Returning to the Nguyen Xi Temple Festival
(Baonghean)Every year, on the last day of January, the Nguyen Xi Temple festival is celebrated with great fanfare in Nghi Hop commune, Nghi Loc district, Nghe An province. Remembering this festival, descendants of the Nguyen Dinh family from all over, as well as visitors from far and wide, return to offer incense and pay respects to their ancestors.
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Finding your way to Nguyen Xy Temple is quite difficult, as the temple is located somewhat isolated from residential areas and requires navigating through several roads in Nghi Long and Nghi Xa communes (if coming from Vinh) or via the Cua Lo port road.
Despite the difficult journey, first-time visitors are often amazed by a temple with almost perfectly preserved architecture and solid construction. This temple has stood here for over 500 years. Construction began on the orders of King Le Thanh Tong in 1467, two years after Nguyen Xi's death in 1465. In Chinese characters, it is called Cuong Quoc Cong Tu (Temple of Cuong Quoc Cong), and in Vietnamese, Nguyen Xi Temple. Locally, it is also known as the Nguyen family ancestral temple.
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After numerous renovations, the temple is now divided into three main areas: the "flower pavilion" area, the "pond bridge" area, and the "main hall" area. Particularly noteworthy is the main hall, which still preserves many valuable artifacts such as stone steles, dragon palanquins, gilded scrolls, wooden tiger statues made of jackfruit wood, and bronze bells.
The Nguyen Xi Temple Festival, held on the 30th and 1/2nd of the lunar month, is also a celebration of achievements that the people of Nghi Loc district have held for hundreds of years. As one of the talented generals of the Le Dynasty, Nguyen Xi, during his lifetime, shared many hardships and faced life-or-death situations with Le Loi for over ten years, bravely and skillfully achieving many glorious victories in the resistance against the Ming army as well as in the process of building and expanding the country's territory.
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Remembering him, later generations still recount the story of Nguyen Xi, who, in agonizing grief, had to sacrifice his filial duty and brutally kill his son, who was less than a year old, to dispel suspicion and devise a plan to eliminate the rebels led by Le Nghi, placing Le Tu Thanh on the throne and establishing the Le Thanh Tong Dynasty, the most prosperous dynasty in medieval history.
Thanks to the immense contributions of "Grand Tutor and Duke of Cương Quốc, the founding father, the loyal servant, and the supremely revered deity Nguyễn Xí," the Nguyễn Xí Temple festival is organized with utmost solemnity and reverence, unlike many other festivals. The festival is also more elaborately organized, with the ceremonial aspects given more emphasis than the celebratory ones.
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During the 2009 festival season, in addition to the procession of General Nguyen Xi, there were also announcement ceremonies, grand sacrificial ceremonies, and incense and flower offerings at the temple and tomb. Furthermore, the festivities included activities such as camping, drum performances, cockfighting, volleyball, and cultural performances.
Speaking about this cultural and spiritual event, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Hoa, chairman of Nghi Hop commune, couldn't hide his pride when he told us: "The people of Nghi Hop and neighboring communes look forward to this festival every year. It's truly an opportunity for descendants to gather, meet, and express their gratitude to their ancestors and to the talented general Nguyen Xi. We are also very proud that over the years, the festival organizing committee has received much material and spiritual support from descendants of the family and from the provincial and local governments and departments in protecting, preserving, collecting, and restoring the temple."
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Another descendant of the Nguyen Dinh family, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Van, currently working at the Vietnam Institute of Energy and Atomic Energy, is also deeply moved every time he returns to his hometown, especially on occasions like this. He shared that not only do they remember their hometown at the end of January, but the Nghi Loc hometown association and the descendants of the Nguyen Dinh family in Hanoi also regularly organize many positive activities such as a scholarship association, establishing a fund for hometown development, and visiting and encouraging each other during times of joy and sorrow…
The Nguyen Xi Temple Festival will continue tomorrow, February 1st (Lunar Calendar). Attending this festival at the beginning of spring is also an opportunity to open our hearts, hướng towards truth, goodness, and beauty in life, to enlighten our minds, accumulate virtue, encounter good deeds, build a cultured way of life, and make the prestige of our ancestors shine ever brighter…
Text and photos: My Ha – Thanh Phuc
