Sacred Bach Ma Temple Festival

(Baonghean) - As one of the four most sacred temples in Nghe An, Bach Ma Temple Festival (Thanh Chuong) is held on the 9th and 10th of the second lunar month and is one of the spiritual activities that attracts tourists and locals.

Nghe An Newspaper interviewed comrade Trinh Van Nha - Vice Chairman of Thanh Chuong District People's Committee, Head of the Festival Organizing Committee.

» Priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc incited parishioners

The procession of gods at Bach Ma Temple Festival. Photo: Duy Hung

PV:For a long time, there has been a folk saying “First Con, second Qua, third Bach Ma, fourth Chieu Trung” to talk about the four most sacred temples in Nghe An. Could you tell us about the Bach Ma Temple relic located in Thanh Chuong district?

Comrade Trinh Van Nha:Bach Ma Temple is located in Tan Ha village, Vo Liet commune, Thanh Chuong district. According to legend and genealogy, Bach Ma Temple was built to worship the famous general Phan Da from Chi Linh village, Vo Liet commune.

Bach Ma is named after the white horse that General Phan Da often rode into battle. When he was young, Phan Da was an intelligent, handsome boy with martial arts talent, loved by the people and admired by his friends. In 1418, when Binh Dinh King Le Loi returned to Nghe An, Phan Da led his troops to join Le Loi's army and achieved many great achievements, then sacrificed himself in a battle at the age of 24.

In appreciation of his merits, King Le Thai To (Le Loi) later posthumously honored him as “The Great Emperor Bach Ma Thuong Dang Phuc Than”, ordered the construction of a temple to worship him and listed him in the “International Ceremony”, meaning a state ceremony with a court official as the main celebrant. Later, feudal dynasties continued to confer more than 100 royal decrees and honored him as the Thuong Thuong Dang Toi Linh Ton Than.

Since ancient times, Bach Ma Temple has been famous for its sacredness. People and vehicles passing by here, including officials, must stop and take off their hats and bow. The temple god has also helped the people of Vo Liet in particular and the people in the region overcome many natural disasters and wars.

There is still a legend here that on the occasion of the temple god's death anniversary (June 13th of the lunar calendar), it will rain even though it may be sunny and hot before and after.

Bach Ma Temple (Thanh Chuong). Photo: PV

Bach Ma Temple is also the place that marks many important historical events associated with the conquest of the South by many feudal dynasties, many kings and lords came to offer incense and stay at the temple. During the revolutionary movement of 1930-1931, Bach Ma Temple was used to organize secret activities of the Vo Liet Commune Farmers' Association; in 1945, the people of Vo Liet commune gathered at the temple before going to the district office to overthrow the feudal colonial government and many other important events.

Not only is it famous for its sacredness, Bach Ma Temple is also an architectural work of historical and cultural value. As a memorial work for a famous general, it was built by the king himself, so it was invested in and implemented carefully.

The project includes Tam Quan, Nghi Mon, Thuong Dien, Trung Dien, Ha Dien, Ta Vu and Huu Vu with many unique architectures. Notably, after more than 500 years, the paint colors on the doors are still fresh and clear. The temple also preserves many rare antiques and sacrificial objects...

With such values, on March 24, 1994, the Ministry of Culture and Information issued a decision to rank Bach Ma Temple as a "National historical, cultural and architectural relic". Since being ranked as a national relic, Bach Ma Temple has regularly received the attention of the Provincial People's Committee, the Department of Culture and Information, and the Management Board of Monuments and Landscapes to support funding for repair and restoration in order to protect and promote the value of the relic.

Wrestling at Bach Ma Temple Festival (Vo Liet commune, Thanh Chuong). Photo: Cao Dong

PV:Along with managing, renovating and upgrading relics, it is known that Thanh Chuong district has well organized the Bach Ma Temple Festival. Could you please tell us about the scale of this festival?

Comrade Trinh Van Nha:The Bach Ma Temple Festival has existed for a long time. In the past, two events were held at the temple every year. That was the sacrifice ceremony held in early spring to worship the Bach Ma god and the local tutelary gods.

The ceremony is held on the 13th day of the 6th lunar month, the death anniversary of General Phan Da, to worship the god Bach Ma and those worshiped in the temple, including the deputy generals and the soldiers who fought with Phan Da.

Since the August Revolution, due to many reasons, these activities have not been held regularly. After the temple was ranked, the district and commune began to gradually restore the activities and from 2001 to present, the Department of Culture and Sports... has worked with the district to restore the festival.

Every year, the festival is organized on a large scale, increasingly attracting the attention of officials, people and tourists. Along with organizing the festival, through socialization, the district leaders have called for help and investment from children all over the country, philanthropists and contributions from officials and people with the amount of billions of dong to continue expanding the campus and works.

Before this year's festival season, we continued to invest over 1.7 billion VND to renovate and embellish the Upper and Middle Temples; purchase tables, chairs, utensils, sacrificial objects, and incense burning pavilions; build a management board house that also serves as a guest reception house, a ceremony preparation house, a warehouse, a parking lot, a fence system, and re-enclose the embankment system and the front bank of the temple; build a drainage system; and a road system around the relic.

PV:After many years of organizing the festival, what is new in organizing the festival this year, comrade?

Comrade Trinh Van Nha:Like every year, this year's festival will be held on the 9th and 10th of the second lunar month, with two main parts: the ceremony and the festival held in parallel on both days.

The ceremony includes the opening ceremony, the announcement ceremony, the procession of the gods held on the 9th and the grand ceremony held on the 10th. The festival includes cultural and sports activities such as poetry reading, festival beauty contest, sports such as football, volleyball, wrestling and pot smashing. In particular, volleyball will gather many teams with famous athletes in the province to compete.

During the cultural night and beauty contest, the Organizing Committee will also invite an art troupe from the Center for Preservation and Promotion of Nghe An's Folk Heritage to perform for the people and tourists. To enrich the activities, this year the district will coordinate with the Nghe Tinh Soviet Museum to organize an exhibition of paintings and photos about Soviet traditions and socio-economic achievements in the renovation period of the country, the province and the district.

The district has assigned the Farmers' Association, Women's Association and other organizations to organize product introduction and sales points and other entertainment activities. Along with that, the tea island - Cau Cau dam (located near Bach Ma temple) is becoming a tourist attraction that attracts many visitors, which will also create more attraction for many people to come to the festival.

PV:Thanks comrade!

PV(Perform)