Unique buffalo sacrifice ceremony at Nine-chamber temple festival
Dang Cuong - Nguyen Viet•March 15, 2025 09:48
Offering buffalo to heaven at Chin Gian Temple is a religious activity of the Thai ethnic group in Que Phong district.
The Nine-Room Temple was built in the late 14th and early 15th centuries in Pu Cho Nhang, Khoang village, Chau Kim commune, Que Phong district. In the early 18th century, the temple was moved to Pieng Chao village, Chau Kim commune, Que Phong district. At first, the temple was made of bamboo and thatch. In 1927, the temple was rebuilt into a house with four rows of ironwood pillars and a solid thatched roof. After many ups and downs of history, the temple had deteriorated and was left as ruins. In 2004, implementing the resolution of the 18th Que Phong District Party Congress and in response to the people's wishes, with the help of provincial departments, the temple was restored and embellished with a building designed in the style of a traditional Thai stilt house, consisting of 9 rooms, each room representing a Muong. (In photo: Procession). Photo: Nguyen VietIn the minds of the Thai people in Phu Quy area, this is a place to pay homage to Then Pha (heaven), Nang Xi Da (daughter of heaven) and Tao Lo Y - who is considered to have the first merit in opening up the village and establishing the land. The temple is called "Ten xo quai" (Hien Trau temple), but because it has 9 rooms, the people call it "ten cau hoong" (meaning Nine-room temple), each room represents a village: Ton village, Pan village, Chun village, Chong village, Puoc village, Quang village, Ha Quen village, Mieng village, Chon village. Photo: NVIn 2008, the Nine-Garden Temple was recognized as a provincial-level cultural relic. In 2016, the Nine-Garden Temple Festival was recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage. In 2023, the Nine-Garden Temple was recognized as a national historical relic by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. This year's Nine-chamber Temple Festival will be held for two days, from March 13-14, 2025, or February 14-15, 2025 of the lunar calendar. Since it is an odd year, only the ceremony will be held, not the festival. (In the photo: The organizers perform the ceremony before bathing the buffalo). Photo: NVPreviously, the Nine-Room Temple Festival was held every three years in the eighth lunar month. Since 2006, the Nine-Room Temple Festival on a grand scale has been held again in the middle of the second lunar month every year. Highlights of the ceremony include the buffalo bathing ceremony and the procession (ap Quai and ton Dam-ton Then). Photo: NVBecause of its unique features, the Nine-Room Temple Festival always attracts a large number of locals and tourists. Photo: NVAs part of the ceremony, the grand ceremony (The and Dam ceremonies) was carefully prepared by the Organizing Committee. (In the photo: Leaders of Que Phong district, including comrades: Truong Minh Cuong - Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Secretary of the District Party Committee, Chairman of the District People's Council; Sam Van Duyet - Standing Deputy Secretary of the District Party Committee; Cao Minh Tu - Deputy Secretary of the District Party Committee, Chairman of the District People's Committee preparing the offering tray). Photo: NVComrade Truong Minh Cuong - Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Secretary of the District Party Committee, Chairman of the District People's Council performed the ceremony at the Nine-Chamber Temple. Photo: NVThe organization of the Nine-Chamber Temple Festival is an opportunity for people from nine villages and ten Muongs in Phu Quy area to make a pilgrimage to their homeland to hold a ceremony to worship heaven and ancestors,... to remember the great merits of their ancestors who founded the village and Muong, to arouse the spirit of solidarity and attachment of the ethnic people, and at the same time pray for favorable weather and good crops... Photo: NV
