Performing the art of Hau Dong at Dong Cuong Temple, Yen Bai

On October 17, at the Dong Cuong Temple National Historical Site, Ben Den Village, Dong Cuong Commune, Van Yen District (Yen Bai), a spirit medium performance took place. This is the opening activity of the 2023 Dong Cuong Temple Festival of Worshiping the Mother Goddess of the Upper Realm and the New Rice Festival.

On the morning of October 17, at Dong Cuong Mother Temple, 10 folk artists, temple mediums, and spirit mediums from villages across the country participated in performing spirit mediumship, offering incense to Mother, praying for wealth, health, peace, and for national prosperity, good crops, and good health.

In a solemn space, the mediums play the roles of each character in the mediums such as: the Holy Mother, Lady, Quan Lon, Chau Ba, Quan Hoang, Tien Co, Thanh Cau, expressing gestures and eyes full of "spirit possession" combined with music and lyrics of Chau Van singing, the bustling melody praises the noble beauty, majesty, holiness, merit as well as moral advice, kindness of the Mother, praises the beautiful scenery of the mountains, forests, homeland, and country.

The performance became more attractive when the music was harmoniously coordinated with the graceful and flexible dances of the medium in the green costume of the Mother of the Mountain Forest, contributing to creating a unique and sacred yet unique color for the ritual of the spirit mediumship at Dong Cuong Temple.

Performing the spirit mediumship is a very special ritual imbued with spiritual culture in the heritage of the practice of the Mother Goddess worship of the Vietnamese people in general, and the Mother Goddess worship at Dong Cuong temple in particular. This ritual has been honored by UNESCO and recognized by the world as a representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

According to information from the festival's Organizing Committee, up to now, 100 artisans and mediums from across the country have registered to participate in performing the art of Hau Dong at Dong Cuong Temple.

The ritual of performing the spirit mediumship at the Festival of practicing the worship of the Mother Goddess of the Upper Realm and the New Rice Festival at Dong Cuong Temple in 2023 is an opportunity for the troupes, mediums, musicians and artists of the Chau Van singing in the whole country to gather at Dong Cuong Temple to offer incense to the Mother Goddess, contributing to preserving and promoting the cultural values ​​of the worship of the Mother Goddess of the Three Realms, which has been recognized by UNESCO.