| Description |
Ngu Doi Temple Festival, also known as Doi Temple, is located on the left bank of the Red River in Duy Binh village, Vinh Ninh commune, Vinh Tuong district, Vinh Phuc province. Ngu Doi Temple Festival is held on the full moon day of the first lunar month every year to commemorate Saint Tan Vien, the hero who contributed to the land clearing and flood control since the Hung King founded the country.
According to tradition, Ngu Doi Temple Festival is held every 3 years in the years: Ty, Ngo, Mao, Dau, which are the five great festivals taking place in 8 villages of Trung Hung commune; Vien Son commune (Son Tay - Hanoi) and Vinh Ninh commune. On the festival day, the villages organize together: carrying the Saint's palanquin from Va temple in Trung Hung commune to Ngu Doi temple, escorted by bamboo boats, with cheers, gongs, drums and singing.
The palanquin procession and ceremony rituals are very typical and unique, such as: The "thu thuy" ceremony in the middle of the Red River. The procession of the “kiệu chóe” with hundreds of pedestrians, accompanied by the sound of drums and gongs, goes to the bank of the Red River, gets on a boat, circles up and down the Red River 3 times, then takes 9 ladles of water from a point where the coolest water source converges, puts them in an ancient jar, and offers them to Ngu Doi Temple, to respectfully perform the “moc duc” ritual - a very important ritual that is reenacted in every main festival day. When the procession of the Three Saints’ palanquin from Va Temple (Son Tay) arrives at the ferry, in Vinh Ninh Commune (Vinh Tuong), the rituals: “Yen vi ritual”, “moc duc ritual”, “Đốn ritual”, “Khai hoan ritual”... are solemnly held at Ngu Doi Temple. In addition, the “Tiến Đốn” ceremony also has a very typical and unique feature of the culture of the Doai region. The offering in the “Tiến Đốn” ceremony is a pig with its hair shaved, its intestines and liver removed, but a tuft of hair on its neck is left, respectfully offered to the Saint. After the "sacrificial" rituals were concluded, the procession of the palanquin back to the palace to be placed at Va Temple (Son Tay) took place very solemnly and respectfully. Besides, there were also folk games, parties...
The festival is a convergence of community strength and conveys the aspirations for peace and prosperity of the people in the riverside alluvial land. This is a long-standing, typical, unique and famous festival of the Doai region. Through the festival, the relationship between the communities, especially the communities on both sides of the Left and Right banks of the Red River: Vinh Tuong - Son Tay, is increasingly close. The Ngu Doi Temple Festival was recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2018. |
