GIÓNG FESTIVAL OF PHÙ ĐỔNG AND SÓC TEMPLES\n\n\nIn the historical books and folk beliefs of the Việt, there have been many stories and legends of Thánh Gióng - the Saint of the ancient Việt who was considered as one of the four immortal gods by the Vietnamese nationwide. The monarchic dynasties of the Great Việt in Vietnam bequeathed him as a Heavenly King. Legend has it that he was born as the result of a magical union between a girl from Gióng village and the giant footprint of the rain god in the Việt’s myths. At the age of three, he grew miraculously into a giant after hearing the King’s appeal to find gifted people to save the country and its people. After defeating the foreign invaders, the hero went to Sóc mountain and flew into the heaven.\n

GIÓNG FESTIVAL OF PHÙ ĐỔNG AND SÓC TEMPLES\n\n\nIn the historical books and folk beliefs of the Việt, there have been many stories and legends of Thánh Gióng - the Saint of the ancient Việt who was considered as one of the four immortal gods by the Vietnamese nationwide. The monarchic dynasties of the Great Việt in Vietnam bequeathed him as a Heavenly King. Legend has it that he was born as the result of a magical union between a girl from Gióng village and the giant footprint of the rain god in the Việt’s myths. At the age of three, he grew miraculously into a giant after hearing the King’s appeal to find gifted people to save the country and its people. After defeating the foreign invaders, the hero went to Sóc mountain and flew into the heaven.\n

Battleaxe and Knives made by Artisan B.Alibai in 2009

GIÓNG FESTIVAL OF PHÙ ĐỔNG AND SÓC TEMPLES\n\n\nIn the historical books and folk beliefs of the Việt, there have been many stories and legends of Thánh Gióng - the Saint of the ancient Việt who was considered as one of the four immortal gods by the Vietnamese nationwide. The monarchic dynasties of the Great Việt in Vietnam bequeathed him as a Heavenly King. Legend has it that he was born as the result of a magical union between a girl from Gióng village and the giant footprint of the rain god in the Việt’s myths. At the age of three, he grew miraculously into a giant after hearing the King’s appeal to find gifted people to save the country and its people. After defeating the foreign invaders, the hero went to Sóc mountain and flew into the heaven.\n

Children play assyk aty at a village street.\nKazakh traditional Assyk games are an ancient tradition in Kazakhstan. Each player has their own set of ‘Assyks’, traditionally made out of the talus bone of a sheep, and a ‘Saka’ dyed in bright colours. Players use their Assyk to knock out other Assyks from the field, and the focus is on the position of the bone. The community concerned comprises most of the population of Kazakhstan, including members of the Federation ‘Assyk Atu’ Game as well as the larger community of practitioners, mainly children aged between four and eighteen. The element is an outdoor activity that helps develop children’s analytical thinking and physical state, fostering friendship and social inclusiveness. It is also a good model for positive collaboration, uniting people regardless of their age, ethnic background or religious affiliation. It is widely practised at festive celebrations and gatherings, and the community plays a key role in safeguarding the practice, as well as in popularizing it among other ethnic groups in Kazakhstan, turning it into a national symbol of childhood. It is transmitted from older boys to younger ones through observation, as well as through radio and TV documentaries aimed at encouraging children to play Assyk and acquainting people with their cultural heritage.

This miniature stage recreates the traditional Hat boi stage, known as ‘Vo ca’, built inside a village communal house ‘Dinh’. The Hat boi characters are made with ‘To he’ techniques and materials. To he is a traditional Vietnamese toy that can be a reproduction of animals, flowers, or characters in folk tales made using glutinous rice flour, and is usually made for children during holidays such as Vietnamese New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival.\n\nHát bội performances take place during the kỳ yên village festival at the communal house, especially in central and southern Vietnam. The model is made after a võ ca traditional stage built inside the communal house in the Mekong Delta, where hát bội is performed to praise for the village's guardian spirit and to entertain villagers. \nThe model, set as a contextual display as a background for the miniature hát bội characters, is to provide the audience an image of how a traditional hát bội stage in a traditional Southern communal house. A number of characters, such as antagonists Tạ Ôn Đình and Khương Linh Tá will be placed in the middle as if they are in battle to set a scene of a famous play San Hậu. The remaining characters will be placed on both sides of the stages. \nText labels will be provided to explain the characters, the stage and the scene of Tạ Ôn Đình fighting with Khương Linh Tá

This miniature stage recreates the traditional Hat boi stage, known as ‘Vo ca’, built inside a village communal house ‘Dinh’. The Hat boi characters are made with ‘To he’ techniques and materials. To he is a traditional Vietnamese toy that can be a reproduction of animals, flowers, or characters in folk tales made using glutinous rice flour, and is usually made for children during holidays such as Vietnamese New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival.\n\nHát bội performances take place during the kỳ yên village festival at the communal house, especially in central and southern Vietnam. The model is made after a võ ca traditional stage built inside the communal house in the Mekong Delta, where hát bội is performed to praise for the village's guardian spirit and to entertain villagers. \nThe model, set as a contextual display as a background for the miniature hát bội characters, is to provide the audience an image of how a traditional hát bội stage in a traditional Southern communal house. A number of characters, such as antagonists Tạ Ôn Đình and Khương Linh Tá will be placed in the middle as if they are in battle to set a scene of a famous play San Hậu. The remaining characters will be placed on both sides of the stages. \nText labels will be provided to explain the characters, the stage and the scene of Tạ Ôn Đình fighting with Khương Linh Tá

This miniature stage recreates the traditional Hat boi stage, known as ‘Vo ca’, built inside a village communal house ‘Dinh’. The Hat boi characters are made with ‘To he’ techniques and materials. To he is a traditional Vietnamese toy that can be a reproduction of animals, flowers, or characters in folk tales made using glutinous rice flour, and is usually made for children during holidays such as Vietnamese New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival.\n\nHát bội performances take place during the kỳ yên village festival at the communal house, especially in central and southern Vietnam. The model is made after a võ ca traditional stage built inside the communal house in the Mekong Delta, where hát bội is performed to praise for the village's guardian spirit and to entertain villagers. \nThe model, set as a contextual display as a background for the miniature hát bội characters, is to provide the audience an image of how a traditional hát bội stage in a traditional Southern communal house. A number of characters, such as antagonists Tạ Ôn Đình and Khương Linh Tá will be placed in the middle as if they are in battle to set a scene of a famous play San Hậu. The remaining characters will be placed on both sides of the stages. \nText labels will be provided to explain the characters, the stage and the scene of Tạ Ôn Đình fighting with Khương Linh Tá

This miniature stage recreates the traditional Hat boi stage, known as ‘Vo ca’, built inside a village communal house ‘Dinh’. The Hat boi characters are made with ‘To he’ techniques and materials. To he is a traditional Vietnamese toy that can be a reproduction of animals, flowers, or characters in folk tales made using glutinous rice flour, and is usually made for children during holidays such as Vietnamese New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival.\n\nHát bội performances take place during the kỳ yên village festival at the communal house, especially in central and southern Vietnam. The model is made after a võ ca traditional stage built inside the communal house in the Mekong Delta, where hát bội is performed to praise for the village's guardian spirit and to entertain villagers. \nThe model, set as a contextual display as a background for the miniature hát bội characters, is to provide the audience an image of how a traditional hát bội stage in a traditional Southern communal house. A number of characters, such as antagonists Tạ Ôn Đình and Khương Linh Tá will be placed in the middle as if they are in battle to set a scene of a famous play San Hậu. The remaining characters will be placed on both sides of the stages. \nText labels will be provided to explain the characters, the stage and the scene of Tạ Ôn Đình fighting with Khương Linh Tá

This miniature stage recreates the traditional Hat boi stage, known as ‘Vo ca’, built inside a village communal house ‘Dinh’. The Hat boi characters are made with ‘To he’ techniques and materials. To he is a traditional Vietnamese toy that can be a reproduction of animals, flowers, or characters in folk tales made using glutinous rice flour, and is usually made for children during holidays such as Vietnamese New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival.\n\nHát bội performances take place during the kỳ yên village festival at the communal house, especially in central and southern Vietnam. The model is made after a võ ca traditional stage built inside the communal house in the Mekong Delta, where hát bội is performed to praise for the village's guardian spirit and to entertain villagers. \nThe model, set as a contextual display as a background for the miniature hát bội characters, is to provide the audience an image of how a traditional hát bội stage in a traditional Southern communal house. A number of characters, such as antagonists Tạ Ôn Đình and Khương Linh Tá will be placed in the middle as if they are in battle to set a scene of a famous play San Hậu. The remaining characters will be placed on both sides of the stages. \nText labels will be provided to explain the characters, the stage and the scene of Tạ Ôn Đình fighting with Khương Linh Tá

This miniature stage recreates the traditional Hat boi stage, known as ‘Vo ca’, built inside a village communal house ‘Dinh’. The Hat boi characters are made with ‘To he’ techniques and materials. To he is a traditional Vietnamese toy that can be a reproduction of animals, flowers, or characters in folk tales made using glutinous rice flour, and is usually made for children during holidays such as Vietnamese New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival.\n\nHát bội performances take place during the kỳ yên village festival at the communal house, especially in central and southern Vietnam. The model is made after a võ ca traditional stage built inside the communal house in the Mekong Delta, where hát bội is performed to praise for the village's guardian spirit and to entertain villagers. \nThe model, set as a contextual display as a background for the miniature hát bội characters, is to provide the audience an image of how a traditional hát bội stage in a traditional Southern communal house. A number of characters, such as antagonists Tạ Ôn Đình and Khương Linh Tá will be placed in the middle as if they are in battle to set a scene of a famous play San Hậu. The remaining characters will be placed on both sides of the stages. \nText labels will be provided to explain the characters, the stage and the scene of Tạ Ôn Đình fighting with Khương Linh Tá

Literally the word Ta’azyeh means “mourning”, and figuratively it refers to a kind of ritual and religious theatre based on religious events, historical and mythical stories, and Iranian folk tales, and there are four basic elements in it: poem, music, song and motion. Ta’azyeh is a type of theatre with many different characters, each of which having its own features, differences, colors, clothes, tools and requirements. It is performed in the form of symbols, conventions, codes and signs which are known by Iranian spectators, and on a stage which is placed in the centre without any lighting and decoration. The place where a Ta’azyeh is performed is called Tekyeh. Apart from some feel-good Ta’azyehs, the main subject of most of them is the conflict between “good” and “evil” and the source of Ta’azyeh scripts has often been the event of Karbala where the third Imam of Shiites, Imam Hussein, and his family were killed after a strong resistance in a battle between seventy two members of the “good” and twenty thousand members of the “evil” army in the Moharram month of the year 60 in the lunar Hegira calendar.