Tien Thuy commune is bustling with the Cau Ngu festival

(Baonghean.vn) - On the morning of March 4, the 14th day of the first lunar month, Tien Thuy commune (Quynh Luu district) solemnly held the 2015 Cau Ngu ceremony.

Cau Ngu Festival is a traditional folk festival held annually by Tien Thuy commune at the beginning of the new year. Cau Ngu Festival recreates the custom of worshipping Whale of fishermen at sea. At the same time, it expresses the spiritual needs of the people in the region with the wish to pray for a new year of favorable weather, calm seas, smooth sailing for fishermen, and high fishing productivity.

The procession of gods went down to Lach Quen fishing port, Tien Thuy commune.

Tien Thuy Commune's Cau Ngu Festival took place in a joyful and exciting atmosphere of thousands of people inside and outside the commune. This is an opportunity for those who are far from home, living and working in all parts of the country to return to their homeland, and also an opportunity for each person to return to their roots to respectfully burn incense to express gratitude to their ancestors and grandparents and review the long-standing cultural traditions of the festival that the locality has preserved and developed to this day.

The festival is held on January 13 and 14. The festival consists of two main parts: the ceremony and the festival. The rituals of the ceremony are carefully prepared and carried out solemnly, including the opening ceremony, the proclamation ceremony, the procession ceremony, the great sacrifice ceremony, and the thanksgiving ceremony.

The ship is decorated before leaving the dock for the ceremony.

At exactly 7am, the procession of the god with a palanquin, umbrellas, flags and fans, on both sides are 2 wooden war horses with a female troupe singing in the drum, a troupe of octet with full instruments, flutes, two-stringed fiddles, drums, wooden fish and a Sinh Tien dance team to carry the god from the Main Temple to Lach Quen port. From here, 9 boats, representing 9 hamlets, are brought up, decorated with flags, banners and slogans to welcome the festival. After that, the procession is carried to the boat to the mouth of the creek to perform the ceremony. To pray for the fishermen in the village to have a new year with a full catch of squid, a smooth fishing career, and good luck when going out to sea.

Besides the ceremony, the festival is organized quite diversely, in addition to traditional games such as boat racing, human chess, wrestling, cockfighting, there are also art festivals, soccer and volleyball competitions...

The fishing ceremony of the 9 captains welcoming the god.

Fishing ceremony at Lach Quen wharf. Photo by Huu Tinh

Cau Ngu Festival takes place to demonstrate the good moral tradition of “When drinking water, remember its source” of the people of Tien Thuy coastal area in particular and fishermen in coastal areas across the S-shaped strip of land in general. Along with the moral tradition, the festival also contributes to educating the younger generation, arousing the determination to unite to protect the sea and islands, the sacred sovereignty of the Fatherland.

Jade