King Mai Temple Festival - A spiritual and cultural tourist destination

(Baonghean) - Nam Dan has many relics marking turning points in the nation's history. Among them, the relic cluster associated with the life of Mai Thuc Loan and the career of repelling the Tang invaders led by him has long been an attractive destination for tourists from near and far, especially the Mai King Temple Festival held on the occasion of the 15th day of the first lunar month every year...

In Sa Nam Town, Nam Dan District today, there are 3 relics related to King Mai (Mai Thuc Loan): Mausoleum, Mai Hac De Temple and King Mai's mother's tomb. These are national historical relics and it is said that these 3 relics are extremely sacred.

Wrestling at the Mai King Festival in 2014. Photo: Pham Bang

King Mai's mother was originally from Thach Ha district (Ha Tinh) and wandered to the De forest (Nam Thai commune - Nam Dan today). Every day, she collected firewood and vegetables to make a living and gave birth to Mai Thuc Loan - her only son. When she died, the boy was taken care of by the villagers and grew up to be a strong, muscular young man, later known as Mai Hac De. Her tomb was built right on the top of De forest, which is very sacred. Thanks to that, after thousands of years, the chestnut forest has remained green because war bombs and bullets have not affected it, and no one has dared to cut it down.

Boat racing at the Mai King Temple Festival. Photo: Thanh Le

Not far away, at the foot of Dun Mountain (Hung Son), now in Van Dien Commune, is the tomb of Mai Hac De and his son Mai Thuc Huy - this is considered the citadel of the capital Van An under the reign of King Mai. From Van An, the resistance war against the Tang invaders in the 8th century attracted the participation of the people of the whole country and led to complete victory. Mai Hac De's tomb has now been restored and is located behind the majestic ancient architectural works worshiping him and his generals, a place for people and tourists to visit on major holidays.

From the mausoleum, visitors walk about a kilometer to Mai Hac De Temple in Ngoc Dai Son area, formerly in Huong Lam village, Non Lieu commune, now Sa Nam town. This is a majestic and famous ancient temple, considered the headquarters of Mai Thuc Loan's uprising. When he proclaimed himself emperor and established the country's name Van An, this place was considered the capital. Mai Thuc Loan's uprising took place from 713 to 813, driving out the brutal Tang army that invaded our country and exploited the poor... King Mai, his two wives Dinh Thi To Ngoc and Pham Thi Uyen, princes Mai Bao Son, Mai Ky Son, Mai Thuc Huy (Mai Thieu De) and the generals who sacrificed heroically in the old resistance war are all solemnly worshiped here. The temple was last restored in 2005, consisting of 3 parts: The upper temple worships the king and his family; The middle temple worships the generals and martyrs of the king; The lower temple is a place for community worship and ceremonies and preserves many artifacts such as the throne, tablets, and parallel sentences. Among them is a famous parallel sentence related to the people's hearts at that time: "With one heart like father and son, holding hands to fight the enemy/For a thousand years, we rely on the king and his subjects, fighting side by side to reach heaven". Every year at King Mai's temple, in addition to the festival on the full moon of January, there are also the death anniversaries of the king's mother and queens in July and the king's death anniversary on September 16, attracting a large number of people in the region and tourists from all over the world.

In early spring, coming to Nam Dan, you can feel the jubilant atmosphere preparing for the opening day of the festival. All the streets are lined with flags, streamers, and slogans welcoming the 2015 King Mai Temple Festival. Mr. Nguyen Thien Dung, Head of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Nam Dan district said: "This year, coming to the King Mai Temple Festival, people will witness some of the traditional festival contents restored such as: The water procession from Sa Nam wharf to King Mai temple. At the same time, they will enjoy the Cai Luong play "Mai Hac De" by author Nguyen The Ky, former Secretary of Nam Dan District Party Committee (now Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda Department) performed by Cai Luong Theater.Vietnamese traditional opera performed. It is known that after being performed at the Au Co Arts Center (Hanoi) from January 27 to 29, the Cai Luong play "Mai Hac De" left many deep impressions in the hearts of the audience. Through 3 nights of performance, nearly 3,000 audiences not only enjoyed the story of the national hero Mai Thuc Loan - Mai Hac De more than 1,300 years ago, but also felt the timely messages. That is the spirit of patriotism, national spirit, and the protection of territorial sovereignty.

In the localities in Nam Dan district, the atmosphere of preparation for the festival is equally exciting. In the communes of Khanh Son, Nam Trung, Nam Phuc, Nam Kim, Nam Cuong, Nam Loc, Nam Tan, Nam Thuong, Van Dien, Nam Thanh, Nam Hung, Nam Nghia and the town, the youth union members together "designed" impressive camp houses, tables, gardens, welcome gates..., contributing to the success of the camp held at the Festival. Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa, a resident of Van Dien commune, shared: "The atmosphere of preparation for the Mai King Temple Festival attracts many young and old, men and women in the commune to participate in festival activities such as camping, volleyball, football, chess, cockfighting, swinging... Every year, we women participate in the competition to make chicken sticky rice - a traditional beauty of the Mai King Temple Festival".

Mr. Dinh Xuan Que, Chairman of Nam Dan District People's Committee, Head of the Organizing Committee of the 2015 King Mai Temple Festival, said: The 2015 King Mai Temple Festival is determined to be an important highlight for the 2015 festivals of the province, to commemorate the merits of King Mai and the generals and review the heroic spirit of the uprising to defeat the Northern invaders, building the independent Van An country; at the same time, contributing to educating the good traditions of the nation's construction and defense, especially the young generation to increase pride and patriotism associated with the Campaign "Studying and following the moral example of Ho Chi Minh". Through the activities of the festival to promote and introduce, thereby attracting investors and visitors from all over to learn and enjoy the cultural values ​​through the relics of the temple and tomb of King Mai in order to promote the traditional culture and good customs of the nation and locality, as a premise for tourism development in the district. Therefore, continuing the tradition of previous years, the 2015 Mai King Temple Festival continues to be held with a strong traditional cultural character associated with legends and historical stories about Mai Hac De and the insurgents. The festival consists of two parts: The ceremony includes rituals imbued with spiritual cultural elements, such as the water procession, the opening ceremony, the proclamation ceremony, the procession, the incense offering ceremony in memory of King Mai, the great sacrifice ceremony, and the thanksgiving ceremony. The festival includes many exciting activities imbued with the nation's fine traditional identity with the spirit of martial arts and solidarity such as boat racing, chess, cockfighting, swinging, wrestling, stick pushing, volleyball, football, and performing arts competitions... During the festival days, the local people in Nam Dan will prepare a neat tray of food to offer to King Mai and the insurgents. This 2015 festival season, the Festival Organizing Committee is setting high requirements for ensuring good security and order as well as arranging dining and hygiene areas to serve local people and visitors coming to the festival.

With careful and sincere preparation, the 2015 Mai King Temple Festival is being awaited by many people and tourists from all over the country on this Full Moon of January to come and join the "festival".

Thanh Thuy