relics and festivals is the responsibility of today's and future generations.