Long live the heroic spirit of Hoan Chau!

(Baonghean) - For a long time, every full moon of January, the children of Nam Dan in particular and Nghe An in general from all over the world have eagerly returned to their homeland and an indispensable part of the desire to strengthen family ties is to go together to the Mai King Temple Festival... The Mai King Temple Festival on the full moon of January At Mui 2015 is the same, tens of thousands of people come here, once again admiring, proud, contemplating the feat of fighting foreign invaders to build the Van An independence more than 1,300 years ago of the heroic son of Hoan Chau: Mai Thuc Loan...

Since morning, the kilometer-long dike connecting Sa Nam market to Hung Son valley - Dun mountain (Van Dien commune - Nam Dan) has been bustling with people. In front are 5 processions carrying palanquins and thrones of the people of Nam Dan town and 4 neighboring communes. The national flags and festival flags are colorful; the sound of drums and gongs resounds on the Lam river, spreading over the green rice fields. Groups of tourists follow the festival, their sacred thoughts turning to the Mai King Festival, returning to the origin, returning to the passionate patriotic tradition, the indomitable will of the nation...

Mrs. Nguyen Thi Lan (86 years old), in hamlet 12, Van Dien commune, leisurely joined the crowd of people going to the festival with her grandchildren, talking enthusiastically about her now prosperous life. The Mai King Temple Festival is much more solemn than before; the Mai King relic is increasingly spacious, the ancient water procession ritual has been restored; more joyfully, coming to the festival, she can also watch folk songs and Giam, and even more joyfully, her grandchildren have all come back to go with her... Like every year, the weather on the main day of the Mai King Temple Festival is always beautiful.

On this Full Moon of January, the sky is gently drizzling with spring rain. The majestic Hung Son peak reflects Lam Giang, the ancient sediments of a capital Van An, a heroic Hoan Chau come back to life... The festival has not yet started, but the festival yard in front of the Mausoleum of King Mai is already crowded. Some people come to the camps, participate in folk games; some go to the mausoleum to offer incense early.

Dragon dance to celebrate the festival.

Quietly reading the historical plaques in the mausoleum, Mr. Nguyen Phuc Khanh, a businessman from Nghe An who returned from the capital Hanoi, confided: “At the beginning of the year, when work is still slow, many people often go to temples and pagodas to pray for luck, health, and happiness. I have an additional desire to learn about my roots. Coming to the Mai King Temple Festival, I learned more about the immortal historical flow of Nghe An. That flow also originated from Hung Son, nurturing the heroic spirit of Nghe An people for generations. From that source of my homeland, many talented people for the country were nurtured, such as Cuong Quoc Cong Nguyen Xi, Phan Boi Chau and most notably, beloved President Ho Chi Minh. From the source of the Hoan Chau peasant uprising to the climax of the Nghe Tinh Soviet revolutionary movement of the working class…”.

Processions participate in the opening ceremony.

At 8:30 a.m., the Mai King Temple Festival officially opened. Thousands of people came here to witness a performance of drums and majestic lion, dragon and lion dances, which were carefully prepared and rehearsed by the staff of the Nam Dan District Culture - Information and Sports Center. The performance was meant to wish good luck to all guests, delegates and everyone, every family, and to convey the idea of ​​flying up of the homeland. The echoing drums reminded us of the hurried footsteps of the Hoan Chau insurgents, of the days of worshiping the land and sky of Van An to establish the country. The drum performance and lion - lion - dragon dances are also a new feature of this year's Mai King Temple Festival.

The auspicious hour has come. Three dignitaries and elders representing the people of Nam Dan district stepped up to the middle of the altar and loudly proclaimed the news. The eulogy for King Mai was a long story told with boundless gratitude: The old story tells that Mai Hac De came from poverty, but early on nurtured a heroic spirit to fight foreign invaders. Brave, courageous, talented in literature and martial arts, he traveled throughout the country, connecting heroes from all over, building his own strength, prestige and prestige, allying with Lam Ap and Chan Lap to drive out the Ly Duong invaders. The patriotic flame of Van An from Chau Hoan quickly flared up throughout the country. “The four directions of Mai De are famous for their power,/ Hundreds of battles of Ly and Duong are honored for their martial arts”, the success of the Hoan Chau uprising brought the country of Van An nearly 10 years of independence and autonomy, the people escaped the yoke of the Northern invaders… The sacrificial words were sometimes heroic, sometimes sorrowful, sometimes touching: “Today, we/ From all regions gather/ Respectfully inform the King that our country is independent/ All people are free. Every family is happy/ The country has been for thousands of years. Thanks to the Party's guidance. Continuing the old work. Every day is more prosperous/ The country is thousands of miles away. Thanks to Uncle Ho's guidance. We can stand shoulder to shoulder with the world's great powers”.

The ceremony was over, and the stream of people respectfully offered incense to the King who lived bravely and died heroically. The festival drums had stopped, but the drums of the wrestling match were still bustling. The drums of the martial spirit honored the heroic spirit of Hoan Chau for all time. Mr. Nguyen Huu Trong (70 years old), a resident of Nam Anh commune, proudly patted his grandson on the shoulder and said: “He just won 5 consecutive wrestling matches. I taught him wrestling since he was little. After the festival, after the full moon, he went to work abroad... I taught him that in life, not everything can be solved by strength but by knowledge and intelligence. To learn the martial arts of our ancestors and King Mai to build and protect the country, we must understand the philosophy of martial arts: the power of a bundle of chopsticks. That power comes from the solidarity and self-development of each individual. If you want to be rich and good, you must actively learn and study the good and beautiful things of the world. Wherever you go, don't forget your homeland, the traditions of your homeland are the source of strength for you to make great strides.”

The festival lasted. On the last night, in Van An Thanh valley, the heroic spirit of the Hoan Chau uprising was recreated with the sound of wrestling drums, battle drums, the cheers of the ancient hunting guilds, the echoes of King Mai and the heroes discussing and gathering through the play "Mai Hac De". Hung Son peak still hovered in the mist and clouds of the homeland, Lam river water still silently yearned with the lights of fishing on the river. The lyrics and singing reminded us of the heroic will passed down from generation to generation, rather be "broken jade than whole tiles", always passionately loving the country, always uniting to build the homeland; when there is oppression and suffering, we rise up to fight back; every action not only seeks happiness for ourselves but also for everyone, for future generations. The heroic spirit of Hoan Chau in today's festival is the aspiration and determination to make the historical value of Van An last forever and spread.

Thanh Son - Canh Nam