Lệ Mật village festival dates back to the Lý Dynasty and is held from the 21st to 23rd of the third lunar month every year. The village's Tutelary god is Hoàng Đức Trung who, according to legend, was able to find the body of the Lý Dynasty princess on the Thiên Đức River and was allowed by the king to take people from Lệ Mật across the Red River, to reclaim land, and establish "Thirteen Camps". ” in the west of Thăng Long Citadel. The ritual includes water procession, literary procession, and incense offering ceremony of 13 villages and 19 families. The uniqueness of the festival is reflected in three activities: the first one is Fishing Ceremony (fishing at Ngọc well): village boys get into boats, throw nets to catch fish at Ngọc well. Catching a lot of fish and fish with yellow or red dots on their scales is good luck for the village. The second is Giao Long extermination performance, snake extermination dance. A beautiful girl plays the role of a princess, a young man plays the role of a young man whoes surname is Hoàng, wearing red clothes, a black hat, holding a sword to fight and cut off Giao Long's head (5 young men wearing woven models). bamboo frame, outside covered with fabric decorated with snake patterns) amid the encouragement and applause of the drums, the octagonal orchestra and the cheers of the people. The third is Welcoming ceremony for "Thirteen Camps" - Kinh Quán. At the village gate, an elderly man from Lệ Mật village stood dancing with the flag and villagers lined up to welcome the Kinh Quán delegations returning to their hometown to attend the festival. According to tradition, the celebrant is a Lệ Mật person; Vạn Phúc, read the wishes; Nam Hào is the Western singer; Giảng Võ is Eastern chant; The three camps, Vạn Phúc, Kim Mã, and Thủ Lệ, are offerings.

Meaning “elegant music”, Nha Nhac refers to a broad range of musical and dance styles performed at the Vietnamese royal court from the fifteenth to the mid-twentieth century. Nha Nhac was generally featured at the opening and closing of ceremonies associated with anniversaries, religious holidays, coronations, funerals and official receptions. Nha Nhac shares a nationwide scope and strong links with the traditions of other East Asian countries. Nha Nhac performances formerly featured numerous singers, dancers and musicians dressed in sumptuous costumes. Large-scale orchestras included a prominent drum section and many other types of percussion instruments as well as a variety of wind and string instruments. All performers had to maintain a high level of concentration since they were expected to follow each step of the ritual meticulously. Throughout historical transitions, Nha Nhac’s cultural context and functions have shifted. Beside its re-enacted performances for spectacle purpose, Nha Nhac music and its expressions are viable and relevant to local communities in Thua Thien Hue, especially in festive events and ceremonies, such as festival, funeral, ancestral worshipping ritual, and birthday anniversary.

Viet Nam 2008

Thanh Liet Temple Festival - also known as the mussel procession festival, is a long-standing custom of Thanh Liet village, Hung Lam commune (now hamlet 9, Xuan Lam commune) held on the 6th day of the 2nd lunar month every year. According to the community's concept, the festival is to commemorate the merits of Nguyen Bieu, Princess Lieu Hanh and the water gods who bless the shrimp and fish catching, mussel raking on Lam river. The festival space is a section of Lam river about 2.5 kilometers long, from the river wharf in front of Thanh Liet temple to Phu junction, including rituals such as: ramming ceremony, welcoming ceremony, main ceremony, and chopping ceremony. On the 1st day of the 2nd lunar month, at the temple, the village's ritual committee performs a mediumship ritual to ask for the gods' instructions on organizing the festival. On the morning of the 5th, the ritual committee performs a ritual to ask for permission from the gods to hold the Pho Tro/Moc Duc ceremony. The most special ritual is the water procession. On the morning of the 6th, the Saint's palanquin is carried from the temple to the sandbank and put on a boat. The large boats of the fishing village are arranged in a long row, decorated with flags, flowers, sacrificial objects, and offerings... Leading the procession is the master boat with a decorated altar for the water god, on which the village's elders are carried, followed by the boat carrying the palanquins of the gods. They worship the water god at the junction of the Lam River (Nghe An) and La River (Ha Tinh). The master of ceremonies performs the rituals of worshiping the water god, the river god... typical of the river region. Legend has it that in this ceremony, there is also the ritual of carrying mussels and releasing mussels into the river, so the Thanh Liet Temple Festival has long been called the mussel procession. The ceremony lasts for 2 hours and ends with the procession of the god's palanquin back to the Thanh Liet Temple and the organization of the grand ceremony. The festival has games that are imbued with the identity of the river region such as swimming, prize-winning, diving, rowing, clam-raking, volleyball, tug-of-war, chess, etc. Thanh Liet Temple Festival is imbued with the identity of the river region, is a place to preserve the worship of water gods and reflects the professional thinking of the people in the lower Lam River. With its typical value, Thanh Liet Temple Festival was included in the List of National Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2018.

Lồng tồng means going down to the fields, an important agricultural ritual of the Tày people in Nam Mẫu commune, Ba Bể district, Bắc Kạn province, held on January 10th. The place where the Lồng tồng festival is held is a large, flat land in the center of the commune. The organizing committee erected a pillar in the center of the ground and built a stage to serve as an altar. The festival opens with an extremely bustling lion dance performance. In the past, representatives of households came together to carry offering trays to the largest plot in the village's fields. Today, representatives of each commune and town of Ba Bể district will lead the ceremony and put the ceremony on their heads. The ceremony tray includes fruits, candies, incense sticks, wine, sticky rice, and boiled rooster. The offering trays are set up in rows, with Master Mo's tray at the top serving as his offering tray for overseeing the event. Master Mo recites prayers, gives thanks to heaven and earth, prays to the Agriculture God, Phuc Hy God, Mountain God, Water God, and Tutelary God, praying for a new year with everything going as expected, prosperity in life and prosperity, and a bountiful harvest. The girls offered water that had been collected and kept cold in gourd shells. Sprinling water in all four directions, Master Mo lifted his face to the sky and everyone gathered to receive blessings. Following that, Master Mo carried out the shuttlecock throwing ceremony first; this is an exclusive characteristic of the Association. The festival took place very enthusiastically with folk games such as pushing sticks, blind man's bluff; duck neck throw; playing drums blindfolded; hit the spinner; performances and cultural exchanges such as then singing, dan ting, sli singing, lượn singing, bowl dancing, Khèn dancing, flute playing; competitions for sewing shuttlecocks, pounding rice cakes, and presenting feasts; souvenir and local agricultural product stalls; Photo exhibition about the homeland.

The Lảnh Giang Temple Festival relic site is located in Yen Lac village, Moc Nam commune, Duy Tien town, a relic complex with long-standing historical - cultural - architectural and artistic values. The temple worships three generals of the 18th Hung Due Vuong era who had great merit in defeating the Thuc invaders, keeping the country's borders peaceful, and worships Chu Dong Tu - Princess Tien Dung. Currently, Lảnh Giang Temple preserves many valuable Chinese documents and worship objects. The Lảnh Giang Temple Festival takes place twice a year in June (from the 18th to the 25th) and August (20th) of the lunar calendar, to express gratitude to the gods who protect the people and pray for a prosperous and happy life. The Lảnh Giang Temple Festival was only restored in 1996 - the year the temple was recognized as a National Historical and Cultural Relic. Currently, the June festival is considered the main festival by the people, the August festival is only held by the people to offer incense and make offerings. The festival takes place with rituals: water procession, saint procession, sacrifice ceremony, announcement ceremony... On the 18th day of the 6th lunar month, the local people organize the palanquin stacking ceremony, raise the God's flag in front of the temple, on the 21st day they start the announcement ceremony. The days from the 22nd to the 24th of June are the main days of the sacrifice and the procession of the Saint's palanquin around the temple. In which, June 24 is the main day of the Third Great Official's banquet, the head of the Lảnh Giang temple organizes a performance to welcome the saint from early morning. This is the occasion for singing to be performed in a cultural space imbued with the sacred Mother Goddess worship beliefs of the Vietnamese people at Lảnh Giang temple. On the 25th of June, a thanksgiving ceremony is held and the flag is lowered, the temple is closed. On the 25th day of the 8th lunar month, Yen Tu Temple (Moc Bac Commune, Duy Tien Town) worships Princess Ngoc Hoa and carries her palanquin to pay homage. The festival in June also includes a rowing game on the Red River and a water procession. The water procession from the Red River to Lảnh Giang Temple follows the custom of worshipping the Water God. Water is taken from the middle of the Red River and brought back to be used as offerings and to bathe the statues of the temples in the relic site. The festival is extremely rich, such as: rowing, dragon dance, lion dance, cheo singing, chau van singing, wrestling, human chess, cockfighting, to tom diem, lion dance, cooking rice on a carrying pole, sports activities, chasing ducks underwater, stick fighting, walking on monkey bridges, tug of war... The festival represents the agricultural beliefs, the desire for protection by the natural gods and the desire to control the power of nature of the indigenous people. In 2017, Lảnh Giang Temple Festival was included in the list of National Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Yike Theater is a typical folk performance art form of the Khmer people. Yike Theater was born in the Ba Sắc region of Sóc Trăng province with the great contributions of his ancestor Lý Cuôn. The theme is exploited from the treasure of Khmer folk literature. The stage and scenery are of the nature of a "gourd stage", and a landscape backdrop (available, can be pulled up and down). Basic dances such as military training, congratulations, good harvest, water invitation... Dance movements are divided into two character lines: the front line has poise and decisive movements (men) and graceful and soft movements (women); The villain line has exaggerated, fierce movements. The choreography has separate rules for different types of characters: people (13), python (02), and animals (01); individual choreography (04) and combat choreography (06). Music: the main musical instruments are strings and percussion, the most important being "trô u" (dip lute); Pinpet (pentatonic) orchestra. Music has its own characteristics, is methodical, has clear patterns and rules, and is used for each subject and character's personality. Songs and melodies: there are a total of 163 songs (tunes, including Lôm songs and Nô kô rek songs), of which 34 are traditional and official songs; The remaining songs are influenced by other art forms. The songs are divided into male and female voices, with specific characters such as hunters, fairies, male, female, and clown roles. The characteristic of Yike singing is that at the end of all the songs, there is a collective chant inside the stage. The art of makeup according to specific regulations shows the character's personality: bold, clear makeup (human - white, pink red; fox - red, black; fairy - blue). This is a combination of art forms from singing, dancing, music, martial arts, costumes, makeup, painting, and cuisine with unique characteristics of the community. Before performing, they worship the ancestors. The game exploits fairy tales and Khmer folk mythology.

Quang Lang village festival is also known as the Lady of Salt festival or the Ông Đùng and Bà Đà festival, held on the 14th of the 4th lunar month every year to praise the merits of the Lady of Salt and to wish for a year of bountiful harvest. The highlight of the festival is the Ông Đùng and Bà Đà dance to commemorate the merits of the Lady of Salt Nguyệt Ánh, attracting the attention of many locals and tourists. On this occasion, people hold a procession around the village with the effigies of Ông Đùng and Bà Đà dancing to. The locals believe that whoever gets a bamboo strip from the effigies will have good luck in life all year round. The festival ends with the Đùng breaking ritual. During the ritual, villagers will take a bamboo strip from the effigies of Ông Đùng and Bà Đà with the belief that whoever gets a bamboo strip will have good luck and happiness in life all year round. The festival is an occasion to show the respect of the people of Thụy Hải commune to the Lady of Salt, imbued with the coastal culture associated with the salt making profession.

The Trò Chiềng Festival is held in Trinh Xa village, Yen Ninh commune, Yen Dinh district, Thanh Hoa province from the 10th to the 12th of the first lunar month, to commemorate the great contributions of Tam Công Trịnh Quốc Bảo - the village's tutelary god - the founder and teacher of Trò Chiềng, and to pray for a peaceful and happy new year. Trò Chiềng was originally an elephant war game (also known as elephant fighting), which later developed into a festival with 12 performances. The founder of Trò Chiềng was Thanh Hoang Tam Cong Trinh Quoc Bao (998 - 1085). Thanh Hoang Tam Cong Trinh Quoc Bao also had the name Trịnh Bạn, a native of Định Xá village (Chiềng village). Trinh Quoc Bao was an official under the Ly dynasty, and had contributed to helping King Ly Thanh Tong defeat the Song army in the North and pacify the Champa invaders in the South, so he was given the title of Dong Phuong Hac Quang Dai Vuong. The Trò Chiềng Festival is organized in 2 parts: The ceremony begins with the Phụng Nghinh worship ceremony, incense offering, and elephant procession from Trinh Xa communal house to the commune stadium to report to the village's tutelary god about a year of labor and production of the local people. The festival takes place with 12 special performances such as: Golden neck procession, chicken neck procession, tutelary god procession, son-in-law selection, horse racing, elephant fighting, dragon fighting, carp transforming into dragon, Phung Hoan procession, fireworks... The toys are made of materials: bamboo, rattan, fabric... In which, elephant fighting is considered special and has become a cultural beauty of the people of Trinh Xa village. The fighting elephants are woven from bamboo and rattan, carried by 4 strong young men on 4 legs and a strong, experienced old farmer holds the stick to control the elephant's head for fighting. When "Thượng Soạn" gives the order, the 2 elephants will charge at each other, fighting with 2 tusks; The old custom stipulates that elephants will fight in 2 rounds, each round has 3 rounds, the one that is pushed back will lose. After the performance ends, all elephants, horses, and dragons will be transformed and announced to heaven and earth, to show gratitude for the merits of their ancestors and predecessors. The festival also takes place enthusiastically with competitions: making longan cakes, and banh la rang bua - traditional products of the locality. After the performance ends, all elephants, horses, and dragons will be transformed and announced to heaven and earth, to show gratitude for the merits of their ancestors and predecessors. The Trò Chiềng Festival reenacts all aspects of life, working, fighting, playing... guiding people back to history, their roots, and a good life. The festival is a cultural activity, meeting the spiritual needs of the people, praying for the people's health, prosperity, and good crops; it is an opportunity for people to express their respect and gratitude to the gods and ancestors who have built and defended the country. This is a typical festival in the cultural life of the residents of the Mã River Delta. With its unique values and historical significance, the Tro Chieng Festival was recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2017.

In the Sán Dìu language, soọng means singing, and cô means intone. Soọng cô is a lyrical folk song genre of the Sán Dìu ethnic group, with lyrics between men and women. Soọng is written in the form of "seven words and four verses", created by the farmers themselves, passed down from generation to generation, mainly by word of mouth or recorded in ancient Han characters. The words are placed in the form of seven words and four verses, written in Han characters, and transmitted orally; There are 3 parts: call, tell and answer. They sing during leisure time, when men and women meet, gathering around the fire with the belief that they will be supported by the kitchen god. The theme is associated with daily activities, when having guests come to the house, having friends, greeting neighbors, getting acquainted, making love between men and women, and seeing off friends. Soọng cô has two forms: love songs associated with daily life and productive labor (hy soon Soọng cô) and response songs during festivals and weddings (sếnh ca chíu cô). In the first form, the singing content is both for learning and sometimes for showing off talent. In the second form, you must sing according to the required songs and melodies (the stage of performing wedding rituals). If singing at home, it must be sung in order to show the solemnity of the ritual (sing to greet the gods, ancestors, the elderly, then parents, relatives, neighbors, etc, then begin into singing content); When singing outdoors, lyrics can be improvised to suit specific circumstances, demonstrating the singer's creativity and flexibility. These songs are like blessings for the bride and groom and their families. Regardless of the form, Soọng cô singing requires the singer to have extensive knowledge, quick wit, intelligence, talent for responding, and good at creating new lyrics for songs and melodies. The singing rhythm is stable in length, often using 2/4, 4/4 rhythm; The vocal range is not too large, the sound intervals always follow each other evenly, there are few sudden ups and downs, and there are few sudden fluctuations.

As a form of performing arts, Xoan singing includes singing, dancing, drumming and clapper beating. It is closely attached to the Worship of the Hùng Kings, founders of the country. Phú Thọ people created Xoan singing and performed it at the village communal houses, temples and shrines worshipping the Hùng Kings in springs. “Xoan” means “spring”. Bearers and practitioners form four guilds, in which the male and female Trum play the most important role; they preserve the songs, select students, transmit the singing styles and repertoires and organize practices. They are also active in introducing and teaching Xoan singing at the four Xoan guilds, and in clubs and guilds. A full Xoan performance cycle includes 3 phases: Worship singing (Hát thờ) with songs praising the virtues of the Hùng Kings and the village guardian deities; Invocation for good health and fortune (Quả cách) with 14 repertoires praising nature, humankind, and the daily life of the community; Festive singing (hát Hội) with songs featuring the couple love. The special characteristic of Xoan is the modulation between singers and instrumentalists at the perfect fourth interval, and it has a simple structure with few ornamental notes. Xoan dance's movements have a sense of imitativeness, illustrating people's daily life activities. After singing at their communal houses from the 2nd - 5th day of the Lunar New Year, the Xoan guilds travel to other communities venerating Hùng Kings to take part in convivial cultural exchanges. Xoan practitioners are organized into music guilds called Phường. The Leader of each guild is called “Trùm”. In the past, only men could be “Trùm”, but nowadays women could also be leaders. The Leaders are in charge of transmission and organization of activities of the guilds. At present, each guild comprises of 30 - 100 members. Men are called “kép”, women are “đào”. As a community performing art, Xoan singing fosters cultural understanding, community cohesion and mutual respect. The Vietnamese Institute for Musicology has collected 31 Xoan songs, and thanks to the efforts of several Xoan artists four guilds have been established. 33 dedicated clubs also exist, and seminars are held to expand knowledge of Xoan.

Viet Nam 2017

The festival is held at Bản Phủ temple (Bản Phủ citadel) on February 24 to 28 every year to commemorate the merits of "Then Chất" (Hoàng Công Chất - Leader of the peasant uprising during the Lê - Trịnh dynasty) and Thái generals who were instrumental in suppressing the Phẻ enemy. The festival consists of two parts: the ceremony part and the festival part. The ceremony begins with a palanquin procession from the intersection of Noong Hẹt market to Bản Phủ temple. The procession is led by a Thái woman, followed by 16 young men symbolizing the insurgents in conical hats, brown shirts, yellow belts, neat swords and spears, and finally a palanquin carrying the sacred relics. At the Temple yard, 16 young men recreated the image of insurgents dancing with swords and spears to defeat the enemy, followed by a dragon dance, and then the ceremony of reading death anniversary wishes. The palanquin procession includes lion and dragon dance team (men), a gong and drum team (men), a parasol flag team (women), an offering team (women), a palanquin carrying team (women), and a sacrifice team (women world), government representatives and people. When the palanquin procession arrived at Hoàng Công Chất temple at Bản Phủ Citadel, the female priesthood team conducted incense offerings, and sacrifices, and read written wishes about the struggle against the Phe invaders led by General Hoàng Công Chất. The female priesthood team consists of 27 Thái and Kinh members. In particular, during the ceremony, there were 4 Thái women representing the indigenous people offering flowers and offerings. The festival includes many entertaining activities such as Xòe dancing, bamboo dancing, shuttlecock throwing, pipe coaxing dancing, stick pushing, sack dancing, tug of war, etc.

Trường Yên Festival is also known as Tràng An Festival, Hoa Lư Festival, held on the 10th day of the third lunar month, to commemorate King Đinh Tiên Hoàng's efforts to quell the rebellion of 12 Warlords, establish the country, and efforts to defeat foreign invaders of King Lê Đại Hành. The ceremony includes rituals: temple opening ceremony (King Đinh temple, King Lê temple), water procession ceremony (in the middle of Hoàng Long river), incense offering ceremony (King Đinh temple, King Lê temple), fire procession (procession from Đinh Tiên Hoàng temple in Gia Phương commune, Gia Viễn district to King Đinh temple in Trường Yên commune), Mộc Dục ceremony (using water from the Hoàng Long River in the water procession ceremony), offering ceremony (three students - buffalo, goats, and pigs), palanquin processions (pavilions and temples worshiping generals of the Đinh and Lê dynasties carrying palanquins to worship the king), sacrificial ceremonies (nine song offerings and female mandarin offerings) and flower lantern festivals (monks and Buddhas). Prince releases lanterns on Sào Khê River, praying for peace and prosperity. The festival has interesting folk games such as reed chess exercises, boat racing, stick dancing, human chess, word formation, shuttlecock throwing, cheo singing competitions, wrestling, cursive script writing, gong performances, stilt walking, array fighting, crossbow shooting, etc. Among them, the performances "Reed Flag Exercise" and "Thái Bình Scrabble" are the most special, recreating the childhood and illustrious career of Emperor Đinh Tiên.