Thousands of tourists and locals carry the statue of Lady of the Land of Sam Mountain in An Giang

On the evening of May 19 (April 22 of the lunar calendar), the Organizing Committee of the 2025 Ba Chua Xu Nui Sam Festival coordinated with the People's Committee of Chau Doc city and the Management Board of Sam Mountain Mausoleum to solemnly organize the reenactment ceremony to bring the statue of Ba Chua Xu Nui Sam from the stone pedestal on the top of the mountain to the Ba Temple at the foot of Sam Mountain, opening the national festival of Ba Chua Xu Nui Sam 2025.

In the excited and proud atmosphere when the Festival of Lady Xu of Sam Mountain was just recognized by UNESCO as a Representative Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, the procession of the statue of Lady Xu of Sam Mountain took place solemnly, following the traditional rituals of the opening ceremony - climbing the mountain - inviting the Holy Mother; offering incense to the martyrs' monument; moving the Lady's palanquin from the martyrs' monument to the top of Sam Mountain...

At the beginning of the Festival, it rained heavily, but thousands of people and tourists still participated in the Festival to carry the statue of the Lady on a walking route of more than 4km in the bustling drum sound of the lion dance troupes - a unique and special cultural feature only found at the Festival of the Lady of the Land of Sam Mountain in An Giang province.

Tourists and people lined up more than 2km long following the elders of Nui Sam ward and the leaders of An Giang province to respectfully offer incense at the Ba Chua Xu Temple of Sam mountain, the Martyrs' Monument House and to carry out the rituals of carrying the statue of Ba Chua Xu Thanh Mau from the top of Sam mountain to the Ba Temple (where the statue is located at the foot of Sam mountain, in Nui Sam ward, Chau Doc city).

Here takes place the program of staged costumes to re-enact the procession of the Lady of Sam Mountain.

Chau Doc City Party Secretary Lam Quang Thi said that this year's national festival of Lady Chua Xu of Sam Mountain will take place from May 11 to May 24 (April 14 to 27 of the lunar calendar). The festival is imbued with the national cultural identity of the people of the Southern river region. The traditional cultural values ​​of the Lady Chua Xu of Sam Mountain Festival always have a strong attraction for people and tourists at home and abroad.

“Realizing the importance of protecting heritage, after being listed, the Party Committee and the government of Chau Doc city and An Giang province have always paid attention to leading and directing the work of preserving, protecting and promoting the value of cultural heritage in the cause of socio -economic development; considering this an important task, one of the driving forces creating identity and endogenous strength in the development process of the province,” emphasized Chau Doc City Party Secretary Lam Quang Thi.

With the motto of creating conditions for tourists and people to participate together, gradually bringing the Ba Chua Xu Festival of Sam Mountain back to the community, this year, the festival was organized richly and enthusiastically, creating a joyful and exciting atmosphere, meeting the increasing entertainment needs of the people and tourists.

Propaganda and promotion work to spread the image and meaning of the festival is focused on, thereby contributing to building a cultural and civilized environment in the festival, promoting the role of the people as the main subject.

In particular, this year's festival also has a street festival program, art performances, displays of food stalls, typical goods, OCOP products, calligraphy performances; lion-dragon dance competition, serving tourists and locals...

The ceremony of carrying the statue of Lady Chua Xu of Sam Mountain to the Temple. (Photo: Cong Mao/VNA)

The Ba Chua Xu Festival at Sam Mountain is a unique traditional folk festival of the people of the Southern region in general and Chau Doc region, An Giang province in particular.

The festival contains profound human values, demonstrating the identity and continuity of the Vietnamese community in the process of cultural exchange with the Khmer, Chinese, Cham, etc. communities, which has been passed down through many generations. This is also an opportunity for people to express their love, gratitude, and respect for their ancestors, those who have contributed to the people and the country.

In 2014, the Ba Chua Xu Festival of Sam Mountain was recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage.

On December 4, 2024, the Ba Chua Xu Festival of Sam Mountain was recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Thereby, it is affirmed that the Ba Chua Xu Festival of Sam Mountain contains great historical and cultural values ​​and plays an important role in the spiritual life of the An Giang community in particular and Vietnam in general, actively contributing to the work of preserving and promoting heritage values ​​at both the national and international levels./.

(Vietnam News Agency/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/hang-ngan-du-khach-va-nguoi-dan-ruoc-tuong-ba-chua-xu-nui-sam-o-an-giang-post1039507.vnp