Thuong Liet village festival and the custom of dancing with spears, flags, and fans

Thuong Liet village, whose Nom name is Giang village, is now part of Dong Tan commune (Dong Hung). For hundreds of years now, every Lunar New Year, the whole village has been busy preparing for the festival at the village communal house on the 9th of January.

Spear and flag dance in Thuong Liet village. Photo: Archive

Thuong Liet communal house was ranked as a national historical and cultural relic by the State very early. The communal house worships Princess Quy Minh, daughter of King Tran Hue Tong. Legend has it that she had the merit of opening up this land and teaching the villagers the dance according to the story of Chieu Quan paying tribute to Ho. When she passed away, the villagers worshiped her as Thanh Hoang. Every year, Thuong Liet villagers hold a festival on the days after Tet, during which they maintain this dance as a ritual of worshipping the Saint in front of the communal house and it is still called the spear, flag, spear and fan dance associated with traditional rituals.

A few days before the festival, the preparations for the spear and flag dance were carried out. In the past, after the village factions completed the procedures to host the dance, the opening ceremony was to ask permission from the village guardian spirit to choose two female workers. One woman lived in the West side of the communal house, the other in the East side of the communal house to direct the dance practice. In addition to the two female workers, a male teacher had to be chosen to maintain the festival's rituals.

The Master and the Worker must be virtuous, have no mourning that year, have a harmonious family, and live up to their husband and wife's responsibilities. After selecting the Master and the Worker, the village's hamlets select virgin girls who are clean in body, character, and mourning to join the dance team. The dignitaries and the head of the association organize for the villagers to carry the incense from the communal house to the two Worker's house, and the dance team begins to practice. The families whose members are elected as the Worker's mother, with the support of their clans and hamlets, are busy decorating their houses splendidly to welcome the village girls to practice and to welcome friends from near and far to congratulate and share the joy.

After three days of practicing at Mrs. Tho's house, the village officials came to watch and selected the most beautiful and pretty dancers to play the role of the envoy, walking in pairs and standing at the communal house door. The envoy was the role of Chieu Quan.

The dancing was well-practiced, so on the 10th day of the month, the village gave the two dance teams a break so that the dancers could bathe themselves with fragrant leaf water. The next day, the two dance teams performed in the communal house yard. The number of dancers participating in the dance was usually unlimited, including all the young girls who were not yet of marriageable age in Giang village. The dancers were called Co Len. The spear and flag dance was performed under the direction of the Master of the Dance. In some dance classes, there were rông lyrics, and the person who recited the rông was called Mr. Rông.

The traditional props of the spear-flag-fan dance are very simple, with only a big drum as a command signal and flags and small paper fans for the girls (holding the flag in their right hand and the fan in their left hand). The traditional costumes are strictly maintained with the Teacher, the Worker, the Rong and the Game Manager. The girls wear long dresses, red scarves, green belts and pink bibs. The two girls who go on missions are dressed more beautifully than the girls. When being carried, they sit in hammocks with parasols like the two Worker ladies.

The dance depicts the feelings of a princess before leaving to say goodbye to her father.

The spear, flag, and fan dance has a total of 36 dance levels. Many levels use Vietnamese folk dance materials and are adapted accordingly. The dance positions are graceful and rhythmic, the formations and dance lines are quite diverse and complex. Many movements focus on depicting scenes of rural life such as flying birds, flying storks, catching shrimp, catching shrimp, rowing boats... creating a strong appeal for the dance. The rituals and beliefs of the rice-growing agricultural residents are clearly shown in the dance levels. Of the 36 dance levels, there are 16 basic levels including: the ambassador dance, the mother dance, the king worship dance, the five-direction color dance, the rowing dance, the unicorn-wrapped dance, the ta-cat-ta dance, the ta-cat-man dance, the co-neck flower performance dance, the one-handed spear exchange dance, the two-handed spear exchange dance, the spear, flag, and fan dance, the xenh xang dance, the dragon dance, and the flag-raising dance.

In the past, the spear, flag, and fan dance team only included virgin girls of the village who were judged according to the standards of being clean, clean, and clean of mourning, but since 1954, it has included women of different ages to preserve it. Because the ritual of worshiping the village's tutelary god cannot lack the spear, flag, and fan dance, it has the ability to last forever with the beliefs of the people of Thuong Liet village. From ancient times until now, the people of Thuong Liet village have proudly considered the spear, flag, and fan dance as a unique cultural asset, associated with the sacredness of the village's tutelary god. Children in the village participating in the dance team is an honor for the family and clan.

Since the late 20th century, this dance has been studied by many folk song and dance researchers at home and abroad and has been restored to its original form through the teachings of senior artisans in the village. Up to now, the senior dance team has gathered most of the village's artisans over 70 years old, including those who have performed in many countries around the world . The young dance team consists of young girls from 12-13 years old to over 40 years old. In addition to dancing in the village, the spear and fan dancers are also invited to participate in folk music and dance festivals in many places in the country.

The spear and flag dance is a unique dance compared to many other folk dances in the Northern Delta region, a dance with a high level of comprehensive art. The dance levels combine with the chants retelling the story of Zhaojun paying tribute to the Hu, which has been passed down in folklore. This is a dance that combines art with spiritual elements. The dance levels have used folk performances in a harmonious way, both to simulate the origin of the character worshiped as Thanh Hoang and to pray to Thai Thuong Lao Quan, praying for the villagers' well-being and prosperity. This dance is still called a traditional dance and only takes place at Thuong Liet communal house on village festivals. The dance movements such as threading a needle and rowing a boat simulate the labor movements of ancient people. The dance forms of the dance levels from foot movements, hand movements, undulating bodies, and moving formations have typical characteristics of folk dance in the Northern Delta region. This dance reflects the cultural diversity and creativity of the people, and has been passed down through many generations of Thuong Liet villagers. Because the ritual of worshipping the village's tutelary god cannot lack the spear, flag and fan dance, it has the ability to last forever in the beliefs of Thuong Liet villagers.

From ancient times to the present, the people of Thuong Liet village have been proud to consider the spear-flag-fan dance as a unique cultural asset, associated with the sacredness of the village, cared for and preserved by the whole village community. Children in the village participating in the dance team is an honor for the family and clan. Everyone is united in their commitment to protect it.

In addition to the whole village community taking care of preservation and protection, the Thai Binh Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has regularly encouraged and, if possible, provided financial support for preservation through funding for the restoration of the village communal house because this communal house has been ranked by the State as a national historical and cultural relic. In 2005, the Vietnam - Denmark Cultural Development Fund supported a project to preserve and transmit it. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has decided to register the Thuong Liet village festival and the spear and flag dance as national intangible cultural heritage.

Nguyen Thanh
(Vu Quy, Kien Xuong)

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