Society

Sacred and unique Thanh Liet Temple Festival

Mai Hoa • March 4, 2025 17:17

The Thanh Liet Temple Festival (Hung Nguyen district), with its many sacred and unique cultural activities, was inscribed on the list of national intangible cultural heritage in 2018. The 2025 festival will be held over two days, March 4th and 5th (corresponding to February 5th and 6th in the year of the Snake).

Mai Hoa • March 4, 2025

The Thanh Liet Temple Festival (Hung Nguyen district), with its many sacred and unique cultural activities, was inscribed on the list of national intangible cultural heritage in 2018. The 2025 festival will be held over two days, March 4th and 5th (corresponding to February 5th and 6th in the year of the Snake).

Thanh Liet Temple (Hung Nguyen district) is located on the riverbank outside the left bank of the Lam River; in front of the temple is the confluence of two rivers, the Lam River (Nghe An) and the La River (Ha Tinh), and behind it is Lam Thanh Mountain; this is a place of picturesque scenery, a land of spiritual significance and outstanding people, close to the administrative center of Nghe An province during the Le dynasty.

Legend has it that Thanh Liet Temple was built at the end of the Later Le Dynasty. It is a sacred temple within the system of historical sites along both banks of the Lam River in Hung Nguyen, a land rich in revolutionary traditions and embodying many cultural values, imbued with the sacred energy of heaven and earth, including Long Giang Temple, Yen Hieu Shrine, Nghia Son Temple, etc.

Besides fulfilling the cultural and spiritual needs of the people living along the river, Thanh Liet Temple is also a place of worship for national heroes who fought against invaders and saved the country, such as Sat Hai Dai Vuong Hoang Ta Thon, Nguyen Bieu, and benevolent deities like Mau Lieu Hanh, Long Vuong, Ha Ba, Thuy Tinh Phu Nhan, Ngu Vi Hoang Vuong, Dao Hoa Cong Chua, Son Lieu Doc Cuoc, Ban Tho Tich Phuc Thuy Huu, etc., who are guardian deities helping people to live and work peacefully and prosperously on the river.

Worship at Thanh Liet Temple is practiced daily by residents engaged in fishing, river transport, and clam harvesting on the Lam River, as well as on important holidays throughout the year, to pray for favorable weather, bountiful harvests, and thriving clam populations. Therefore, despite hundreds of years passing, the temple has endured and continues to receive attention from the local government and people for restoration and preservation. In 2024 alone, Hung Nguyen district mobilized over 15 billion VND from social contributions to restore and renovate various components of the Thanh Liet Temple historical site.

The temple complex currently includes the main structures: the main gate, the worship hall, the lower hall, the middle hall, the upper hall, the left wing, and the right wing. These structures still preserve many ancient architectural features with decorative carvings depicting the four mythical creatures and the four seasons, showcasing skillful and delicate craftsmanship. The temple also houses many valuable ancient artifacts and ritual objects, such as dragon boats, palanquins, dragon thrones, ancestral tablets, wooden shoes, wooden swords, ceremonial banners, and 42 royal decrees from the Le to the Nguyen dynasties...

The Thanh Liet Temple Festival originated when the temple was built and continues to this day. It is held in early spring, specifically in the first days of the second lunar month, with many solemn, unique, sacred, and distinctive rituals in the ceremonial part and lively activities in the festive part. The Thanh Liet Temple Festival was inscribed on the list of National Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2018.

The Thanh Liet Temple Festival in 2025 will be held over two days, March 4th and 5th (corresponding to the 5th and 6th days of the 2nd lunar month of the Year of the Snake). The festival features many solemn traditional rituals, including the bathing ceremony, announcement ceremony, boat procession and dragon boat parade, procession, grand sacrifice ceremony, and thanksgiving ceremony. The most unique and distinctive event is the clam procession, involving the carrying of palanquins, dragon boats, and sacrificial offerings from Thanh Liet Temple onto boats and their movement along the Lam River, combined with a ritual offering to the deities on the river, at the confluence of the Lam and La rivers.

The ritual on the Lam River aims to pray for favorable weather, abundant aquatic life, and successful fishing for the fishermen. The festival includes sporting activities such as men's and women's volleyball tournaments, tug-of-war, along with experiential activities exploring the cultural space of the historical site, and the lifestyle and production activities of the local people on the river.

Ms. Hoang Thi Hoai Thanh, Head of the Culture, Science and Information Department of Hung Nguyen District, emphasized: Maintaining and organizing the Thanh Liet Temple Festival annually aims to propagate and educate about patriotism, love for the homeland, national pride, and the principle of "drinking water, remembering the source" among all strata of the people; at the same time, contributing to the preservation and promotion of the rich traditional cultural values ​​of the nation in general, and of the residents of Xuan Lam riverside area in particular.

The activities at the festival also aim to create a healthy and enriching cultural space, providing opportunities for people to connect, expand relationships, cooperate, and learn from each other, strengthening the spirit of solidarity and unity among all strata of the people, towards the common goal of building a developed homeland and country, where every family is prosperous and happy. At the same time, it promotes the image of Hung Nguyen, a homeland rich in cultural and revolutionary traditions and with many historical sites and scenic spots, thereby attracting investment and developing local tourism.

"

Maintaining and organizing the Thanh Liet Temple Festival contributes to preserving and promoting the rich traditional cultural values ​​of the nation in general, and of the people of the Xuan Lam riverside area in particular.

Ms. Hoang Thi Hoai Thanh - Head of the Culture, Science and Information Department of Hung Nguyen District

To spread the unique historical and cultural values ​​of the nation in general and the Thanh Liet Temple Festival in particular, the district has developed a plan to upgrade the scale of the festival's organization in order to preserve and promote the unique cultural values ​​and identity of the festival; actively coordinating with relevant levels to plan and include Thanh Liet Temple in the cluster of tourist destinations along the Lam River and in the tourism map and research tour route of Nghe An province.

The Head of the Department of Culture, Science and Information of Hung Nguyen District added: Within the framework of the Thanh Liet Temple Festival program in 2025, Hung Nguyen District will organize a ceremony to receive the Provincial-level Historical Relic Ranking Certificate for "Co Xin Ferry Terminal," located in Xuan Lam Commune. This further demonstrates and affirms that Hung Nguyen's homeland is rich in historical, revolutionary, and cultural traditions that deserve to be honored and preserved.

Mai Hoa