| Description |
Tản Viên Sơn Thánh, also known as Son Tinh, is a saint associated with the legend of fighting against nature and foreign invaders to preserve the country. He is one of the "four immortals" of Vietnamese gods. The Worship of Tản Viên Sơn Thánh covers a large cultural space in the Northern Delta region, of which the most concentrated is the Xu Doai region (the core area is Ba Vi district).
The Worship of Tản Viên Sơn Thánh is practiced by the people of Ba Vi district - Hanoi at over 100 relics in the area, typically the relic cluster of Thuong temple, Trung temple, Ha temple (in the area of Ba Vi and Minh Quang communes), Tay Dang communal house (in Tay Dang town), Thuy Phieu communal house (Thuy An commune), Khe Thuong communal house (Son Da commune).... Every year, on the full moon day of the first lunar month, local people organize a festival with rituals and orations recalling the merits of the saint. During the ceremony, the head of the incense (the representative of the people in the area) will read the eulogy recalling the merits of Tản Viên Sơn Thánh in a solemn atmosphere, in which special emphasis is placed on the royal decree with the honorary titles. The festival includes many performances that reflect the traditions of martial arts and the diligence and creativity of the people in their labor, such as lion dance, dragon dance, swing playing, wrestling, cockfighting, boating, duck catching, climbing bridges... These activities all recall the merits of Tản Viên Sơn Thánh in teaching people how to farm and train the army... On the 6th day of the 11th lunar month, Ba Vi district organizes an incense offering ceremony to commemorate the death of Saint Tản Viên.
In addition to the usual offerings such as chicken, pig, sticky rice, wine, incense and flowers, each place worshiping Tan Vien Son Thanh in big parties has its own offerings. Among them, the indispensable offering is a pig or chicken with jet-black fur. If the pigs and chickens offered to the Saint have white feathers, the whole village will not have good business that year...
The Worship of Tản Viên Sơn Thánh is imbued with humanity, looking back to the origin, expressing the desire to conquer nature and towards a better life of people. The Worship of Tản Viên Sơn Thánh has a particularly important meaning in the spiritual life of the people of Ba Vi district. He is not only the patron saint of the village but is also revered by the people as the First God of Fortune, the Supreme God, and the national hero, the hero of opening the land and controlling the water, the hero who enlightened the culture of our nation since the founding of the country. With its great cultural heritage value, on January 30, 2018, the Worship of Tản Viên Sơn Thánh in Ba Vì was recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a national intangible cultural heritage in Decision No. 266/QD-BVHTTDL. |
