Beauty of traditional village festivals
Every year, about 20 large and small-scale festivals are being held in Lien Chieu District, Da Nang.
Aside from remembering merits of ancestors who reclaimed and founded villages in the district and praying for a year of favourable weather and bumper crops, such festivals aim to educate young generations about patriotism, and traditional beauty of the homeland.
Here are some typical festivals slated to take place in the 3rd lunar month every year in the district:
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| A procession ritual for the predecessors, and ancestors who have contributed to the construction and development of the Trung Nghia Village. Photo: H.L |
Trung Nghia village communal house festival in Hoa Minh Ward
The Trung Nghia village communal house festival will be organised on the 10th day of the 3rd lunar month.
The festival will feature a number of solemn rituals to honour ancestors and to pray for peace, happiness and prosperity throughout the year.
In addition, a wide range of exciting cultural activities will be organised during the festival, including friendly football matches, tug of war, and a running race.
Trung Nghia Village was formed by Mr. Van Duc hailing from Thanh Hoa Province during the reign of King Le Chan Tong (1643-1649).
At this time, Mr. Duc and his family came here to reclaim and establish a village. Later, his descendants and many other clans continued to expand the village and develop economy. In 1900, the villagers unanimously set up a communal house to worship ancestors and remember their merits, including Mr. Van Duc.
The Trung Nghia village communal house was built in the ancient way, with three compartments and two lean-tos, brick walls, and yin and yang tile roofs. Jackfruit wood is used to build house columns.
The tops of the trusses are carved with dragon heads, and dragon’ tails are shaped like flowers and leaves.
The time of construction of the communal house is written on the beams (12th Thanh Thai year - 1900). In the middle compartment, there is a hanging relief with three Chinese characters "Trung Nghia Dinh" (Trung Nghia Village).
Currently, the Trung Nghia village communal house is preserving 16 ordinations of the Nguyen Dynasty dating from the reigns of Minh Mang, Thieu Tri, Tu Duc, Dong Khanh, Duy Tan, and Khai Dinh.
Ritual to pray for peace in Da Phuoc village communal house
Covering an area of 3,546.4m2 in Hoa Khanh Bac Ward, the Da Phuoc village communal house is recognised as a municipal-level relic site according to the municipal People’s Committee-issued Decision No. 702 dated February 4, 2016.
The communal house has two layers of roofs, and curved corners attached with images of sacred animals. There are two dragons in the posture of adoring the sun in the middle of the roof.
In front of the communal house is a 3.64m-wide, 2.5m-high relief shaped like a scroll with many decorative motifs. The outside of the relief is embossed with the image of a tiger, with Chinese couplets on both sides. The inside surface is embossed with the image of ‘longma’ which is a fabled winged horse with dragon scales, whilst the two sides are the transcription of the Chinese couplets on the outside.
The main hall has an area of 14.6 x 8m, divided into 3 compartments and 48 pillars, each with couplets.
There are 5 altars in the main hall. The altar of the council which worships gods and ancestors is placed in the middle of the main hall.
Notable, there are 'Am Linh and Xom Chua temples in the campus of the communal house.
In order to commemorate ancestors’ merits, the clans of Phuoc Ly Village will hold two rituals to pray for peace on the 14th day of the 3rd lunar month, and the 14th day of the 9th lunar month.
Ritual to pray for peace in Thanh Vinh village communal house
The Thanh Vinh village communal house was built under the reign of King Thieu Tri in the fourth year (the Year of Cat in 1843). It was named Thanh Son to commemorate the ancestors who cleared and established the village.
When King Ham Nghi (1885 - the Year of Rooster) issued the Can Vuong decree calling on patriotic scholars to join the resistance war against the invaders, Thanh Son village communal house became the headquarters of the patriotic scholars.
When King Ham Nghi was arrested, the Can Vuong movement disintegrated, many patriotic scholars in Thanh Son village and surrounding areas were arrested and beheaded. At that time, the Thanh Son village communal house was burned by the enemy.
During the 2nd reign of King Dong Khanh (the Year of Pig - 1887), Thanh Son villagers set up a pavilion in Go Dinh (next to present-day Au Co Street) to hold rituals.
During the 2nd reign of King Thanh Thai (the Year of Tiger - 1890), Phan Van Tu called on clans to build the village communal house. He personally supported a communal house with wooden ribs, three compartments, four roofs, tiled roofs, and plank walls.
During the fifth reign of King Thanh Thai (the Year of Cat - 1903), various clan sects together established a solid communal house with brick walls, yin and yang tile roofs, and wooden doors and tables.
Later, the Thanh Son village communal house changed its name to Thanh Vinh, and it has been embellished and repaired.
In 2014, the Thanh Vinh village communal house was recognised as a municipal-level historical relic. The village communal house festival is annually held in the third lunar month.
Da Son village communal house festival
As one of the major cultural events in Lien Chieu District, the Da Son village communal house festival takes place on the 10th day of the third lunar month every year.
It consists of some solemn rituals, and a wide range of interesting folk games and traditional competitions. Included are making offerings to the ancestors and the God of the Soil, a prayer ceremony, an incense-offering ceremony in commemoration of national heroes and ancestors, a football tournament, a cuisine festival, and musical programmes.
The Da Son village has a history of over 700 years. It was established by Mr. Phan Cong Thien (1318-1405) and his wife, Princess Tran Thi Ngoc Lang (1323-1406).
Mr. Phan Cong Thien's grave was classified as a municipal-level relic in 2021. Currently, the Da Son village is preserving many royal ordinations and valuable wooden artifacts.
Reporting by TIEU YEN - Translating by M.DUNG