Opening of the National Festival of Lady of the Land of Sam Mountain 2023

Art performance at the opening ceremony of the 2023 National Festival of Lady of the Land of Sam Mountain

Mr. Le Van Phuoc, Vice Chairman of An Giang Provincial People's Committee, said that the Via Ba Chua Xu Festival of Sam Mountain in Chau Doc (An Giang) is a traditional festival that has been preserved and practiced by many generations of Chau Doc, An Giang people.

The festival is associated with a series of major events in Chau Doc City from June 8 to 14 (April 21 to April 27 of the lunar calendar), such as: The 323rd anniversary of the death of Le Thanh Hau Nguyen Huu Canh (1700 - 2023), the 194th anniversary of the death of the famous mandarin Thoai Ngoc Hau (1829 - 2023) and the 10th anniversary of the founding of Chau Doc City (2013 - 2023).

After the opening ceremony, Chau Doc city organized a procession to carry the statue of the Lady. The procession was performed according to traditional rituals through a unique theatrical form, recreating the origin and history of the Lady of the Realm.

During the days of the Ba Chua Xu Mountain Sam Festival, along with the solemn rituals, to attract tourists and people, Chau Doc City People's Committee also organizes exciting cultural and artistic activities to serve the people and tourists such as: Lion and dragon dance performances; art programs with cultural nuances of the 4 ethnic groups Kinh, Khmer, Hoa, Cham...

Along with that, there are lantern releasing competitions, art photo exhibitions, sports activities (tennis, chess, aerobics, mountain climbing competitions), folk games (flag snatching, shuttlecock tossing, sack jumping, continuous movement games), volleyball...

According to Vice Chairman of An Giang Provincial People's Committee Le Van Phuoc, the Via Ba Chua Xu Festival on Sam Mountain plays a particularly important role in the spiritual and cultural life of the people of Chau Doc City, An Giang; it contains historical and cultural values ​​typical of the Southern cultural flow. The cultural identity in the Festival is maintained, practiced and passed down by the community from generation to generation, with a strong influence on spiritual and cultural life.

Coming to the Festival, people and tourists will enjoy and immerse themselves in the unique spiritual cultural space of traditional rituals, showing respect to the Lady of the Land and the ancestors who opened up the land in the southwestern border of the Fatherland, praying for favorable weather, good crops...

“The Ba Chua Xu Festival of Sam Mountain is an opportunity to introduce and promote to the masses and domestic and foreign tourists the potential and strengths, beauty and attractiveness of Chau Doc tourism in particular and An Giang in general. At the same time, it preserves and promotes the traditional cultural values ​​of the nation, building Chau Doc City into a modern, civilized, attractive, friendly and rich in identity” - Vice Chairman of An Giang Provincial People's Committee Le Van Phuoc emphasized.

As a traditional festival of Chau Doc people for hundreds of years, the festival is imbued with the culture of the residents of the Southwest region, demonstrating the identity and continuity of the Kinh community in the process of cultural exchange with the Chinese, Khmer, and Cham people.

In 2014, the Festival was included in the list of National Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The festival is performed according to traditional rituals, including: Opening ceremony, the procession of the Lady's statue from the top of Sam mountain to the temple, the Ba bathing ceremony, the ceremony of requesting the royal decree of Thoai Ngoc Hau and his two wives, the Tuc Yet ceremony, the Xay Chau ceremony, the Chanh Te ceremony and the Hoi sac ceremony... Every year, millions of tourists come to Chau Doc to make pilgrimages, offer sacrifices and admire the natural scenery of the land in the southwestern border of the Fatherland.

This year, the People's Committee of An Giang province decided not to collect entrance fees to the Sam Mountain National Tourist Area for visitors during the Sam Mountain Lady Festival from June 8 to 14.

According to VNA