Preserving the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Ky Cung - Ta Phu Temple Festival

Ky Cung - Ta Phu Temple Festival is one of the special spring festivals of Lang Son province.

The Ky Cung - Ta Phu Temple Festival was listed as a national intangible cultural heritage in 2015. In order to promote and gradually enhance the value of this unique cultural heritage, in recent years, authorities at all levels in Lang Son province have had many positive solutions.

Unique spring festival of Lang Son

Lang Son is located at the northern gateway of the country, a typical locality in the Northeastern cultural region of Vietnam. Experiencing the ups and downs of history, Lang Son now possesses a diverse cultural treasure, rich in identity, containing many unique features. In parallel, Lang Son also possesses a diverse system of scenic spots, spiritual and religious relics such as Mau Son mountain, Tam Thanh pagoda, Mac citadel, Thanh pagoda, Ky Cung temple, Bac Le temple... Lang Son currently has 9 heritages that have been listed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as national intangible cultural heritage (most of which are heritages of ethnic minority communities). One of these is the Ky Cung - Ta Phu Temple Festival.

The procession at the Ky Cung Temple - Ta Phu Temple Festival.

The Ky Cung Temple - Ta Phu Temple Festival takes place from January 22 to 27 every year, including the ceremony and the festival. The main ceremony of the festival focuses mainly on 2 days (January 22 and 27), including the opening ceremony, welcoming ceremony, installation ceremony, and thanksgiving ceremony. At noon on January 22, the procession of the palanquin to place the incense bowl of the great mandarin Tuan Tranh from Ky Cung Temple to Ta Phu Temple is performed solemnly and solemnly. On January 27, the great mandarin Tuan Tranh is brought back to Ky Cung Temple. According to Mr. Phan Van Hoa, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Lang Son province, the connection and connection between the two temples is through the story of the injustice of the great mandarin Tuan Tranh, proven and exonerated by Han district duke Than Cong Tai. Therefore, to repay the favor of Han district duke Than Cong Tai, every year during the Ta Phu - Ky Cung temple festival, the large incense bowl of Tuan Tranh is carried by the people from Ta Phu temple (where Han district duke Than Cong Tai is worshiped) to attend the Dau Phao festival and thank the person who cleared the name.

Many people participated in the competition to capture the cannon head at the Ky Cung Temple - Ta Phu Temple Festival.

That is the connection and connection in the traditional festival between the two relics of Ky Cung Temple and Ta Phu Temple. Although they are two relics, they have the same festival called Ky Cung - Ta Phu Temple Festival or Ta Phu - Ky Cung Temple Traditional Festival. Regarding the festival, Ky Cung - Ta Phu Temple Festival includes palanquin processions and games such as: Capturing the cannon head, chess, tug of war, stick pushing, martial arts, culinary festival, sli singing, luon, quan ho... taking place with the participation of many classes of people and tourists from all over. In the Ky Cung - Ta Phu Temple Festival, the most special thing is the competition to capture the cannon head on the morning of January 27. Mr. Duong Van Bien, Deputy Chief of Office of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Lang Son province, said that before the festival, the cannon head will be worshiped all year round according to custom. People believe that whoever wins the cannonball on the festival day and brings it back to the church, then during the year and in the years to come, their family and clan will have good luck and prosperity in business.

Conservation associated with tourism development

According to the leaders of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Lang Son province, on the basis of clearly identifying comparative advantages, the province has made many efforts to preserve and promote the value of cultural heritage associated with economic and tourism development, ensuring harmony and rationality between the preservation of historical and cultural relics and the requirements of economic development; creating momentum in the socio-economic development of the province. Specifically, in recent years, the Department has advised the Provincial People's Committee to develop programs, plans, projects and implement activities to promote the value of cultural heritage. At the same time, it has guided districts and cities to promote education and widely disseminate the contents of legal documents such as the Law on Vietnamese Cultural Heritage; resolutions on the preservation and promotion of the province's cultural heritage and many other related documents to the community so that people clearly understand their roles and responsibilities in the issue of cultural heritage conservation. Since 2016, all levels and sectors in the province have been implementing nearly 20 projects and plans to preserve and promote the value of intangible cultural heritages. Typical types include: Festivals, social customs, folk performing arts, traditional folk songs, etc.

Lang Son province focuses on preserving traditional festivals associated with tourism development.

Intangible cultural heritages are regularly preserved, transmitted and promoted. Thanks to that, up to now, Lang Son province has 9 heritages listed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in the list of national intangible cultural heritages. The attention paid to the conservation of national cultural heritages has contributed significantly to the creation of unique and distinctive tourism products, attracting tourists to Lang Son. Among them are many cultural, sports and tourism activities regularly held annually in the province. Regarding the intangible cultural heritage of Ky Cung - Ta Phu Temple Festival, in recent years, the Department of Culture and authorities at all levels in Lang Son province have had a number of solutions to preserve and promote such as: Granting certificates of land use rights for relic areas, implementing management and protection of relics; advising on the establishment and implementation of the "Project to preserve and promote the value of the national intangible cultural heritage of Ky Cung - Ta Phu Temple Festival"; preserving, restoring and renovating a number of relics: Ky Cung Temple, Cua Dong Temple, Cua Tay Temple, Vang Khac Communal House, Mau Thoai Temple... associated with maintaining religious and spiritual cultural activities at relic sites and religious establishments. "The restoration and maintenance of Ky Cung - Ta Phu Temple Festival has contributed to educating the historical and cultural traditions of the nation to all classes of people in the area, especially the young generation, while creating an attraction and attracting tourists to Lang Son...", Mr. Phan Van Hoa, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Lang Son province emphasized. The proof is that in the past 5 years, not only domestic tourists but also many tourists from other provinces and international visitors have chosen Lang Son as a destination to experience at the beginning of the year. In the first two months of 2024 alone, it is estimated that the total number of tourists to Lang Son will reach over 760,000 (an increase of 13.3% over the same period in 2023), of which international visitors will reach 22,000, domestic visitors will reach 739,000, with estimated revenue of VND 539 billion (an increase of 15.7% over the same period in 2023). Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/bao-ton-di-san-van-hoa-phi-vat-the-le-hoi-den-ky-cung-ta-phu-20241213063618945.htm