Ba Chua Xu Temple on Sam Mountain is a "Typical Spiritual Tourist Destination"

On the morning of September 2, Mr. Nguyen Phuc Hoan, Head of the Management Board of Sam Mountain Temple, Chau Doc City, An Giang Province, said that Ba Chua Xu Temple on Sam Mountain has just been recognized by the Vietnam-India Cultural and Economic Exchange Forum as a typical spiritual tourism destination in Asia-Pacific.

The award was presented by the Vietnam Federation of UNESCO Associations and the Global Technology and Trade Council of India (GTTC India).

This activity is part of a series of events of the Vietnam-India Cultural and Economic Exchange Forum, organized by the Vietnam Federation of UNESCO Associations in coordination with the Indian Council for Global Trade and Technology in New Delhi, India, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of UNESCO and more than 50 years of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and India, creating opportunities to meet, promote cultural exchange, and promote trade cooperation between leading enterprises of the two countries in many fields.

At the forum, more than 80 individuals and units have successfully passed the strict criteria of the Organizing Committee to receive this noble award. Among them, Ba Chua Xu Temple on Sam Mountain was recognized as "Asia-Pacific's Outstanding Spiritual Tourism Destination," with positive contributions to the development of Vietnam's tourism industry, contributing to spreading Vietnamese cultural identity closer and closer to international tourists and friends.

According to Mr. Nguyen Phuc Hoan, Ba Chua Xu Temple on Sam Mountain is a historical relic, a beautiful and solemn architectural work, located at the foot of Sam Mountain in Nui Sam Ward, Chau Doc City, An Giang Province, attracting millions of people to worship and visit every year. This is one of the famous scenic spots and a must-see destination for domestic and foreign tourists, the highlight of the annual Ba Chua Xu Temple Festival on Sam Mountain.

The recognition by the Vietnam Federation of UNESCO Associations and the Indian Council for Global Trade and Technology is an important milestone in the process of putting the Via Ba Chua Xu Festival in Sam Mountain, An Giang Province, into the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Legend has it that in the early 19th century, the Siamese army often came to our country to harass and rob. When they reached the top of Sam Mountain and saw the statue of the Lady, they tried many ways to carry it down the mountain and bring it back to their homeland, but no matter how hard they tried, they could not move it. One day, the villagers found the statue of the Lady in the middle of the forest, and everyone gathered together to carry it back to build a temple to worship it. But strangely, they could not lift the statue even though many people were carrying it.

At this time, there was a woman who was possessed, calling herself Ba Chua Xu and said that there must be 9 virgin girls, clean and clean, to carry her statue, then her statue would come down. Hearing that, the villagers followed. Miraculously, the girls carried her statue easily. When reaching the foot of the mountain, the statue was so heavy that it could not be moved anymore. People thought that Ba Chua Xu had chosen this place to reside, so they built a temple to worship her. The statue of Ba Chua Xu is on the top of Sam mountain today, where there are still traces of square sandstone, 1.6m on a side, nearly 0.3m thick.

French archaeologist Louis Malleret, during the excavation of the Oc Eo-Ba The site (from 1942 to 1944), came to Sam Mountain to study the statue of Ba Chua Xu and determined that this was a type of divine statue, created in the form of a regal person sitting and resting, made of sandstone, with high artistic value. Initial appraisal showed that the statue of Ba Chua Xu is a medieval work of art that has been preserved to this day.

The Via Ba Chua Xu Festival of Sam Mountain - a traditional festival preserved and practiced for many generations in Chau Doc city, An Giang province, takes place from the 23rd to the 27th of the 4th lunar month every year.

The festival is performed according to traditional rituals, imbued with the culture of the people 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, with both the ceremony and the special festival such as the 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, the Hoi Sac ceremony, etc.

In 2022, the Government submitted a dossier to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for consideration of including the Via Ba Chua Xu Festival at Sam Mountain, An Giang Province, on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.