Exciting Choong Temple Festival in Western Nghe An

On March 16 and 17 (ie February 11 and 12 of the lunar calendar), the People's Committee of Quy Hop district organized the Choong Temple Festival 2019. This is the first time the festival has been held on this occasion. In previous years, the Choong Temple Festival took place on June 15 and 16 of the lunar calendar.

Many tourists came to the Choong Temple festival. Photo: Lao Thanh Chuong

According to the organizers, the new feature of this year's Choong Temple festival is that in addition to the ceremony including the proclamation ceremony, buffalo submission, palanquin procession, great sacrifice ceremony and thanksgiving ceremony at the main temple, there are also many more festival parts for people to have fun and entertainment such as cultural exchange with traditional folk singing and dancing performances, imbued with the identity of the Thai, Tho and other regions.

Drum performance at Choong Temple festival this year.

There are also gong competitions, women's volleyball tournaments and sports associated with ethnic minorities such as crossbow shooting, shuttlecock throwing, tug of war, stick pushing. Folk games such as bamboo jumping, furrow carving, swinging, traditional costume display, etc.

To prepare for the festival, Quy Hop district also called for and mobilized more than 4 billion VND from the social sector to build a new Central Palace, renovate the Upper Palace, Am Ba Thai altar, Muong Choong stream bridge and the entrances and exits of the temple... to best serve tourists to visit and learn about the indigenous customs and practices of ethnic minorities in Quy Hop area.

This year, many folk games and sports are held at the festival.

In 2015, Choong Temple was recognized by the Provincial People's Committee as a provincial historical and cultural relic. The Choong Temple Festival is an opportunity for the Thai ethnic people in the Northwest of Nghe An to remember their roots and to remember the merits of a girl named Nang Phom Hom (Thai means Fragrant Hair Girl) - who had great merit in helping the Lam Son army to defeat the Ming invaders in the 15th century.