Qua Son Temple festival opens in heavy rain

Qua Son Temple was built during the Ly Dynasty to worship Uy Minh Vuong Ly Nhat Quang - the 8th son of King Ly Cong Uan, who had the merit of opening up villages, fighting foreign invaders, keeping the border peaceful, and expanding the agricultural economy of Hoan Chau.

View of Qua Son Temple after restoration. Photo: Huy Thu

After his death, people built a temple at the foot of Qua Son mountain. In addition to worshiping Uy Minh Vuong Ly Nhat Quang, Qua Son temple also worships Dong Chinh Vuong and Duc Thanh Vuong, two princes sent by King Ly to help Ly Nhat Quang in political affairs.

Leaders of Do Luong district beat drums to open the festival in the rain. Photo: Huy Thu

Over thousands of years, Qua Son Temple has been restored and embellished many times. By the beginning of the 20th century, the temple had a scale of 7 buildings, was classified as a national and international temple (meaning the State was responsible for building and performing rituals) and was considered one of the most sacred names of Nghe An: "First Con, second Qua, third Bach Ma, fourth Chieu Trung".

During the resistance war, the temple was severely damaged. In the 90s of the last century, the temple was restored and embellished on the old ground, consisting of 3 buildings: lower, middle and upper temples.

The ritual of rolling troops in the grounds of Qua Son Temple. Photo: Huy Thu

In order to meet the wishes of the people and tourists from all over the world to visit and offer incense at Qua Son Temple, in recent years, Do Luong district has regularly invested in renovating and embellishing the relic. Before the opening day of the festival, Qua Son Temple had a new, spacious appearance, including the temple area, festival yard, and boat dock.

The main temple area with many items such as the three-entrance gate, the ceremonial gate, the lower, middle, and upper halls, the left and right wings, the house of the local god, the traditional house, the mausoleum, the ceremonial house, the warehouse... were built, renovated, and rearranged in a symmetrical and harmonious manner. Along with the investment, renovation, and upgrading of the worshiping items... in the temple grounds, the system of flower gardens and ornamental plants is carefully cared for.

Water flip ceremony on Lam River. Photo: Huy Thu

In front of the temple, the temple wharf and Lam River embankment have been rebuilt, not only contributing to preventing landslides and beautifying the landscape, but also increasingly better meeting the needs of organizing festivals as well as serving the people and tourists.

Qua Son Temple Festival is held annually to preserve, maintain and promote the cultural values ​​of the homeland and nation, commemorate the merits of the gods, demonstrate the tradition of remembering the source of drinking water, meet the spiritual and cultural needs of people and tourists from all over the world, contribute to traditional education, and strengthen community solidarity.

Attractive rowing and swimming festival in Qua Son Temple Festival. Photo: Huy Thu

Qua Son Temple has been recognized by the State as a National Historical - Cultural Relic, Qua Son Temple Festival was ranked as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2018.

The 2023 Qua Son Temple Festival takes place from February 8 to February 10 (ie January 18 to 20, Quy Mao year) with many attractive activities, such as the proclamation ceremony, the enthronement ceremony, the new ceremony, the boat racing festival, folk games (tug of war, stick pushing), sports competitions, art performances... in which, the army flipping game, the god procession and the boat racing festival are the important and unique highlights of the festival.

Booth displaying Do Luong district's agricultural specialties at the Qua Son Temple Festival. Photo: Huy Thu

Immediately after the leaders of Do Luong district beat the drum to open the festival, the army turning ceremony took place in the temple yard and on Lam River. Due to heavy rain, the procession had to be postponed, but the procession of the gods on Lam River to Ba But Pagoda still took place solemnly.

Coming to the Qua Son Temple Festival 2023, visitors can not only offer incense to thank the gods, showing their respect, but also experience the ancient and sacred festival space, enjoy and shop for famous specialties of Luong land.