'The King' exhales dreamy smoke in the freezing cold during a festival in Hanoi

Sai Temple Festival (Thuy Lam, Dong Anh, Hanoi ) is held on the 10th and 11th of January.

Sai Temple Festival with its unique king procession ritual demonstrates community solidarity, expresses deep gratitude and prays for favorable weather, good crops, happiness for every family, and prosperity for the country.

The special feature of this year’s Sai Temple Festival is the civilized and clean appearance. There are no food stalls, street vendors or other forms of entertainment like every year. Visitors leisurely stroll along the village roads leading to and from the temple and communal house of Thuy Loi village.

This year, Mr. Truong Dang Cuong (72 years old) was honored to play the role of the lord (red face). According to village regulations, whoever is chosen to be the lord must have played the role of an official for 5 to 6 years, have prestige in the village, have an exemplary family, be cultured, and have happy children.

During the procession from the communal house to the temple and from the temple back to the communal house, the "lord" continuously brandished his simulated sword to demonstrate his power.

The person playing the king is Mr. Nguyen Huu Ba (74 years old). He has played the role of a mandarin twice in two festivals 8 years ago.

Today, Hanoi is very cold, only 12 degrees Celsius. Being old, the "king" sometimes shows signs of being cold, his hands shaking as he waves to the people while sitting on the high palanquin.

During the procession, the palanquin was constantly cheered and swayed. Therefore, Mr. Cuong was tied tightly with a red string to ensure that he would not fall off the palanquin.

Besides the king and lord, the people of Thuy Loi also carried palanquins of the four officials Quan Thu Ve, Quan Tan Ly, Quan De Linh and Quan Tran Thu, along with their concubines and children.

Ngo Thi Hao was honored to hold the "Quan Thu Ve" sign and lead the way. The granddaughter of Mr. Ngo Trong Bi in hamlet 3, zone 5, Thuy Loi village said that the whole family tried to have as many people as possible to welcome him. This honor was not easy to achieve because they had to be selected from within the village beforehand.

Mr. Ngo Trong Bi plays the role of the Royal Guard sitting in a hammock, being carried by his children and grandchildren behind the king's palanquin along the village road from the communal house to Sai temple.

And Mr. Ngo Huu Tuyen, after being selected by the villagers this year, was given the role of Quan Tran Thu, honored to sit in a hammock while his children and relatives carried him into the temple for the ceremony.

In the first procession in the morning, the palanquins of the Lord and the King were carried to two places, then met at the Upper Temple. The 'King' performed the ceremony to worship Cao Son Dai Vuong, while the 'Lord' worshiped Huyen Thien Tran Vu.

After being brought into the temple, Mr. Nguyen Huu Ba was freezing so he asked everyone for some "tobacco balls" to keep him warm while waiting for the ceremony.

The "king" exhaled dreamy smoke to the delight of many tourists.

This year, Sai Temple Festival left many beautiful and civilized images. Traffic safety, security and order, environmental sanitation, and food safety are ensured; there are no shops at the temple entrance; the ceremony area, guest reception area, petition writing area, and votive paper burning area are conveniently arranged, ensuring that they are suitable for the space of the relic and festival.

On the morning of February 8, the Interdisciplinary Delegation to inspect the management and organization of festivals in Hanoi in 2025, led by Deputy Director of Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports - Pham Xuan Tai, inspected the organization of festivals at Sai Temple Festival, Thuy Lam Commune, Dong Anh District, Hanoi.

The team inspects traditional festival activities; thoroughly disseminates the directives of the Central Government, the city and Dong Anh district on festival management and organization; regulations on civilized lifestyle in festivals, especially the set of criteria on cultural environment in traditional festivals to 100% of communes, village leaders, and relic management boards of villages in the district. The Organizing Committee publicly announces the hotline number to receive feedback from festival participants...

Regarding the Sai Temple Festival, the District People's Committee has issued a document directing the People's Committee of Thuy Lam commune to develop plans to ensure security and order; plans for facilities, festival decorations, and organization diagrams for festival activities; propaganda, cultural and sports activities, and rituals to submit to specialized agencies for professional opinions.

In Dong Anh district, there are currently a total of 98 festivals, including 2 festivals managed by the district level and 96 festivals managed by the commune level. The two festivals held on a larger scale than other festivals in the district are the Co Loa Festival and the Sai Temple Festival.

Vietnamnet.vn

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/nha-vua-nha-khoi-mo-mang-trong-cai-ret-te-tai-giua-le-hoi-o-ha-noi-2369552.html