Preserving and promoting the value of the heritage of practicing the Mother Goddess worship belief

Preserving and promoting the good cultural values ​​of the heritage of practicing the Mother Goddess worship belief

The worship of the Mother Goddesses of the Three and Four Palaces worships Mother Goddesses who have contributed to the community, and national heroes who have become saints and gods to protect and support the people. Over thousands of years, the worship of the Mother Goddesses has always been cherished and preserved by the Vietnamese people. Wherever the Vietnamese go, they bring the worship of the Mother Goddesses with them. The worship of the Mother Goddesses in Lam Dong began in 1923, when Linh Quang Pagoda - the first pagoda in Da Lat - was built, with a Mother Goddess worshiping shrine in the pagoda grounds. Up to now, there are 145 Mother Goddess worshiping establishments (palaces, temples, shrines, and shrines) in the province; most of the Mother Goddesses worshiped at home are small-scale, lacking traditional architecture, but are decorated and have beautiful landscapes; there are only 9 public temples worshiped at the village and commune level; of which, Da Lat has 2 establishments, Bao Loc has 2 establishments, Duc Trong has 3 establishments, and Don Duong has 2 establishments. If the Northern residents worship the Mother Goddess Lieu Hanh as the main deity and the saints who have made great contributions to the nation and people, occupying the majority of Mother Goddess worshiping establishments; the Central residents worship the Mother Goddess Thien YA Na as the head of the shrine. However, through the process of cohabitation and cultural exchange between ethnic groups, the Mother Goddess worshiping custom of the Vietnamese in Lam Dong has undergone a process of interaction and formation with many differences expressed in the form of worship and religious activities.

In particular, the Vietnam Holy Mother Temple (Ngo Quyen Street, Ward 6) is the largest Mother Temple in the province, built by the local community in 1958, located in the Hung King Temple relic complex. In addition to the attention of the local government on investment in renovation, preservation, and assigning people to take care of the worship, the restoration of the temple to become spacious has received the attention and contributions of businesses, units, and individuals. That has affirmed the sustainable vitality, strong spread and efforts to preserve and promote the value of the heritage of practicing Mother worship in the community.

Every year, on the anniversary of Mother Lieu Hanh in Thanh Minh festival (March 3rd of the lunar calendar), the temple organizes the Van Huong festival with the solemn procession of the Holy Mother to the mountain resort, attracting the people of Da Lat and neighboring areas to participate as a major religious activity. Along with the joint efforts of the community in preparing for the festival, associations, organizations, and the People's Committee of Ward 6 have paid attention to supporting human resources and materials. The procession of the Holy Mother took place in joy, with flags flying high, in front were dragon, unicorn, and octopus dances; followed by palanquins, parasols, octopuses, and flower cars with bird and animal symbols. The Mother's palanquin in the center of the procession was splendidly decorated, followed by a group of young girls with rattan baskets filled with flowers walking and scattering them along the way; at the end were the temple servants, incense-bearers, and people coming to the temple to attend the ceremony. The procession passed through Ngo Quyen, Hai Ba Trung, La Son Phu Tu streets (Ward 6, Da Lat) for 3 km in the joy and admiration of the people, praying for the Holy Mother to protect and bless the nation, the people, the weather, the peace of Da Lat, the socio -economic development, and a prosperous life. Along with the procession, the system of religious practices including the ritual of the spirit medium and folk cultural elements such as costumes, dances, singing, offering, ball procession, singing exchange, and worship rituals also took place solemnly throughout the 3 days of the Mother's feast, spreading the true value of the Mother worship belief, which was recognized by UNESCO as a cultural heritage of humanity (in 2016)...

In recent times, the provincial Department of Culture has always encouraged ethnic people living in the province to preserve and promote the cultural identity and fine traditional beliefs of the nation, eliminate backward customs, unite and support each other, including practicing the heritage of Mother Goddess worship. Religious festivals at Mother Goddess worshiping establishments in the province take place in a solemn and dignified atmosphere, aiming for goodness and a peaceful life for the people, following the progressive trend. At the same time, smoothly combining the preservation and development of traditional cultural beauty with modern elements, promoting the positive effects of festivals, both preserving the sacredness of traditional rituals and promoting the noble humanistic values ​​of heritage, promoting cultural diversity, strengthening the spiritual bond that binds the community, and preventing manifestations of superstition. From there, promote the meaning of traditionaleducation , national pride, love for the homeland, the morality of "remembering the source of water when drinking", creating a healthy cultural environment to enrich the spiritual life of the people.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc - Deputy Director of Lam Dong Department of Culture - Sports and Tourism said: In the coming time, the provincial Department of Culture will continue to foster professional expertise in religious work for the staff working in grassroots cultural work and artisans practicing Mother Goddess worship in the province. Thereby, fully identifying the beauty of a type of endogenous belief of the Vietnamese people, preserving the original value of the heritage, shaping a community of people practicing the heritage of beliefs correctly and healthily, without distorting traditional culture. From there, in order to continuously preserve the heritage in its original form, pass it on to the next generations in accordance with the inherent good meaning of identity, practically preserving and promoting the value of the Cultural Heritage of Mother Goddess worship practice in contemporary life.

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/van-hoa-nghe-thuat/202505/bao-ton-va-phat-huy-gia-tri-di-san-thuc-hanh-tin-nguong-tho-mau-d3826c3/