The procession of the Holy Mother Van Huong preserves the heritage of Mother Worship

(LĐ online) - On the morning of March 30, at the Temple of the Vietnamese Holy Mother (Ngo Quyen Street, Ward 6, Da Lat), the Great Ceremony of the Holy Mother Van Huong took place on the occasion of the Mother's birthday ceremony on the 3rd day of the 3rd lunar month of the year of At Ty with the participation of many temple mediums, disciples of the Mother worship from districts and cities in the province and the people of Da Lat.

Báo Lâm Đồng•30/03/2025

The ceremony took place according to traditional rituals.

The ceremony of welcoming the Mother Goddess to the mountain resort took place solemnly in a sacred space according to traditional rituals, praying for the Mother Goddess to protect and bless the country and its people, favorable weather, peaceful homeland of Da Lat, prosperous people, and continuous economic and social development.

The faithful attend the Great Ceremony

The procession of the Holy Mother took place in joy, with flags flying high in the sky, led by a group of lion, dragon and octet dancers; followed by palanquins, parasols, octet, and flower cars with symbols of birds, fish and animals. The procession passed through Ngo Quyen, Hai Ba Trung and La Son Phu Tu streets (Ward 6, Da Lat).

The procession ceremony took place solemnly.

The worship of the Three and Four Palaces of the Mother Goddess is the oldest belief of the Vietnamese people, worshiping the Holy Mothers, male and female gods, those who have contributed to the people, contributed to building life, protecting the Fatherland and devoted their efforts to building a good society since ancient times.

Procession of the Holy Mother

This is a unique form of cultural and religious activity, because it not only contains worship rituals, but also contains many cultural values such as: Concepts and cultural behaviors of humans with nature, between humans; elements combining musical practices, lyrics, decorative arts, makeup, costumes, singing, dancing, props, and artistic colors.

Followed by flags and flowers, the eight treasures procession

The Mother Goddess worship belief clearly shows the thoughts, feelings, and ethics of the community and nation that few countries in the world have. It is a positive outlook on life that aims at good wishes and aspirations for oneself, family, and community in real life; thereby expressing the noble values of the tradition of remembering the source of water, patriotism, and national heroism.

Dalat women in the Great Ceremony

In particular, singing Chau Van associated with the Hau Dong ritual is a type of music reserved for spiritual spaces in temples - shrines - temples - palaces where the Mother Goddess worship is practiced.

Flower car procession

With those values, in 2016, the practice of worshipping the Mother Goddesses of the Three and Four Palaces of the Vietnamese people was honored by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

Women throw flowers along the road

However, in modern life, there are manifestations of distortion, the Mother Goddess worship is sometimes and in some places exploited for fortune telling and superstition. The festival is an opportunity to fully promote the beauty of a type of endogenous belief of the Vietnamese people, thereby bringing the public closer to the original values of the heritage, shaping a community of people who practice the heritage of beliefs correctly and healthily, without distorting traditional culture.

People watched the procession with interest.

The Mother Goddess Festival program in the year of At Ty continues to take place for 4 days from March 30 to April 2 with many activities of offering prayers and carrying the spirit to the Mother Goddess and the Four Palaces, and exchanging Chau Van singing. The festival aims to preserve and spread the true value of the Mother Goddess Worship belief, which has been recognized by UNESCO as a cultural heritage of humanity.