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boat racing
ICH Elements 14
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Chợ Được Mother Goddess Palanquins Procession Festival
Chợ Được Mother Goddess Palanquins Procession Festival is held on the 10th and 11th of January at Bà's mausoleum to commemorate Bà or Notre Dame - the person who opened Được market and supported the villagers to do business. “Cộ” is the carriage carrying Notre Dame, the community do communion by bullock cart. Before the organization day, the table-making teams prepared and made the most beautiful tables. Rituals include Praying for peace, commemorating the Notre Dame, procession of Cộ Bà and some folk performances. The festival only takes place at night, the offerings are all vegetarian dishes. The investiture is carried out in front of the procession, with bowls, medieval and ancient wards along with flags and parasols. On the 10th day, the procession includes drums, flags, parasols, precious bowls, and palanquins to process ordains, worship teams, and people at Bà's mausoleum. Here, the ritual of praying for peace and commemorating the merits of Notre Dame is performed solemnly and respectfully. The offerings are all vegetarian food, fruits, and cakes. The procession of Cộ communion takes place in the evening of the 10th day. The Bà's procession goes around the Được market area and some main roads in Bình Triều commune, Thăng Bình district. On the procession tables, actors of the teams Performing excerpts from Cộ plays such as Thánh Gióng chases away the Ân enemy, Hai Bà Trưng fights against Tô Định. As the procession passed, households on both sides of the road set up altars to pray for a peaceful and prosperous new year. On the 11th, people gathered on both sides of the Kiên Giang River to witness the boat racing between teams. Many games and folk performing arts are organized such as smashing clay pots, blind man's bluff or calling lô tô, card games, etc attracting the attention of many people.
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Kỳ yên Peace Begging Festival at Bình Thủy Communal House
Kỳ Yên Peace Begging Festival at Bình Thủy Communal House, Can Tho city, is held twice a year: Thuong Dien (mid-April lunar calendar) and Ha Dien (mid-December lunar calendar). In which, Ky Yen Thuong Dien is the biggest festival of the year at the communal house, held on April 12-15 of the lunar calendar to pray for favorable weather and a good crop. On the 11th, rituals take place to prepare for the festival, including: Opening ceremony of the three-door gate, land worship ceremony, offering to the ancestors, and presenting the birth ceremony. The festival includes the following rituals: Than Nong worship ceremony, Thay Khăn sắc Thần Ceremony, Xay Chau - Dai Boi Ceremony, Chanh Te Ceremony, Son Quan worship ceremony... Early in the morning of the 12th, the Than Nong worship ceremony takes place at the temple to commemorate the God of Agriculture. The offerings are the three animals in the previous day's presentation ceremony, which have been slaughtered and roasted pig, wine, cakes, fruits, incense, and lamps... Next, the first ritual is the ceremony to invite the divine decree to travel by royal palanquin, after which the procession returns to the communal house for the enthronement ceremony. While the divine decree is traveling, families on both sides of the road set up trays of offerings to welcome the god to pray for health, peace, and prosperity. At noon, at 12 o'clock, is the ceremony to change the divine decree's scarf. The celebrant performs the ceremony to ask for a new scarf for the decree. After that, there is the Xay Chau - Dai Boi ceremony at Binh Thuy communal house, in the form of building a semi-literary and semi-martial art, harmoniously and balancedly combining the literary and martial arts of the Xay Chau. Before starting the Xay Chau ceremony, the celebrant performs the ceremony to invite Thanh Hoang to attend and listen to the opera. After that, the Chau drum beats with 360 drumsticks to begin the ceremony. The Xay Chau ceremony represents the meaning of opening the supreme ultimate, harmonizing the two principles, and praying for peace. The Dai Boi ceremony is performed by the actors and actresses in the opera troupe, materializing the Xay Chau ceremony with the image of the characters combined with costumes, dances and lyrics through the rituals: nhat thai (nhut tru), luong nghi, tam tai, tu tuong, ngu hanh in sequence with the number of performers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5… On the morning of the 13th, there is a ceremony in the main hall. On the morning of the 14th, there is a Tuc yet ceremony to welcome the gods. Special offerings include a shaved pig, 1 cup of blood, 1 cup of hair. After the celebrant reads the Van Te, it is burned. On the morning of the 15th, there is a Chanh Te ceremony, the most important ritual in the temple worship ceremony. This is a ceremony to worship the Gods during the Thuong Dien festival, to thank the Gods, to worship the Ancestors, and to worship the Later Ancestors. The offerings to the Gods are a white pig, a cup of blood and other offerings. After the Chanh Te ceremony is the Ton Vuong ceremony performed by the opera actors of the Ban Te Tu Dinh. Next is the Son Quan worship ceremony at Son Quan temple, also known as Ong Ho temple. In addition to the rituals and performances of traditional opera, Binh Thuy Communal House Festival also organizes activities such as: sticky rice blowing contest, local cuisine performance, traditional opera singing, along with folk games such as: boat racing, tug of war, pot smashing (blindfolded), sack jumping... attracting many participants. The Kỳ Yên Peace Begging Festival at Bình Thủy Communal House with its humanistic rituals is an opportunity to unite the community, people gather to have fun and relax to start the new crop. The Kỳ Yên Peace Begging Festival at Bình Thủy Communal House is an important testament to the history of Vietnamese settlement in this land. The royal decree and the communal house worshiping Thanh Hoang show the recognition of the monarchy in terms of administration and the formation of villages and communes. With its typical value, the Kỳ Yên Peace Begging Festival at Bình Thủy Communal House was included in the List of National Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2018.
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Ok Om Bok Festival of the Khmer
Ok Om Bok Festival (steaming rice nuggets), also known as the moon worship festival, is held on the 15th day of the Kdoeh month according to the Buddhist calendar (October of the lunar calendar), after the harvest is completed, to give thanks to the Moon - lord of the harvest. Families in a hamlet invite each other to set up an altar to worship the moon at the beginning of the hamlet, displaying flat rice flakes, fruits, incense, and pairs of cotton slathons, covered with layers of golden paper, sparkling magically. Taking the altar as the center, children sit in the inner circle, elderly people sit in the middle circle and young people sit in the outer circle. When the moon rises, the oldest person in the village steps up to preside over the ceremony of burning incense and praying to worship the moon. After that, the subject performs the ritual of feeding flat rice to young children. After filling the child's mouth with nuggets, the master of ceremonies asked "What do you dream about?". The children's dreams are the prayers of the Khmer people to the Moon, the Buddha. After breaking the feast, there is the release of wind lanterns - a folk game that is both entertaining and seasonal. The Moon worshiping ceremony in the alleys was completed, and people gathered at the temple grounds to attend the ceremony. Groups of people sing and dance, telling historical stories about Buddha, Phum Soc, and their homeland. The next day, the Phum Socs organized Ghe ngo (boat) racing. Ghe ngo is a cultural symbol, the race is for the honor and glory of the Phum Soc.
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Hải Thượng Lãn Ông Festival
Hải Thượng Lãn Ông Festival is held on the full moon day of January every year, which is also the taboo day of famous physician Lê Hữu Trác (1720 - 1791), who made great contributions to Vietnam's traditional medicine. The festival is held at two main locations: the grave site (Sơn Trung commune) and the church (Quang Diệm commune) of the famous doctor. The ceremony was held with many solemn rituals such as representatives of the government and people offered incense at the grave site; procession of offerings to the Great Physician from the grave to the church with the participation of 12 processions; Worshiping ceremony on the taboo day - held at the church of the great physician Lê Hữu Trác in Quang Diệm commune, Hương Sơn district with offerings including incense, candles, fruits, betel and areca nuts, water, sticky rice, chicken, wine, ghost money; Ceremony to pray for peace and health (performed by monks, nuns, and Buddhists at the grave site or at the monument of the great physician), releasing flower lanterns at the dragon wharf on Ngàn Phố River. The festival part includes activities such as the Ngàn Phố River Traditional Boat Racing Festival; Hải Thượng flute kite display; arm wrestling competition; wrapping and cooking Chung cake contest; Stick pushing, tug of war, volleyball competitions; Displaying local products, etc attracts a large number of people to participate. Main rituals include Sacrifice; a Ceremony to pray for good health, pray for national peace and prosperity, and a ceremony to release lanterns. The festival included traditional art performance activities such as folk songs, songs, rhymes, vi giam, and folk games that attracted a large number of people to participate. This is a big festival in Hương Sơn region, Hà Tĩnh province.
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Trường Yên Festival
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.
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Cửa Ông Temple Festival
Cửa Ông Temple Festival is held on the 3rd and 4th of the 2nd lunar month at Cua Ong Temple to honor the historical figure, the national hero of the Trần Dynasty who contributed to the resistance war against the invading Nguyên Mông army, that is Trần Quốc Tảng, who is still known as Đức Ông by the people. The ritual is solemnly organized with incense offering, flower offering, worship, reenactment of the divine story of the god, and procession of Đức Ông to the Thượng Temple. The Đức Ông palanquin procession is like a parade demonstrating the strength of the community, symbolizing a tour, a march to fight the enemy in the border area of the Fatherland, protecting the country, and maintaining a peaceful life. The festival takes place enthusiastically with folk games such as: tổ tôm điếm, tug of war, cooking rice, betel making, preparing offerings, cockfighting, human chess, blindfolded pot smashing, stick pushing, boat racing, human chess. The festival symbolizes the spirit of fighting against foreign invaders to protect the country and has profound humanistic values.
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Cầu ngư Whale Worship Festival
Cầu ngư Whale Worship Festival in Đà Nẵng is held annually in the middle of the third lunar month in coastal areas to pray for a bountiful and safe fishing season. The first day is a ritual to report to the gods to prepare for the official ritual, and the second day is the official ritual. During the festival, the altar is solemnly decorated with incense and offerings. The boats are decorated with colorful lights and flowers. The houses set up incense tables, the boats with lights and flowers gather at a predetermined location and the chief priest organizes a consultation with the gods about whether a future project or plan can be implemented or not. The ritual committee consists of seniors. The festival includes the rituals of the Whale procession, the opening ritual, and activities such as shaking baskets, boat racing, swimming, tug of war, soccer, the "ho! row!" song singing, singing and dancing, etc. The festival expresses the villagers' gratitude to the Whale, a fish that often helps them overcome difficulties and challenges at sea and expresses their desire for a peaceful life.
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Đồng Bằng Temple Festival
The Đồng Bằng Temple Festival lasts about a week from August 20 to August 26 of the lunar calendar, at Đồng Bằng Temple in An Lễ Commune, Quỳnh Phụ, Thái Bình - the place to worship the Bát Hải Động Đình King, who has made great contributions to protecting and building the country since the Hùng King period. The festival includes the rituals of worshiping the gods, the procession, offering incense, reenacting the ancient story of the king going to war, which are solemn, majestic and respectful; besides, the festival is also quite exciting with games imbued with folklore such as Chầu Văn singing, mediumship ritual, tug of war, cockfighting, chess, wrestling..., of which the most notable is the boat racing. The festival preserves the beauty of traditional culture, noble human values, is an opportunity to express gratitude, the tradition of "remembering the source of water" and the admiration and respect of the people for the Bát Hải Động Đình King, a place that meets the needs of the people's spiritual and cultural life, this place is considered one of the major centers of the Four Palaces of belief in Việt Nam.
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Tribute Ritual for Hoàng Sa Flottila Soldiers
The ceremony is usually held by the tribes that have soldiers in the ancient Paracels on the occasion of their "marriage service", around March 15-16. They made 5 models of boats, sacrifices, tablets of soldiers and gods who ruled the sea. The village communal house sanctuaries held the sacrifice ceremony the night before and the ceremony to pray for the spirits of the soldiers of the Hoang Sa team. The ceremony is held in the courtyard of the communal house and is performed by the clans and the shaman. 05 models of fishing boats placed in front of 3 altars. After the shaman performs the rituals of catching the exorcism seal, the blessing is a ritual reading. Then, they performed the ritual of releasing the sacrificial boat into the sea. During the ceremony, there is a festival of lanterns, boi singing, lion dance, procession and traditional boat racing festival.
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Whale Worship Festival in Quảng Bình
The Whale Worship Festival in Quang Binh is held on the 15th day of the first lunar month with the meaning of going out to catch seafood, wishing for a smooth sailing trip. In particular, the procession of the Thanh Hoang palanquin at the ancestral temple and the reading of the Than Ngu's funeral oration at Linh Ngu Temple are always the most unique parts of the Whale Worship Festival in Canh Duong. Fishermen, boat owners, members of cooperatives and cooperatives gather at Ngu Linh Mieu Temple and An Cau Ngu, offering incense and offerings to the Than Ngu - two giant whale skeletons that people often call Mr. and Mrs. whales. The procession consists of nearly three to four hundred people in beautiful traditional costumes. Along with that, the flags, parasols, palanquins, flowers... and boat models, along with the lion and dragon dance troupe, bring a vibrant festival atmosphere. The most important ritual part of the Whale Worship Festival is the reading of the Than Ngu's funeral oration. The most prestigious elder of the village is allowed to offer incense and read the funeral oration. The oration expresses gratitude for the protection and support of the whales and the whales for fishermen during their sea trips, as well as the fishermen's prayers for a peaceful and fruitful sea season. After the ceremony, there are festival activities with traditional folk games such as: basket shaking, boat racing, net weaving competition, etc. In addition, there are other activities such as: beach soccer, culinary competition. The Whale Worship Festival in the Quang Binh fishing village integrates many traditional art forms, folk performances, with their own identity and characteristics such as: bong dance, rowing on the can, swimming competition, etc. The most impressive is the rowing on the can - ho khoan performance, which combines the lyrics and melodies of smooth, lyrical tunes (including mai ba, mai nen, ho khoan); Unique is the running-word dance (or Dong Dang dance), which is a form of collective dance, holding flower lanterns while dancing, and arranging them into Chinese characters: "Thien-ha thai-binh", "cau ngu-dac loi" ... to pray for the country to be peaceful, a prosperous and happy life. The dance is flexible, combined and in harmony with the music from traditional instruments, such as: trumpets, sanh tien, xap xeng, drums ... The Whale Worship Festival in Quang Binh contains many cultural values and has an important meaning in consolidating the community. With its unique cultural and historical values, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism recognized the Whale Worship Festival of coastal people in the districts of Quang Trach, Bo Trach, Quang Ninh, Le Thuy, Ba Don town and Dong Hoi city, Quang Binh province as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2018.
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Cờn Temple Festival
The Cờn Temple Festival is one of the major festivals in the region, held annually on the 19th, 20th, and 21st of January to commemorate the Four Holy Mothers - goddesses who protect and bless the people. This is one of the oldest festivals in Nghệ An with a history of more than 800 years. The highlight of the festival is the December boat racing festival for 5 consecutive days held right in front of the Cờn Temple. In addition, there is the custom of "Chạy Ói" reflecting the people's belief in the sacredness of the sacred log. The rituals in the “Chạy Ói” custom clearly show the characteristics of coastal residents from costumes, processions, decorations, palanquins, the custom of singing Vi, dancing Senh Tien, elephant racing, horse racing, palanquin rolling, sacrificing on the procession, throwing lucky money, robbing lucky money… The Cờn Temple Festival is associated with the worship of the Sea God - a god commonly worshiped in Nghệ An, which is a manifestation of the spiritual culture of the coastal region of Nghệ An. The festival has a strong riverine character, reflecting the professional thinking of coastal people.
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Chiêu Trưng Temple Festival
Chiêu Trưng Temple Festival is one of the four most famous temples in Nghe An ("Cờn Temple, Quả Temple, Bạch Mã Temple, Chiêu Trưng"), located on Long Ngâm Mountain, in Thach Ban Commune, Thach Ha District, Ha Tinh Province. Chiêu Trưng Temple in Ha Tinh consists of 3 buildings (Hạ Temple, Trung Điện Temple, Thượng Điện Temple) and a mausoleum. The Thượng Điện area has a plaque issued by King Le Thanh Tong: "Nam Thiên Tuấn Vọng". In the middle of the Thuong Dien is a statue of Chiêu Trưng Dai Vuong Le Khoi made of painted wood, bearing a solemn appearance. Chieu Trung is a very sacred temple, established to worship General Le Khoi - son of Le Tru, second brother of Le Loi. Le Khoi's posthumous name is Vo Muc, from Lam Son village, Tho Xuan district, Thanh Hoa province. In 1446, Le Khoi led his army to quell the rebellion. Wherever his army went, they won, but on the way back, he fell seriously ill and died at the foot of Long Ngam Mountain, in Dinh Ban Commune. In 1487, Le Khoi was awarded the title of Chieu Trung Dai Vuong by King Le Thanh Tong. To commemorate the great contributions of Chieu Trung Dai Vuong Le Khoi, the two districts of Thach Ha and Loc Ha coordinated to organize his death anniversary with many traditional cultural and sports activities. The Chiêu Trưng Temple Festival is held to commemorate the contributions of King Le Khoi and pray for favorable weather, calm winds, calm seas, and good crops. The Chiêu Trưng - Le Khoi Temple Festival is held annually, attracting a large number of visitors from all over the country. Before the main ceremony at Le Khoi Temple, the local people at the temples of Thach Kim, Mai Phu, Thach Ban, Thach Hai, and Thach Tri communes solemnly organized palanquin processions, royal decrees, and sacrificial objects to celebrate the death anniversary of the famous general Le Khoi. The processions were led by two exemplary elders. During the festival, the palanquin processions were elaborately prepared, with each procession having more than 100 people. The procession also includes a group of musical instruments, umbrellas, flags, sacrificial objects, etc. The procession by boat usually has 5-7 boats/group. Boats of neighboring villagers and fishermen from other places often go in and out of Cua Sot and the dragon boat racing group also join the procession. The festival takes place in 4 communes: Thach Ban, Thach Hai (Thach Ha district) and Mai Phu, Thach Kim (Loc Ha district), from the 1st to the 3rd of the 5th lunar month. The ceremony includes: opening ceremony, palanquin procession, sacrificial ceremony and death anniversary ceremony, dragon boat procession. In which, the opening ceremony took place on the morning of the 1st of the 5th lunar month at the main temple of Chiêu Trưng Dai Vuong Le Khoi and from the temples of Le Khoi in the communes to the main temple. The procession of royal decrees and sacrificial objects from the temples to the main temple on the top of Long Ngam mountain. After the dragon boat procession on the Cua Sot River, representatives of the two districts held a ceremony at the main temple to commemorate and pay tribute to the great general Le Khoi and pray for national peace and prosperity. The festival includes many practical and meaningful cultural, artistic and sports activities imbued with the traditional flavor of the locality such as: walking on stilts, playing chess, flying kites, boat racing, volleyball... Through the festival, fishermen pray for favorable weather and wind, protection for each fishing trip to have a good catch, and a full boat of seafood. This is also an opportunity for Ha Tinh to promote and introduce the tourism potential in the area, contributing to attracting domestic and foreign tourists to visit. In 2017, the Chiêu Trưng Dai Vuong Le Khoi Temple Festival was included in the list of national intangible cultural heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
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