Cua Lo inaugurates the Mai Bang Temple Festival 2023.

On the morning of March 3rd (which is the 12th day of the 2nd lunar month),Nghi Thuy wardCua Lo town solemnly organized the opening ceremony of the Mai Bang Temple Festival 2023 and commemorated the 243rd anniversary of the construction of the Village Guardian Temple (1780 - 2023).

Mr. Hoang Van Hai - Secretary of the Party Committee of Nghi Thuy Ward, beats the drum.Opening ceremony of the Mai Bang Temple Festival. Photo: Ta Nhat.

The Mai Bang Temple Festival in Nghi Thuy Ward in 2023, commemorating the 243rd anniversary of the construction of the Village Guardian Temple (1780 - 2023), took place over three days, from March 1st to 3rd, 2023.

Cultural performances at the opening ceremony of the Mai Bang Temple Festival. Photo: Ta Nhat.

Every three years, in the years of the Rat, Horse, Rabbit, and Rooster, the Mai Bang Temple Festival is held to commemorate the contributions of Chieu Trung Dai Vuong Le Khoi - a talented general who participated in the Lam Son Uprising, helping King Le Loi defeat the invading Ming army. He helped the people reclaim land and establish many prosperous villages, so after his death, the people of Mai Bang village erected an altar to worship him and honored him as the village's tutelary deity.

Besides worshipping General Lê Khôi, Mai Bảng Temple also worships Lady Chế Thắng Nguyễn Thị Bích Châu, Lady Thủy Tinh, and six other founding figures of the village.

Residents of Nghi Thuy ward perform a fishing prayer ritual. Photo: Ta Nhat.

The Mai Bang Temple Festival consists of a ceremonial part and a festive part. The ceremonial part is organized solemnly with prayers for offspring, prayers for a good fishing season, and a palanquin procession.
The fishing festival involves 60 boats and ships carrying the deity's palanquin and parading on the sea.

The procession featured nearly 350 electric vehicles and 20 large-displacement motorcycles parading around the ward and the town.

Procession of palanquins at the Mai Bang Temple Festival. Photo: Ta Nhat

The festival section was lively with a variety of folk games: human chess, tug-of-war, basket shaking, stick pushing, sack racing, and sweeping.Offering food to the families, competing in the singing of the magpie robin…

The Mai Bang Temple Festival bears the distinctive mark of the fishermen of Nghi Thuy fishing village, contributing to the preservation of traditional cultural values, fostering patriotism and community solidarity, and enriching the cultural identity of the homeland.