Hung Kings Temple Festival (Gio to Hung Vuong) is one of the most important national holidays in Vietnam to commemorate
Hung Kings who had built the country at its early stage. The festival strengthens the importance of a
long-standing philosophy in Vietnamese culture: “when you drink water, remember
the source” (Uong nuoc nho nguon).
Annually, the festival begins with a
lot of cultural activities in several days before a main ceremony held on the 10th day of the third lunar month at Hung Temple, Nghia Linh Moutain, Phu Tho Province (North
of Vietnam).
With its special
values, the worship of Hung Kings in Phu Tho was officially recognized by the
UNESCO as one of the Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity on December 6th,
2012.
I. The legend of Hung Kings:
Legend has it that the
first Hung king was the eldest son of Lac Long Quan and Au Co – who gave birth to 100
eggs which later hatched into 100 beautiful babies. The babies grew up and became
Vietnamese ancestors; that’s why Vietnamese people are also known as “Dragon’s
children and Fairy’s grand-children” (Con
rong chau tien).
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| Lac Long Quan and Au Co |
Besides, it was said that Hung Kings’ regime was ruled under 18 dynasties from 2879 BC till 258 BC. The power of the regime covered what are now Northern Vietnam and a part of Southern China. Over 2621 ruling years, the Hung Kings successfully built Vietnam as a sovereign country from the beginning and forged the sense of community, patriotism, and traditions among its people. The Kings also taught their people how to grow rice and worship Nature Gods like the Rice and Sun Gods at the highest mountain in the region - Nghia Linh Mountain - to pray for nice weather, abundant harvests, peace and happiness for the whole community.
To commemorate
marvellous merits of
the Kings,
the people built a temple at the centre of Nghia Linh (which is now Hung Kings
Temple) and chose the 10th day of the third lunar month to be the Hung Kings’ death
anniversary.
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| The Upper Temple, a part of Hung Kings Temple |
II.The festival:
Hung Kings Temple Festival is divided into two
main parts: ceremony and cultural activities. The ceremony is honorably held at the the Upper Temple (Den
Thuong) which is in the top of the mountain. After the ceremony, the cultural activities are
held around the mountain foot with
the participation of surrounding villages.
1.The ceremony:
The ceremony is
solemnly held with the presence of government leaders, village elders, villagers
and tourists. The procession is led by a glorious palanquin with offerings consisting
of “Le tam sinh” (a pig, a goat, and
a cow), Banh chung (square glutinous rice cake),
Banh day (round
glutious rice cake) and colorful
sticky rice. The “Senh tien” traditional dance of Mong people is also a special
part of the festival.
Banh chung
and Banh day
have had a special position in Vietnamese culture for a long time. Banh chung is the symbol of the soil because of its
square shape, while the round shape of Banh day represents the sun. The two elements are very important in such an
agricultural country as Vietnam. Thus, Banh chung and Banh day always appear in the trays of offerings in special
events, especially in Hung Kings Temple Festival, for expressing gratitude for the Earth and Sky which provide people with
food.
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| Banh chung |
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| Banh day |
In the early morning
of 10th March, incense-offering ritual is carried out by leaders of
the nation, representatives of Phu Tho province as well as representatives of
other provinces. Next is the turn of village elders and finally other people.
2.
The cultural activities:
*Palanquin
competition:
Lavish palanquins in
the competition with the participation of surrounding villages creates
convivial atmosphere for the festival. The winning palanquin will become a
representative of other palanquins to lead the next year’s procession to the
Upper Temple for the solemn ceremony, which brings honor and pride to its
villagers. It is also believed that the winning village will receive blessings
from the Hung Kings and the Gods.
Preparing for a
glorious palanquin requires a lot of work and effort. Each palanquin procession
includes three sophisticatedly carved palanquins. The leading palanquin carries
an incense stick burner holder, betel nuts, a sacred water holder and a wine
gourd. The next one carries a plaque of Gods as well as gorgeous parasols and
fans. The final one carries Banh chung
and Banh day. The palanquins
are followed by its village leaders and elders in traditional costumes.
 |
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| Leading palanquin |
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| The other two palanquins |
*Hat Xoan (Xoan Singing):
Hat Xoan is one of the most unique and important rituals in the Hung Kings
Temple Festival. Legend has it that Hat Xoan
has been handed down from generation to generation since the time of Hung
Kings.
*Other activities:
- Folk games: wrestling, nem con (throwing a
colorful ball through a circle on the top of a high bamboo tree), du tien (swing a high bamboo swing), and cockfighting.
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| Nem con |
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| Du tien |
- Singing: There is a large stage for folk professional singers to perform traditional arts like Cheo, Quan ho, Hat giao duyen, and Hat trong quan. At the other side – Cong Quan, there are melodious sounds of kettledrum performed by Muong artists from Thanh Son.
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| hat trong quan |
- Competitions: “Blowing fire to cook rice” (Thoi lua nau com), “making Banh Chung” (Goi banh chung) and Hat
Xoan competitions.
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| Thoi lua nau com |
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| Goi banh chung |
The Hung Kings Temple Festival in 2017 was held in six days from 5 to 10 March on lunar calendar with the participation of Hanoi city, Thai Binh, Binh Phuoc and Ben Tre provinces. Besides traditional activities, the participating provinces bring along their traditional arts like “don ca tai tu” of Ben Tre and water puppet of Hanoi and Thai Binh. This year’s festival received about one million people from different parts of Vietnam.
Writer: Bò
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