Highlights of Tranh Temple Festival

Tranh Temple National Historical and Cultural Relic welcomes many visitors from all over the world to visit and worship (photo: Thanh Chung)

This spring 2023, the people of Ninh Giang district will receive great joy when the Tranh Temple Festival is recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Mysterious legend

Tranh Temple in Dong Tam Commune (Ninh Giang) is an ancient architectural work, associated with the character Quan Lon Tuan Tranh, a Water God, the fifth son of the Water King. According to legend, in the past in Lac Duc village (Tu Ky), there was a poor couple who were old and had no children. One day, the husband was digging the garden and found two eggs, thinking they were bird eggs so he kept them carefully. Later, two snakes hatched. One day, the husband was digging the ground and a snake jumped in to play, and the hoe cut off its tail. However, the snake only ate chickens. The husband went to steal chickens to feed them a lot, but later, afraid that the neighbors would find out and would be guilty, he had to throw them into the Tranh River. One day, a princess wanted to cross the river, but the water was swirling so fiercely that the boat could not cross. Later, according to the mandarin's words, the local people asked the old couple to come and ask what happened. The old woman was scared, so she took two handfuls of rice and threw them into the river and said: "My child, if you love me, don't make waves anymore so that I won't be guilty". As soon as he finished speaking, the waves were calm.

There was a mandarin named Trinh Thuong Quan who was assigned to Ninh Giang. He married a very beautiful concubine. One day, she went boating on the Tranh River and met a man from the water who came up and asked to marry her. She refused to listen. When she returned home at night, while she was sleeping, she saw that man appear in her room and insisted on marrying her. She told this story to the mandarin. The mandarin was also surprised, so he kept a close watch. One day, he was away on official business and when he returned, he found the room empty.

The Governor was very upset, so he resigned and went to the Tranh River every day to look for his wife. Later, he met a fairy named Quỷ Cốc who told him that the Governor had been taken by the fifth prince of the Water King to be his wife. Later, thanks to the help of the Fairy Quỷ Cốc, the Water King allowed the couple to reunite and exiled the fifth prince to the Tranh River. From then on, people on both sides of the river saw many strange things, so they built a temple, called Tranh Temple. People around the wharf, or boats passing by, if they encountered storms, would pray, and the storms would calm down.

Water procession ceremony at Tranh Temple Traditional Festival (documentary photo)

National intangible cultural heritage

On April 4, 2022, the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism signed a decision to include the Tranh Temple Traditional Festival in the list of National Intangible Cultural Heritage. After the Trinh Xuyen Communal House Traditional Festival in Nghia An Commune, the Tranh Temple Traditional Festival became the second festival in Ninh Giang District to be listed as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage. This cultural event is of great significance, affirming the efforts of the Party Committees, authorities at all levels and people of Ninh Giang District in preserving and promoting the values ​​of local cultural heritage.

Every year, at Tranh Temple, there are two main festivals in the 2nd and 8th lunar months, in addition to the Quan party on the 25th of the 5th lunar month. The festival in the 2nd lunar month is the main festival, taking place from the 10th to the 20th of the 2nd lunar month. The 14th of the 2nd lunar month is the main festival, and also the birthday of Saint Tuan Tranh, attracting a large number of people in the region and visitors from all over the world to participate.

Compared to the past, today, the traditional festival of Tranh Temple has become much simpler, but the basic features are still preserved and promoted. Due to the mystery of the legend of Quan Lon Tuan Tranh, every festival, the Organizing Committee of the Traditional Festival of Tranh Temple invites representatives of the government, the Management Board of Lac Duc Temple relic and the people of Hung Dao commune, Tu Ky district (where Lac Duc Temple relic worships the father and mother of Quan Lon Tuan Tranh) and representatives of the government, the Management Board of Ky Cung Temple relic, the people of Vinh Trai ward, Lang Son city (where Quan Lon is worshiped when he went to guard the border of Ky Cung) to attend the festival.

The most special thing is the water procession. The procession formation is prepared according to pre-arranged positions. Those who directly participate in the procession must be in festival costumes, depending on the group, wearing the tunic, turban... The master of ceremonies beats the drum to signal the procession formation to be ready. At exactly 9 o'clock, the procession departs from the Tranh temple yard. The order of the procession formation is as follows: Leading the way is the four sacred animals dance team (Dragon - Unicorn - Turtle - Phoenix) - the divine flag team - the gong and drum team - the spear-holding and eight-treasure formation - the eight-cong palanquin carrying the tablet of the great Mandarin Tuan Tranh - the long-palace palanquin (carrying the water jar) - the male worship team - the delegation of all levels - the force participating in folk games - and finally the people and tourists from all directions coming to attend the festival. The procession's route is from the Tranh temple yard through Nghi Mon, turning right through the streets of Ninh Giang town to the Luoc river junction and then returning to the temple. The procession moves with the sound of flowing water and clouds, making a large area bustling.

In addition to the incense offering, the festival also has a solemn singing and worshiping of the Saints. The number of visitors to Tranh Temple during the festival reaches tens of thousands.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Van, Vice Chairman of Ninh Giang District People's Committee, said that the Tranh Temple Traditional Festival was included in the list of national intangible cultural heritage, contributing to educating the tradition and sense of responsibility of officials and people in preserving and promoting the unique cultural values ​​of the locality. This is the first year the festival has been organized at the district level, so all preparations have been actively and urgently implemented by the Festival Organizing Committee of Ninh Giang District in coordination with Dong Tam Commune People's Committee and Tranh Temple Management Board.

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