TPO - On the afternoon of March 11 (February 2 of the lunar calendar), people in Duong Yen village (Xuan Non commune, Dong Anh district, Hanoi) held a son-in-law selection festival with many unique rituals and folk games such as frog fishing, eel catching, plowing... to commemorate the merits of female general Le Hoa.
Duong Yen is an ancient village, located next to the Ca Lo River, formerly known as Trang Kim Hoa, and Nom name is Kim Con. Legend has it that the Duong Yen village's son-in-law selection festival has existed for thousands of years, held on the 2nd day of the 2nd lunar month and was restored in 2001, after 60 years of disappearance.
The origin of the festival is the story of a girl named Le Hoa, also known as A Lu. In the past, the Trung Sisters raised the flag of uprising to drive out the Northern invaders. At the age of 18, Hoa refused to get married and decided to follow the Trung Sisters to fight the enemy. She became an effective female general of the Trung Sisters, was awarded the title of Nu Su Anh Phong, some documents say she was awarded the title of female strategist, helping the Trung Sisters learn about the enemy's situation and arrange troops, defeating To Dinh.
After the victory, the Trung Sisters ascended the throne and conquered 65 enemy strongholds. General Le Hoa was appointed by the Trung Sisters as the district chief of Dong Ngan district, with her headquarters in Duong Yen village. Here, General Le Hoa held a son-in-law selection festival. When the country was at peace, female General Le Hoa had to fulfill her duty as a daughter and get married. The son-in-law selection festival was born from that time.
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| On the afternoon of March 11 (February 2 of the lunar calendar), the people of Duong Yen village (Xuan Non hamlet, Dong Anh district, Hanoi) held a "son-in-law selection" festival as every year to commemorate the merits of female general Le Hoa. |
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| The communal house yard was packed with villagers and tourists from all over coming to attend the festival. |
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| The opening scene was the procession of returning home to pay respect to ancestors. A procession of people carrying Lady Le Hoa's palanquin went from the village gate to the communal house yard, with village elders on both sides welcoming the "Holy Lady" down from the palanquin. "Holy Lady" clasped her hands in front of her chest. |
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| Before the Ken Son Festival takes place, the selection of participants is carefully prepared. The person playing the role of General Le Hoa's mother must be both beautiful and have a stable family; the person playing the role of General Le Hoa and the two sons-in-law must be handsome and unmarried. |
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| The flag dance and sword dance represent the martial spirit of the nation. The divine flag dance symbolizes the Trung sisters' army raising the flag of uprising to fight the Eastern Han invaders. The sword dance represents the power of the Trung sisters' army. |
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Nguyen Diep Truc, 20 years old this year, is a young girl in the village who was chosen to transform into female general Le Hoa, the heroine who, after assisting the Trung sisters in winning the battle, returned to her hometown to hold a festival to compete in farming and choosing a son-in-law.
"Although I had to practice sword dancing and transformation for more than a month for today's role, I still feel nervous, emotional and proud to be chosen as female general Le Hoa this year," Truc shared. |
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| The people playing the role of “the groom” are divided into two groups, the North and the Back. Each group will send a representative boy to compete. The boys must go through the following competitions: Plowing, frog fishing, loach catching in a jar, and dog barking. The first competition is “Plowing” on the brick yard. This competition attracts many tourists because it requires two people pretending to be buffaloes and the plowman as well as the guide to be extremely intelligent and skillful. |
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| In the frog fishing competition, children pretend to be frogs. The judges will give high scores to the “frogs” that jump strongly and quickly. |
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Men perform in the dog barking competition. |
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| The loach catching contest in the jar is always the most attractive part. The contest shows the harmony of yin and yang with the wish for all things to grow and flourish. |
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| The family of female general Le Hoa announced the results of the son-in-law selection. |
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| After 4 rounds of competition between the North and the Hau factions, the festival found a worthy husband for female general Le Hoa, a young man from the Hau faction. |
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| The winner of the groom-choosing festival will be given a silk brocade shirt and have a ceremony to pay respect to the ancestors with female general Le Hoa. |
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| The festival ended with a dance performance to congratulate the couple on their marriage. This was an opportunity for villagers and visitors from all over to review historical traditions, helping the younger generation preserve, promote and express their love for their homeland. |
Duy Pham
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