"First Flag, second Fruit..."

(Baonghean) - During 2 days (February 18 and 19, i.e. January 19 and 20 of the year of the Horse), in Do Luong and Quynh Luu districts, 2 regional festivals took place, namely the Qua Son Temple Festival and the Con Temple Festival. Each festival has its own unique features, attracting a large number of people and tourists from all over the country to attend, creating a bustling and joyful atmosphere while still maintaining solemnity and respect.

In Boi Son commune (Do Luong), although the opening ceremony of the Qua Son Temple Festival officially began at 8am, from 6am, many people in the area gathered at the temple to burn incense and wait to join the activities of the ceremony. Although he is over 80 years old this year, having witnessed the ups and downs of the temple in his hometown as well as experienced many festivals, Mr. Le Ngoc Trung in hamlet 6, Boi Son commune was still present very early at Qua Son temple to join the crowd from everywhere. Mr. Trung happily said: “I am proud to be born on the land of Bach Ngoc, where the famous sacred Qua Son temple worships Uy Minh Vuong Ly Nhat Quang. Every year, after Tet, after the full moon of January, we eagerly await the Qua Son Temple Festival. My family and many other families in the hamlet and commune are very willing to contribute money and effort to renovate the temple to make it more beautiful, so that the festival will be more respectful and more joyful”.

Traveling nearly 30km to attend the festival, Ms. Tran Thi Van in Hamlet 10, Cao Son Commune (Anh Son) shared: "Although I live far away, every year, when the Qua Son Temple Festival comes, I come here to participate in the procession. Qua Son Temple is a famous sacred temple for the people of Do Luong and Anh Son regions, and I find the activities at the festival serious, solemn, joyful and exciting". Previously, for 2 days (18th and 19th of the first lunar month), people and tourists were immersed in the bustling atmosphere of sports activities such as women's volleyball, wrestling, traditional boat racing up the Lam River. In addition, this year's festival has a new activity: opening a booth to display specialties of Do Luong such as rice paper, peanut candy of Do Luong Town, My Son sweet potatoes, Giang Son Dong molasses, Hong Son pickles, etc., attracting a lot of tourists to come and buy. These products are not only to promote the specialties of Do Luong people, but also meaningful gifts for tourists from all over to give to friends and relatives.

Scene of the 2014 Con Temple Festival. Photo: Trieu Duong

At exactly 8:00 a.m., the sound of drums and gongs from the temple yard resounded, directing people and visitors to the activities of the festival opening ceremony. The opening speech of Mr. Nguyen Minh Hanh - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Do Luong district mentioned the merits of Uy Minh Vuong Ly Nhat Quang - the deity worshiped at Qua Son temple: "For 21 years, including 16 years as the District Governor in Nghe An, with the royal and people-friendly policies, Ly Nhat Quang had great contributions in consolidating and building Nghe An from a remote borderland into an important town, a solid fortress in terms of military, economy, and culture, not only for the Ly dynasty but also for later dynasties...

For Do Luong district, Ly Nhat Quang had great merit in encouraging people to grow rice, raise silkworms, weave silk, raise many buffaloes, cows, horses... and encouraged people in riverside and coastal areas to build boats to develop fishing, seafood, and trade between regions in the region. He also paid attention to the spiritual and cultural life of the people by renovating and building many temples. Today, Nghe An has more than 30 temples worshiping Ly Nhat Quang, worshiping him as Thanh Hoang, including Qua Son temple. "Nhat Con, nhi Qua, tam Bach Ma, tu Chieu Trung" - Qua Son temple has long been considered one of the four great temples of Nghe An and is revered as "Anh linh de nhat tu". In the early 20th century, Qua Son temple became a large complex of 7 buildings, 40 rooms in the architectural style of the Ly - Tran dynasty and was ranked as a National Historical - Cultural Relic by the Ministry of Culture - Information".

After the ceremony, there are unique activities in the ceremony of the Qua Son Temple Festival. First is the performance of both the navy and the army - recreating the heroic training atmosphere of the soldiers under the command of Uy Minh Vuong in ancient times. Then comes the most special part: the procession of Uy Minh Vuong's spirit tablet from Qua Son to express gratitude at Ba But Pagoda (also known as Tien Tich Tu) 4km west of the temple in Lam Son commune. According to legend, Ba But is the one who often helps Ly Nhat Quang in governing the country and is the one who showed Ly Nhat Quang the place of conversion and manifestation at the foot of Qua Mountain. The procession follows the waterway upstream of Lam River and the road through 5 villages in 3 communes of Bach Ngoc region (Boi Son, Ngoc Son, Lam Son), through each village, people organize solemn worshiping points to worship him.

Although the walking distance was not short, and there were many slippery dirt roads due to the rain the night before, right from the start, there were many people participating in the procession. Along the way, more people joined the procession, forming a procession that lasted more than 1 kilometer. Those who could not participate in the procession stood in the alleys, looking for a suitable place to observe the entire procession. Ms. Thai Thi Hong in Ngoc Son commune said: "From early morning, the sisters prepared chairs on the second floor of the house so that they could observe from afar and record images of the procession without having their view obstructed." Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Vinh - Lecturer of the History Department of Vinh University, a tourist participating in the festival commented: "I have participated in many festivals in the province and I realize that the beauty of the Qua Son Temple Festival is that the Ceremony is not overwhelmed by the Festival and attracts a lot of people to participate, while the activities of the Festival take place in an orderly, joyful and exciting manner."

Thanksgiving ceremony at Ba But Pagoda during Qua Son Temple Festival. Photo: Minh Quan

In Quynh Phuong Ward – Hoang Mai Town, joining the crowd from everywhere, we were both excited and curious because it was the first time we attended a festival of the river region, imbued with the colors of fishermen in the sea – Con Temple Festival.

Historical records show that the temple was built in the 13th century to worship the Four Holy Ladies. Through war and the ravages of time, the two temple areas, the Inner Temple and the Outer Temple, although not as well preserved as the original architecture, still retain their ancient, massive, and unique features. During their lifetime, two kings, Tran Anh Tong and Le Thanh Tong, visited the temple to give thanks before going to war. Later kings, such as Le Loi and Quang Trung, also sent their close ministers to offer sacrifices before going to war. With 35 times being granted royal decrees by the dynasties, the value of the Con Temple is truly as our people call it "the best Con Temple".

Con Ngoai Temple, where the main activities take place, is located close to Lach Con estuary. Here, for generations, hundreds of fishing boats from the Quynh Luu coastal area have docked every day. The people of Quynh in the past and Hoang Mai Town today still believe that thanks to the protection of the temple god, of the higher beings and thanks to the blessing of their ancestors, their sea trips are safe, with favorable weather and wind. And just like the traditional customs of the coastal people, the Cau Ngu ceremony, a ceremony to pray for a new year of favorable weather and wind, national peace and prosperity, calm seas and skies, a good catch of seafood, and a bountiful fishing season, has become one of the most important rituals of the festival.

To prepare for this ceremony, the palanquin procession will be combined on land and on water, then follow the road along Cua Lach from Con Ngoai Temple to Con Trong Temple. With the ship with the code NA - 90143, 250 CV of Mr. Hoang Van Viet's family, although this is the 10th year the boat has been in operation, it is the first year his boat has been honored to be selected to participate in the procession. Standing on the deck of the ship, which used to be a fish storage place but is now decorated like a tourist boat, cutting through the waves, Mr. Viet, neatly dressed in a suit, proudly said: "Because the procession only limits the number of participating boats, when choosing the block and ward, we have to choose carefully. Not only has the boat achieved many successes, the brothers on the boat live in harmony and solidarity, but the family itself must also be a cultured family... Being trusted to participate in the procession, combined with the success of the first long sea trip of the new year, I believe that the coming days will be even luckier...".

This year’s Con Temple Festival is also bustling with many other rich and useful activities, such as competitions of folk games such as boat racing, tug of war, stick pushing, volleyball, and bird singing contest. The elephant and horse procession customs that were forgotten 40-50 years ago have also been restored. Notably, the festival is also the main activity to open the Hoang Mai tourist season in 2014.

PV Group