The 2016 Con Son – Kiep Bac Spring Festival officially opened on February 23 (the 16th day of the 1st lunar month) at Con Son relic.
|
Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan and delegates burn incense to commemorate the 682nd death anniversary of Venerable Huyen Quang, the tertiary patriarch of Truc Lam Zen
|
The Con Son – Kiep Bac Festival Organizing Board opened the 2016 spring festival and announced the Prime Minister's decision to recognize Thanh Hu Dong stele as a national treasure on the morning of February 23 (the 16th day of the 1st lunar month) at Con Son relic (Hai Duong).
Taking place at 7.30 am was a water procession ceremony. From the yard of Con Son pagoda, a parade of thousands of people with dragons, parasols, sets of eight weapons, and palanquins proceeded to Con Son lake. There, delegates and monks went on board to offer incense, notify deities, release birds, and climb on a devotional platform to pray for water. 30 minutes later, water was scooped into a vase and returned to the pagoda for a seating ceremony.
Water procession is an important ceremony at the Con Son – Kiep Bac Spring Festival with the purposes of taking sacred water for worshipping in the Buddha hall, performing moc duc (statue bathing) ceremony, praising the power of village community, praying for crops, water, etc.
The water procession ceremony was first restored at the Con Son – Kiep Bac Spring Festival in 2008.
After the water procession ceremony, solemnly occurring in the pagoda yard was a ceremony to open the 2016 spring festival and commemorate the 682nd death anniversary of Venerable Huyen Quang, the tertiary patriarch of Truc Lam Zen, (1334 – 2016).
The festival opening speech of Mr. Luong Van Cau, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, Head of the Con Son – Kiep Bac Festival Organizing Board, highlighted the life and religious cause of tertiary patriarch Huyen Quang.
Tertiary patriarch Huyen Quang, whose real name is Ly Dao Tai, was born in 1254 in Bac Ninh. He was a person of great learning and talent and came first in the examination in Giap Tuat year (1274).
Working as a mandarin for the Tran dynasty for a short time, he resigned, turned to and persistently learnt religions, and compiled prayer books. He once accompanied King Monk Tran Nhan Tong and Phap Loa around the country to preach and became the tertiary patriarch of Truc Lam Zen.
In the last years of his life, he became the head of Con Son pagoda, continued the construction of a Cuu Pham Lien Hoa tower (nine-storeyed lotus-shaped tower), and compiled prayer books for transmission to later generations.
The festival opening speech also clearly stated the meaning and importance of Con Son – Kiep Bac in history and great contributions of Truc Lam Zen to the cause of national construction and defense.
In the 14th century, Con Son became the ancestral land of Truc Lam Zen and a spiritual fulcrum of the army and people of Dai Viet (old name of Vietnam).
Con Son pagoda, Kiep Bac temple, and Nguyen Trai temple are typical structures in the national tangible cultural heritage system. With exceptional value, Con Son – Kiep Bac and the festival were recognized as special national relics and part of the national intangible cultural heritage, respectively, in 2012.
Currently, functional authorities of Quang Ninh, Bac Giang, and Hai Duong provinces are actively coordinating to make a dossier to request the UNESCO to recognize the complex of Yen Tu relic, Con Son – Kiep Bac relics, and Vinh Nghiem pagoda as part of the world cultural heritage.
At the ceremony, Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan awarded the Prime Minister's decision to recognize Thanh Hu Dong stele as a national treasure. This is the most ancient out of 16 steles at Con Son pagoda.
Thanh Hu Dong stele dates from Long Khanh years (1372 – 1377) in the reign of King Tran Due Tong. When Minister over the Masses Tran Nguyen Dan built Thanh Hu cave in Con Son to live after retirement, King Tran Due Tong wrote three large words "Thanh Hu Dong" (Thanh Hu cave) on the front, and King's Father Tran Nghe Tong composed a bai minh (a kind of poem with four-word verses) inscribed on the back of the stele.
Thanh Hu Dong is a precious stele and invaluable property of Con Son relic because apart from its age, the stele is a material helping to learn more about Thanh Hu cave.
After the ceremony, the delegates, locals, and visitors respectfully offered incense in commemoration of Venerable Huyen Quang, the tertiary patriarch of Truc Lam Zen, in the stone yard of Con Son pagoda.
* On the morning of the same day, the 6th Provincial Clay Firecracker Festival took place in the stone yard of Con Son pagoda as part of the 2016 Con Son – Kiep Bac Spring Festival. This was the 4th year clay firecrackers had been included in the Con Son – Kiep Bac Spring Festival, attracting 250 firecracker players of eight teams from seven communes of Ninh Hoa, An Duc, Tan Huong, Quyet Thang (Ninh Giang), Duc Xuong (Gia Loc), Quang Khai, and Minh Duc (Tu Ky).
A player throws his firecracker
The firecracker players competed in four strings, each of which consisted of 20 times of firecracker throwing, for team prizes in large and small firecracker events. The clay firecracker festival brought a bustling atmosphere to the Con Son – Kiep Bac Spring Festival.
Finally, the Festival Organizing Board awarded the first team prize in the large firecracker event to the team from Minh Duc commune and the first team prize in the small firecracker event to the team from An Duc commune.
In the large firecracker long string event, player Nguyen Van Thoang of the team from Minh Duc commune snatched the first prize with four strings stretching 34.1m.
In the small firecracker long string event, player Tran Dinh Phuong from An Duc commune grabbed the first prize with four strings stretching 26.9m.
* In the afternoon, the 2016 (Open) Provincial National Wrestling Championship, held by the Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, opened in the stone yard of Con Son pagoda.
Female wrestlers join in international freestyle wrestling
Attending this year's tournament were 42 male and female wrestlers of 12 teams in and outside the province. There were eight teams from the province's localities, namely Hai Duong city, Chi Linh provincial town, and the districts of Tu Ky, Gia Loc, Nam Sach, Kinh Mon, Ninh Giang, and Binh Giang. Four teams from the provinces of Ha Nam, Bac Ninh, and Bac Giang and the army engaged in friendly competitions in freestyle and national wrestling events. The wrestlers competed in seven weight classes from 50 – 75kg.
Besides, there was a festival tournament for wrestlers and visitors to vie for consolation prizes.
After the opening drumroll and a traditional wrestling match with eye-catching rituals, many fascinating matches of the competition part took place with breathtaking movements.
The wresting festival lured numerous locals and visitors coming to cheer.
The (Open) Provincial National Wrestling Championship is held annually at the Con Son – Kiep Bac Spring Festival. This year's tournament ended on February 24 (the 17th day of the 1st lunar month).
NGOC HUNG
