The unique buffalo sacrifice ceremony at the Nine-Room Temple festival.
Dang Cuong - Nguyen Viet•March 15, 2025 09:48
Offering buffaloes as sacrifices to the heavens at the Nine-Room Temple is a religious practice of the Thai ethnic people in Que Phong district.
The Nine-Chamber Temple was built in the late 14th and early 15th centuries in Pú Chò Nhàng, in Khoẳng village, Châu Kim commune, Quế Phong district. In the early 18th century, the temple was moved to Piếng Chào village, Châu Kim commune, Quế Phong district. Initially, it was made of thatch, bamboo, and leaves. In 1927, it was rebuilt into a sturdy structure with four rows of wooden pillars and a thatched roof. Through the vicissitudes of history, the temple deteriorated and fell into ruin. In 2004, implementing the resolution of the 18th Congress of the Quế Phong District Party Committee and in accordance with the wishes of the people, with the assistance of provincial departments, the temple was restored and renovated with a traditional stilt house design of the Thái people, consisting of nine chambers, each chamber symbolizing a Mường (district/commune). (In the photo: Procession). Photo: Nguyễn ViệtIn the minds of the Thai people in the Phu Quy region, this is a place of spiritual devotion to Then Pha (heaven), Nang Xi Da (daughter of heaven), and Tao Lo Y - considered the founder of the village and settlement. The temple is named "Ten Xo Quai" (Buffalo Offering Temple), but because it has nine chambers, the people call it "Ten Cau Hoong" (meaning Nine-Chamber Temple), each chamber representing a village: Ton village, Pan village, Chun village, Chong village, Puoc village, Quang village, Ha Quen village, Mieng village, and Chon village. Photo: NVIn 2008, the Nine-Compartment Temple was recognized as a provincial-level cultural relic. In 2016, the Nine-Compartment Temple Festival was recognized as a national-level intangible cultural heritage. In 2023, the Nine-Compartment Temple was recognized as a national-level historical relic by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. This year's Nine-Chamber Temple Festival will be held over two days, from March 13-14, 2025, which corresponds to February 14-15, 2025 in the lunar calendar. As it's an odd-numbered year, only the ceremonial part will be held; the festival activities will not take place. (In the photo: Organizing committee members perform the ceremony before bathing the buffaloes). Photo: NVPreviously, the Nine-Compartment Temple Festival was held every three years in the eighth lunar month. Since 2006, the Nine-Compartment Temple Festival has been held again on a grand scale in mid-February of the lunar calendar each year. Highlights of the ceremony include the buffalo bathing ritual and the procession (Ap Quai and Ton Dam-Ton Then). Photo: NVBecause of its unique characteristics, the Nine-Chamber Temple Festival always attracts a large number of local people and tourists. Photo: NVAs part of the ceremony, the grand ritual (the Thẻ and Đăm rituals) was meticulously prepared by the Organizing Committee. (In the photo: Leaders of Quế Phong district, including comrades: Trương Minh Cương - Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Secretary of the District Party Committee, Chairman of the District People's Council; Sầm Văn Duyệt - Standing Deputy Secretary of the District Party Committee; Cao Minh Tú - Deputy Secretary of the District Party Committee, Chairman of the District People's Committee, preparing the ceremonial offerings). Photo: NVComrade Truong Minh Cuong - Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Secretary of the District Party Committee, and Chairman of the District People's Council - performs a ceremony at the Nine-Room Temple. Photo: NVThe Nine-Chamber Temple Festival is an opportunity for people from the nine villages and ten hamlets of the Phu Quy region to make a pilgrimage to their ancestral land to hold ceremonies to worship heaven and their ancestors, commemorating the great contributions of their forefathers in establishing the villages and hamlets, fostering unity and solidarity among ethnic groups, and praying for favorable weather, abundant harvests, and prosperity. (Photo: NV)
