Springtime music for Que Phong
(NAO) In less than two weeks, the Nine-Room Temple Festival will be inaugurated in Que Phong district. For the numerous ethnic people from the "nine villages and ten hamlets," this will be a day of cultural exchange, strengthening solidarity among ethnic groups and an opportunity for them to remember the contributions of those who founded the villages and hamlets.
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The road leading to the Nine-Room Temple |
The highlight of this year's festival will be the Buffalo Slaughter Ceremony (also known as the Phắn quái Ceremony). The Buffalo Slaughter Ceremony is a ritual involving the slaughter of a buffalo as the main offering to Thẻn Phà (King of Heaven) and Tạo Lò ỳ in the sacrificial ceremony. According to the ancient customs of the Thái people, each village contributes one buffalo during each sacrificial ceremony.
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More and more tourists are visiting the Nine-Chamber Temple. |
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The gong sounded to officially open the festival. |
This year, the buffalo slaughter ceremony will be conducted according to ancient rituals. Festival-goers will witness firsthand a traditional buffalo slaughter that has been interrupted for over half a century due to various reasons. Besides the buffalo slaughter, this year's festival will also include the opening ceremony, the purification ceremony, the procession of offerings to heaven, and the thanksgiving ceremony. These ceremonies, except for the procession which will begin at Ta Tao wharf, will be held inside the Nine-Chamber Temple. Mr. Lo Hai Minh, head of the temple management board, added: In addition to the three festival days, there are also many visitors coming to offer incense on ordinary days. Therefore, not only during the festival, but even on ordinary days, the Nine-Chamber Temple is always kept clean and open to welcome visitors.
Interestingly, the days when Que Phong district is bustling with the Nine-Chamber Temple festival also coincide with the 45th anniversary of the district's establishment. The 2008 Nine-Chamber Temple festival will be the most vibrant springtime celebration, welcoming a Que Phong that is renewing itself, transforming, and rising to become one of the more prosperous mountainous districts of Nghe An province.
My Ha
