Hung King worship through traditional festivals

As the land of the nation's origin, the traditional festivals of the Ancestral Land are very rich, many festivals have historical origins from ancient times, organized according to the lunar calendar, mainly during the three months of Spring. The system of villages and hamlets related to the worship and participation in festivals associated with the worship of figures from the Hung King era in the past spread throughout the localities in the province...

Lang Suong Temple Festival, Thanh Thuy.

With 15 relics worshiping Hung Kings and figures of the Hung Kings era, in recent years, Lam Thao district has always paid attention to the work of renovating and restoring relics as well as preserving historical and cultural values, meeting the cultural and religious needs of the people. In the first days of the year, many villages and communes in the district held traditional festivals to commemorate their ancestors. On the 8th of January, the people of Vi-Tréo village, Hung Son town, eagerly joined in the atmosphere of the traditional festival of the princess procession of their homeland.

Mr. Quan Van Hung - Custodian of the Dinh Ca historical and cultural relic said: "The festival of welcoming the Goddess Girl is a folk belief activity of agricultural residents associated with two legendary historical figures of the Hung King period, namely Tan Vien Son Thanh and Princess Ngoc Hoa (daughter of the 18th Hung King). The festival of welcoming the Goddess Girl is to reenact the story of Tan Vien Son Thanh coming to Hung Mountain to welcome Princess Ngoc Hoa to Tan Mountain. For thousands of years, the people of the two villages of Vi - Treo, Hung Son town have organized the Dinh Ca festival every year to commemorate and express gratitude for the merits of the Hung Kings and generals of the Hung King period". Hung Son town is also a locality with many historical relics and festivals associated with the "Hung King Worship Belief", in addition to Dinh Ca, there are also Dinh Dong, Dinh Trieu Phu, Dinh Hy Son, Mieu Lai, Quang Hung Pagoda, and Dinh Hau Loc; He Village Festival, the ceremony to welcome King Hung back to the village to celebrate Tet with games: Pig hunting, running from the enemy, playing the trumpet, humorous arts, traditional village praying ceremony of the villages.

In Vietnamese culture, everyone knows the character Son Tinh - Tan Vien Son Thanh, the son-in-law of the 18th Hung King. This is the god who helped people control water, reclaim wasteland to grow rice, kill wild animals and defeat foreign invaders. Tan Vien Son Thanh is honored by the people and considered the "Supreme God" god, the leader of the "Four Immortals" in the folk god worship of the Vietnamese people. His mother was Dinh Thi Den and the sacred land where he was born was Lang Suong cave, now in Dong Trung commune, Thanh Thuy district. To commemorate his great contributions, the people built Tan Vien Son Thanh Temple. What is special is that this is also the birthplace of Mother Au Co - the legendary mother of the Vietnamese people. This is the only temple in Vietnam that worships the entire family of Saint Tan and is also the original place of worship in the system of Son Tinh worship relics in Vietnam. Lang Suong Temple is where festivals take place to commemorate the birthday of Duc Thanh Tan and the day the Holy Mother ascended to heaven.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Thu, Tu Vu commune, Thanh Thuy district shared: “Every year, on January 15, my family and I often go to Lang Suong Temple to participate in the traditional festival, paying tribute to the merits of Saint Tan with solemn and respectful rituals and a bustling and bustling palanquin procession. After the ceremony is the festival, with many folk games such as wrestling, cockfighting, throwing balls, tug of war, ...”. In addition to Lang Suong Temple, Thanh Thuy district currently has more than 20 communal houses, temples and relics worshiping the Hung Kings and famous people and generals of the Hung King era.

Along with the ethnic minorities in the whole province, for the Muong ethnic people in Thanh Son, the worship of Hung Kings also always holds an important position in the spiritual and mental life. Currently, the worship of Hung Kings is expressed in diverse forms, typically the worship of Hung Kings together with many figures such as: Tan Vien Son Thanh (son-in-law of Hung Kings); Princesses: Tien Dung, Ngoc Hoa, My Nuong (daughters of Hung Kings); generals of Hung Kings' time...

Festival of the procession of the Lady, Hung Son town, Lam Thao district.

As an ancient communal house of the Muong people, Thach Khoan Communal House, in addition to worshiping Saint Tan Vien Son; heroes who had the merit of founding the land, fighting the enemy to protect the homeland in the early days of the country's founding, were conferred titles by the kings, and recorded in history books, the Communal House also worships Princess Ngoc Hoa, Princess Tien Dung, Princess Thuy Tien, the daughters of King Hung. Thach Khoan Communal House Festival is held on the 24th and 25th of January to pay tribute to the merit of Saint Tan Vien and the ancestors who opened up and built this land. The festival is held with a procession and incense offering according to traditional rituals. After the procession is the ceremony to pray for national peace and prosperity, favorable weather. The festival includes cultural exchange activities of residential areas: Banh chung wrapping and cooking contest, banh giay pounding contest, gong performances, dam duong, mass art festivals and folk games, mass folk activities: Tug of war, throwing con, swing playing, blindfolded, volleyball competition...

At the relic sites worshiping Hung Kings and famous people and generals of the Hung Kings' era, in addition to organizing traditional festivals, on the 10th day of the third lunar month, along with the Hung Kings' death anniversary held at the Hung Kings Temple historical relic site on Nghia Linh mountain (Hy Cuong commune, Viet Tri city), the authorities and people of other localities across the country respectfully and solemnly held incense offering ceremonies.

Mr. Pham Ba Khiem - a folk culture researcher said: The relics worshiping the Hung Kings in the province are vivid and convincing evidence of the Hung King worship belief in the homeland of the Ancestors. Through many events, ups and downs of the history of building and defending the country, the relics and places of worship still exist over time, affirming the lasting spiritual value in the spiritual life of the Vietnamese community. Maintaining the incense offering ceremony at the relics worshiping the Hung Kings and famous generals of the Hung King period contributes to educating the tradition of patriotism, deep gratitude to the Hung Kings and ancestors who have contributed to building and defending the country, educating the tradition of morality "When drinking water, remember the source", honoring the representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity "Hung King worship belief in Phu Tho".

Thu Ha

Source: https://baophutho.vn/tin-nguong-tho-cung-hung-vuong-qua-cac-le-hoi-truyen-thong-230011.htm