Taking place during in the 2nd to 3rd lunar month, the festival derives from the cult of worshipping whale, also known as Ông Nam Hải (Mr. Nam Hải). Whale worship is a longstanding tradition of maritime communities along the Central coast. According legend and local belief, whales are savior of fishermen in the sea and bring about good fisheries. In Khanh Hoa Province, the festival begins with a Nghinh Ông (Whale Procession) Ceremony in the sea. To invite the whale spirit, the local fishermen make an offering ceremony on the sea. After that, 15 fishing boats, lining up in a V shape, make a parade on the sea, processing the whale’s spirit to his temple on shore. The festival subsequently continues with the royal decree procession ceremony. This is followed by a ritual inviting the spirit enter the temple. Lion and dragon dances, bá trạo singing and tuồng opera performances add a more joyful atmosphere into the 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.

The festival is held on the 5th and 6th of January at Hào Pagoda, associated with the merits of Buddha Emperor Trần Nhân Tông and three tutelary gods including layman Nguyễn Danh Quang, Nguyễn Danh Nguyên and Lý Đình Khuê. The villagers organized a procession of Saint tablets and offerings from the 5 villages to the pagoda, offering incense and worshiping the Ancestors. In the past, each family had a palanquin to receive communion. Nowadays, it is replaced by procession. The feast is elaborately prepared and presented with many regulations. Early in the morning of the 4th, dragon palanquins carried the conferments from Hào pagoda to Đụn communal house to hold the ceremony. On the 5th, the procession of ordained people returns to the pagoda and continues the ceremony. There are 16 men participating in the sacrificial team, distributed according to zodiac signs. Weeks of worship include offerings of flowers and incense and thanksgiving. On the 6th day, the village takes the conferred ordinations to the temple to worship the three tutelary gods to worship. In the procession, 8 people carrying swords and spears will dance movements according to martial arts positions, reenacting the story of three laymen who fought left and right, commanding soldiers to fight the Mongol invaders. Festival: The unique feature of the Festival is the swimming competition, associated with the anecdote of King Trần Nhân Tông stopping by to visit the pagoda on his way. In particular, the first and second-best swimming teams will participate in duck-catching and rice-cooking competitions on the river. The rice cooking contest took place enthusiastically amid the cheers of the audience: the contestant sat on a boat with a firewood stove cooking rice; Both keep the rice cooking fire and rice cooker safe and prevent other boats from cooking rice by splashing water, however, do not fall directly into the kitchen. The team wins when the stove does not collapse, the rice is cooked first, and it tastes better. The duck-catching game is also unique: the person who catches the duck still has to dive underwater, use their hands to dig out the duck's gizzard, and then hold the gizzard in their mouth before emerging.

Và Temple - Đông Cung in the four palaces worshiping Saint Tản Viên in Đoài land - Vân Gia village, Trung Hưng ward, Sơn Tây town. Every year, on the full moon of January and the full moon of September, the festival is held solemnly and solemnly. The full moon day of January in the years of the Rat, Horse, Cat, and Rooster is a grand festival, attracting tens of thousands of participants. The most important ritual of the Festival is to process the Dragon Throne of the Three Saints Tản across the Red River to Ngự Dội Temple (Vĩnh Ninh, Vĩnh Tường, Vĩnh Phúc). The community holds the Mộc Dục ritual in the morning and the Summoning ceremony in the afternoon. From 5:00 a.m. on the full moon day of the first lunar month, the palanquin procession begins to depart, from the Temple and through some streets in Sơn Tây town to the Red River wharf and take a boat across the river to Ngự Dội temple to worship the Saint. The procession consists of 3 main palanquins (bowl and tribute palanquins) and ceremonial palanquins of the villages, dragon dancing team, eight treasure team, road team, music team, worship team, incense offering team, etc. Along the route, people set up incense burners and made offerings to the Saint on both sides of the road, as well as communal dwellings, temples, pagodas, and people in general. The three main palanquins at the crossroads revolve three times, then bounce three times. There is the custom of "going under the palanquin" - children with anorexia, slow growth, old people, and sick people pass under the palanquin to pray to the Saint for health. In the afternoon, the procession from Ngu Doi Temple returns to Va Temple for a resting ceremony. The main ceremony on January 16 is the most unique and majestic ceremony in the series of ceremonies at the Festival. January 17 is Thanksgiving Day, the villagers asked the Holy Father for permission to lower the flag and close the main Nghi Môn gate. Many folk games are organized and practiced such as rice-blowing competitions, duck catching, wrestling, swinging, tug of war, human chess, etc.

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.

Inscribed in 2009 (4.COM) on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity Jeju’s harsh environmental features have made the islanders’ lives tough, inspiring respect for the sea. Dongguk Yeoji Seungnam (Augmented Survey of the Geography of Korea) of the Joseon Dynasty records, “As there is the custom of valuing licentious sacrifices, rites are held to honor the gods of forests, ponds, hills, trees and stones.” It can thus be inferred that many religious activities are conducted in Jeju. For Jeju islanders, the Yeongdeunggut rite is of special significance. When the time of Yeongdeung arrives, the rites are held throughout the island to plead for calm seas and abundant sea catches. Of all these rites, the one at the Chilmeoridang Shrine called the Jeju Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut is the most important. Its name implies that it is a rite for the goddess of wind only, but it is also a rite to worship village guardian gods and the Dragon King of the sea. While venerated, Yeongdeung also instills fear as she threatens people’s lives by stirring the sea. From early to mid-February when the goddess is present on the island, the sea is particularly turbulent. The islanders believe that as she leaves she removes all the contents of the shellfish. On the day of departure, however, the goddess also sows seeds along the shore to ensure people’s livelihood and the sea is purified to help the growth of the seeds. As such, importance has been attached to the time of her stay and people began to mark the occasion by performing a rite at the Chilmeoridang Shrine in supplication for safety and good sea harvests. Named after the village where it is located, the Chilmeoridang Shrine serves the goddess Yeongdeung and a couple, the Magistrate god and the sea goddess known as the Dragon King's Wife. The couple’s responsibilities are divided between the needs of the local residents (managed by the god) and the livelihood of fishermen and female divers (the domain of the goddess). The Chilmeoridang Shrine is where the Yeongdeung Welcome Rite is held on the 1st day of the second lunar month to mark the arrival of the goddess as well as the Yeongdeung Farewell Rite performed on the 14th. During this period, rituals for the mountain gods (dangje), which are performed in the first lunar month elsewhere in Korea, are carried out in other villages on Jeju Island. Only on Jeju are rituals for the mountain gods and rites for the goddess Yeongdeung combined into one shaman ritual, Yeongdeunggut. Compared to the simple Yeongdeung Welcome Rite, the Yeongdeung Farewell Rite is a sumptuous and more significant event. It is considered one of the most important of the shaman rituals and includes a rite for the Dragon King. The Welcome Rite begins with chogamje, a “calling of the gods” ceremony which involves greeting and inviting the gods to the shrine as well as reciting the participants’ names, followed by pungeoje, a “pleading for a good catch” ceremony, and ends with seoksalrimgut, a gut (shaman ritual) with a three-act play to entertain and appease the ancestral gods. The Farewell Rite also begins with the chogamje ceremony, but it also includes bonhyangdeum, an “entering the Village Shrine” ceremony. This involves asking the God and Goddess Couple to plead for the wellbeing of the village. The ritual includes three village officials offering drinks to the Couple and villagers asking that their wishes be granted. This is followed by chumul gongyeon, an “offering” ceremony in which drinks and rice cakes are offered to all the gods, a yowang maji, a “welcoming the Dragon King” ceremony, which is a special welcome for the Dragon King and the goddess Yeongdeung to ask them to ensure an abundant catch and safety at sea for the fishermen, and then by ssidrim, an “offering of seeds” ceremony in which fortunetelling is done with millet seeds and the sowing of seaweed seeds. Next comes the doaek mageum, “preventing disasters” ceremony that involves the throwing of a rooster to prevent disasters from happening in the village. There is also fortunetelling for the villagers and female divers. This is followed by the yeonggam nori, a play in which the village’s senior men launch a straw boat into the sea. The rite ends with the dosin, “sending the gods back” ceremony. Chilmeoridang Yeongdeunggut began to be widely known in 1980 as simbang (senior shaman) Ahn Sa-in was recognized as Skill Holder. At the time, the waves of modernization had resulted in a negative view of gut as being a dangerous superstition. However, the fishing people of Jeju, along with simbangs, went into deep valleys and sea caves to secretly offer up fervent prayers. Then, the ritual’s designation as an important intangible cultural heritage paved the way for its survival. Determined to revive the rite, Ahn Sa-in established an association with simbangs to safeguard the heritage. Among the founding members are the current Skill Holder Kim Yun-su, adviser Yang Chang-bo, and trainer Goh Sun-An. As Ahn, who had prevented the gut from disappearing on Jeju, passed away in 1990, Kim Yun-su was recognized as the second Skill Holder in 1995. There are currently 40 members. Although the rite is conducted by shamans, its real owners are female divers and ship owners, together called “dangol,” who prepare food for the rite and offer sacrifices to the gods. Starting from their early teens, the divers continue their work of collecting marine delicacies from the ocean floor, so their safety and abundance of the sea are their lifelong wish; and their existence helps maintain the Yeongdeunggut. Sending off the goddess Yeongdeung, the dangol prays: “When you leave, please sow seeds of turban shells, abalones, octopi and sea cucumbers so that we, the people who believe in the sea, can have an abundant sea catch.”

South Korea 2009

“The Royal Water Festival” is a major national festival that Cambodians across the country celebrate every year. Because this is a national festival organized by the Royal Government, the main center for the ceremony is in Phnom Penh, Chaktomuk river in front of the Royal Palace. In the provinces, villages, districts and pagodas, this ceremony is also held according to their ability and resources. Every year, the Water Festival is held on the 14th Kert, 15th Kert and 1st Roach day of the Kadeuk month (lunar calendar), and people from everywhere come to participate in this festival in large numbers. In this festival, there are 3 big events: boat racing, lantern floating ceremony, and Ok Ambok ceremony to worship the moon god. Boat Race: Boats that are used for racing are called “Tuk Ngor” which consist of two types of boats: Tuk Ngor and Tuk Chev. Today, most pagodas have Tuk Ngor. Some pagodas have only Tuk Om or Tuk Chev and some pagodas have both types of boats. Touk Ngor is a village or a community’s property. Since it is a communal ‘s property, the Touk is placed and taken care of by monks and the pagoda. Villagers will train and join the race. Before the Water Festival arrives, villages are gathered to train because the racers are not professional athletes. They usually do work for a living and come to train only when the race is approaching. During the Water Festival in Phnom Penh, they have to do the selection from their own village. Some pagodas or villages in the district hold this boat race during Pchum Ben and some race on the day of Chenh Preah Vossa for people to watch and celebrate the festival. On the day of the Water Festival, only the winning boats for each village and district representative will be taken to join the race in Phnom Penh. The boat race lasts for 3 days. In general, the number of boats participating in the race each year is about 400 to 600 boats, and each boat is drawn to select a competitor organized by the race organizing committee. Each boat requires to race twice, once in the outer stream and against the inner stream. The race starts from Chroy Changvar Bridge and runs along the water in front of the Royal Palace at Dum Nak Pear (royal port), which is the final and the place where the King and his entourage sit and watch. The winning boats from the first day and the second day must go to the race on the third day, which is the final day. At the end of the race, there is an important task called“Cut Proit" celebrated by the Baku Brahmins at the Royal Palace. The sword for the cut consists of the swords kept in the Royal Palace and four other swords kept by the Brahmin family in Baray District, Kampong Thom Province. Each day the king came to be the preside and watch the boat race at the port pavilion in front of the royal palace. Besides, there is also the royal Family, prime ministers, the president of the national assembly, diplomats, and many more dignitaries. Lantern Floating Ceremony: Every night of the Royal Water Festival, there is always Pror Tip Jvea Lea floating on the water for people to visit and enjoy. The figure decorated with lights are usually arranged on boats or large ships, designed as symbols of ministries or institutions or of private companies, and decorated with colorful light bulbs. In some rural areas, people also float lanterns along rivers, lakes or ponds in pagodas, etc. The small lanterns are made of banana trees or banana leaves decorated with flowers and candles. Ork Ombok Sompeah Preah Khae ceremony: On the night of the middle of the Royal Water Festival, which falls on the full moon day, there is another important ceremony, "Ok Ambok Sompeah Preah Khae”. Whether it is a house, a pagoda or a royal palace, offerings are always prepared for the ceremony. The main offerings were Ambok (pounding rice grain), banana, coconut, and sugar cane, as well as candles, incense, and flowers. In the countryside, many villagers Dal (pounding) the Ambok by themselves. In addition to preparing offerings at home, the villagers bring bananas and young coconuts to the abbot in the temple, and the abbot also arranges the Ambok on a pedestal dish and five young coconuts for the monks. Then the monk began to pray and spread the Ambok to young and old Buddhists is a sign that the fruits are abundant. When the monks finished chanting, the Buddhists came out to celebrate the Ok Ambok ceremony. Traditionally, the Ok Ambok ceremony begins at midnight, when the full moon rotates above the head. But today, in pagodas, people often start the Ok Ambok ceremony late at night, as Buddhists will soon return home. Before the Ok Ambok ceremony begins, one of the most important tasks is to "drain the candles." This is done at the Royal Palace and in the pagodas across the country. The main purpose of the candle draining is to predict the rain and agriculture harvesting in the coming season. The way to drain a candle is to insert a row of candles, about one inch apart, on a long candle holder made of bamboo or wood, and at the northern end, there are often carved dragon heads. The candles in the Royal Palace depend on the number of provinces. There can be 24 or 25 candles, that is, after the Brahmins have finished praying, they light them. The candles are turned upside down. If the candles representing the province burn the most, it is predicted that the province will have lots of rain. But in some areas of the countryside, there may be many candles, all of them 108, which is a very lucky number in the ancient Khmer tradition. At other pagodas, for example at Wat Taing Krasang (Brorsam village, Kampong Cham province), there are five candles, but only three are considered important, as the other two candles are smaller. The three candles represent the beginning, middle, and end of the year. After the end of the candle draining ceremony, the Ok Ambok ceremony began. At that time, young and old, men and women, took the Ambok and gave it to each other happily. Therefore, the Ak Ambok Sompeah Preah Khae ceremony refers to the same idea, that is, to have abundant harvests, and only until there is enough rain, the fruits can be reaped.

Bơi Đăm Boat Race Festival (Boat Racing Festival) has existed since ancient times, taking place from the 9th to the 11th of the third lunar month, an activity that depicts the use of the navy to repel the invaders of General Dao Truong during the reign of King Hung (Hung Due Vuong). The Bơi Đăm Boat Race Festival is associated with the communal house festival and the relics including: Tay Dam Temple, Dam Communal House and Trung Tuu Communal House in Tay Tuu Ward (Bac Tu Liem District, Hanoi City). Tay Tuu used to be Dam Village (Ke Dam) with three hamlets: Thuong, Trung and Ha. Tay Dam Temple in the Upper region worships Bach Hac Tam Giang - the person who contributed to repelling foreign invaders to protect Van Lang country during the reign of King Hung. After a period of interruption, in 1994, the traditional Dam Boating Festival was re-organized. The Bơi Đăm Boat Race Festival is held every five years, on even years. The special and unique feature of the traditional Dam swimming festival is the procession of the Saint on land and by water. The festival takes place at a branch of the Nhue River, also known as the Thuy Giang River (Pheo River), which is nearly 1km long and about a hundred meters wide. The racing teams come from local villages. The festival has 6 participating boats, numbered equally among 3 villages. The Thuong village boat has a Crane head, numbered 1 and 4; the Trung village boat has a Dragon head, numbered 2 and 5; the Ha village boat has a Ly head, numbered 3 and 6. Each boat has 25 people participating, including: 01 driver, 01 assistant driver, 10 sailors, 01 gong player, 01 flag waver, 01 water bailer and 18 swimmers. In addition, there is a 7th boat - the Quan boat, whose job is to supervise the race. The race is conducted over 6 laps on the 10th and 11th. The starting point is from the front of the communal house to the temple, about 1km away. Before entering the official race, at the drum signal, the boats take turns sending people to the boat to perform the Saint's ceremony - an indispensable ritual. After completing the rituals, the referee uses flags and loudspeakers to guide the teams to position their boats in order, lining up evenly at the starting point. The boats of the 3 regions are arranged alternately, ready to wait for orders. When the referee's command flag is waved down, the boats begin to swim. On each racing boat, there are people beating the gong and shouting to give more strength to the rowers. In a ready position, the boats simultaneously rush forward, under the command of the Head of the Department. The gong and command sounds in harmony with the unison shouts... creating a bustling, exciting atmosphere like entering a fierce naval battle. The swimming teams put all their strength into the steering wheel and oars, the boats raced like shuttles. On both sides of the Nhue River, crowds of spectators and tourists gathered to witness the rowing competition during the Dam rowing festival. The drums sounded like thunder, continuously, adding strength to cheer and encourage the racing teams. At the end of the competition, the boat with the most first-place finishes received the first prize, the boat with the most second-place finishes received the second prize. The two village boats with the most first-place finishes won the first-place team prize, the two village boats with the most second-place finishes won the second-place team prize. The winning boat also had the honor of carrying the Saint's throne to the Upper Temple, because according to ancient customs, "The Saint walks on foot - returns by water". Therefore, the two boats that won the highest prize will be able to carry the Saint to his palace on the 11th day of the third lunar month. After the boat race, the villagers held a thanksgiving ceremony and then carried the Saint down the boat to his Temple. Bơi Đăm Boat Race Festival is a very ancient ritual, protected and maintained by villagers from generation to generation. Bơi Đăm Village Boat Racing Festival (Tay Tuu) contributes to promoting and strengthening community solidarity, has educational significance towards the origin, and is also a form of physical exercise for local people. Bơi Đăm Swimming is both fun, beautiful, attractive and unique. This is also a traditional cultural sport that competes in intelligence and talent, deserving the top position in traditional festivals throughout the region. With such typical values, in 2018, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism recognized the traditional Bơi Đăm Boat Race Festival as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The festival takes place in Kiếp Bạc Temple in the autumn from the 15th to 20th of the eighth lunar month in honoring the legendary General Trần Hưng Đạo, also known as Saint Trần, who defeated the Mongol invaders three times back in the 13th century. To many, Saint Trần is also worshipped as Father, serving as their protective spirit. In feudal society, the festival was part of an annually national ceremony and officiated by a mandarin dispatched by the King. The most important ritual of the festival is the procession of offerings on boat along Lục Đầu River. It is an honor for anyone in the commune to be selected to prepare for and row boats. The boats are decorated with red fabric strips on the sides and with followers and lanterns on board. Especially, the dragon palanquin boat is decorated with yellow fabric strips and flowers. The ritual starts with Saint Trần’s tablet being processed onto the golden-gilded palanquin, from the main temple building passing through the Tam Quan Gate towards the river. The procession takes about two hours along the river.

Chinese paper-cut, a traditional handiwork created by cutting patterns on paper via scissors or graver, has been a time-honoured folk art piece for decorating purpose on festivals or coordinating with various folk custom activities. As a folk art form adored and practiced by Chinese folks, Chinese paper-cut has been developed for more than 1,500 years with its fabrication skills and sculpts being preserved to these days. Chinese paper-cut comprises two classifications including “paper-cutting” and “paper-engraving”. The former relies on manual cutting and often produces one art piece in one process; the latter relies on engraving with graver and often produces multiple art pieces in one process. The Chinese paper-cut art pieces have unified color or multiple colors. Besides, mosaic or setting-off skills are adopted to enrich the color effect of Chinese paper-cut art pieces. For many centuries, Chinese paper-cut art pieces have been extensively applied to people’s daily life and on various folk custom activities such as fete, festivals and etiquettes. They have diverse patterns including: the paper-cut art pieces on window, lintel, bed and ceiling for the purpose of interior decoration; the paper-cut art pieces on occasions of wedding ceremony, birthday party, lantern festival and dragon boat festival; the paper-cut art pieces that are taken as the sample for embroidering pillow, shoe and bellyband; the paper-cut art pieces for the purpose of praying for rain, dispelling the evil and ushering in the auspice. Among numerous patterns of Chinese paper-cut, each one symbolizes certain conventionalized meanings, i.e. pomegranate symbolizes multiplied offspring while dragon and phoenix signifies love. Usually, Chinese paper-cut artists create paper-cut works off the cuff and the themes of paper-cut art pieces relate to a wide range of scope including folk belief, myths, historical stories, daily labor activities, universe and nature. The bold and vivid sculpt in Chinese paper-cut sufficiently signifies the romantic thinking and wild imagination of Chinese people. Due to the vast territory and great difference of folk customs in the northern and southern regions of China, there are diversified styles in Chinese paper-cut. Comparatively speaking, the paper-cut art pieces in North China are characterized with bold and crude artistic styles while those in South China are fine and delicate.

China 2009

The tradition-bearers of the element are communities in the three water-puppetry guilds of Bồ Dương Village (in Hồng Phong Commune, Ninh Giang District), An Liệt Village (in Thanh Hải Commune, Thanh Hà District) and Bùi Thượng Village (in Lê Lợi Commune, Gia Lộc District). Water puppetry is a form of amusement for villagers during village festivals. Performances often takes place in a small nhà trò or thủy đình stage in a pond at the village’s communal house. Performers submerge themselves in the water, behind a bamboo screen, to maneuver wooden puppets with poles and robes. A show often includes short playful scenes with various puppet characters, such as the Tễu clown, dragon, turtle, lion, snake, fish, dragon boat, and so on. Puppets are made of sung wood (cluster fig), meticulously sculptured and ornately decorated. The puppet’s base, attached with a manual mechanism that allows maneuvering underwater, is always heavier than the top so that it can float halfway without sinking. Music, rooted from North folk songs and chèo music is an important component. Popular excerpts and scenes are intro by Tễu, wrestling, fishing, dragon dance, the Eight Fairies, so on. In order to accommodate new audience tastes in contemporary life, water puppet artists create new scenes and excerpt with more sophisticated techniques.

“Hakka” means “guest people” in Chinese. A group of Hakka settled in Mui Tsz Lam, a village in North-East New Territories in Hong Kong, in the 17th Century during the Qing Dynasty. The Hakka are known for being hardworking and enduring. Since they farmed on less fertile terraces, their food grown is modest and practical. This culture is also reflected in festive foods like rice dumplings for the Tuen Ng Festival, also known as the Dragon Boat Festival. Making and eating rice dumplings is an essential part of the Tuen Ng Festival. The festival is associated the patriotic poet and politician Qu Yuan in the 3rd Century BC, who committed suicide at the river. After his death, people made rice dumplings and threw them into the river and played drums on the dragon boat, hoping that the fish would not eat Qu Yuan’s body. At present times, people still make rice dumplings every Tuen Ng festival as a tradition, with different recipes passed on in different areas. The Hakka recipe is modest and simple, which utilizes almost all home grown produce, which includes bamboo leaves, sticky rice, peanuts, shallots, and dried shrimp. After many years of desolation since the 1970s, Mui Tsz Lam villagers come back to their home village to make rice dumplings together for the first time.