First time watching dragon dance

The festival organized many unique performances such as the procession of the Nine Fairy Ladies, the incense dragon dance, the four sacred animals dance (dragon, unicorn, turtle, phoenix), and the display of fruit stalls... As a native Tay Ninh resident, I had never seen the incense dragon dance before. I wanted to see it several times, but I went to "see people" and then came back. I couldn't see the dragon. This time I was determined to see it. Because I heard that this year is the "100th anniversary of Cao Dai", there are two incense dragon dances, unprecedented.

So I made a plan a week in advance. On the afternoon of the 14th day of the lunar month, I walked around the Holy See. Outside the inner city, there were "zero-dong stalls" selling vegetarian food including rice, noodles, rice noodles, drinks of all kinds... Crowds of people passing by. However, it was still not as crowded as inside the Holy See. In the Trai Duong area, volunteers cooked vegetarian dishes for visitors. The cooking utensils were very special. Every pan was big. To stir-fry green beans, people had to put them in several baskets to make it full. To match the pan, people used shovels to stir-fry, stir, turn, and scoop the food. Just looking at the cooking area was full of strange things. An interesting thing about this festival is that visitors to the Cao Dai Tay Ninh Holy See, whether they visit the "zero-dong" stalls outside or inside the Holy See, can eat and drink completely free of charge.

Although it was not the official day of the festival, many people came to enjoy the offerings, including regional specialties that Cao Dai followers brought to the festival. It was unknown how many provinces and cities were present. But when passing by the booths, without looking at the names, one could tell which province they were from. For example, Lam Dong parish displayed wind-dried persimmons. Dak Lak parish presented coffee offerings decorated with typical baskets. Ninh Thuan parish had grapes. Ly Son parish had garlic...

On the night of the 15th of August, there was a grand ceremony, with a dragon dance and incense. I went with a few young people in a group. After parking our vehicles, we walked from the outskirts of the Holy See to the inside. We weaved through the dense crowd. We were also sweating when we reached Bao An Tu - the place where offerings were made to the Goddess Dieu Tri Kim Mau and the Nine Fairies.

People crowded in and out to see the elaborate offerings. Phones were flashing and taking pictures. The air was thick and sweat was dripping. At times it seemed like we couldn’t move.

Far away in the temple yard, the sound of the lion drums urged closer and closer. Everyone was bustling and looking towards the sound of the drums, waiting. I also had my phone ready in video mode. The fairy carriage carrying the Buddha Mother and the fairies slowly appeared. Following behind was the four sacred animals dance. More special than every year, this year there were two dragons instead of one like before. Someone said that the dragon's head was very heavy, its body was dozens of meters long, with hundreds of people controlling it and hundreds of people on standby. The dragon was decorated with colorful, eye-catching colors. On the dragon's body was the words "Great Festival of Yaochi Palace Banquet". Flashing lights were outlined on its body. The dragon walked and undulated, up and down to the sound of the lion drums, in the vast sea of ​​people like the clouds in the sky for the dragon to fly freely. Every few seconds the dragon breathed out fire once to satisfy the audience. At that time, everyone almost shouted in unison, creating a truly impressive festival atmosphere. The turtle and the phoenix played with each other on the parade route. Children carry lanterns with uncles and aunts in white ao dai following behind.

We were afraid of losing each other while watching the festival, so we wore uniforms to make it easier to recognize each other. But we were so engrossed in watching that we each went our separate ways without realizing it. When the incense dragon had gone, I was startled to "find my comrades". Alas, my phone had run out of battery since I had recorded the video to save the impressive dragon dance scene to show off to relatives, family, and Facebook to promote the unique beauty of our Cao Dai homeland. Luckily, before we got lost, a young person in the group gave me a fan. Many people who have been watching the festival for many years have experience, they bring fans to use when jostling in the heat, sweating. This fan is quite special compared to the others, so I easily found my "comrades" by holding it up and waving it in the air. Actually, we were not the only ones who got lost, as evidenced by the fact that here and there I also saw people holding up a sandal as a "signal". There was also someone's pet dog being held up in the air. I don't know if it's to ease the suffocation in the vastness of the crowd, or if people are holding it up to find relatives.

Finally, we escaped from the crowd that was starting to thin out. After walking a bit, we came across a free water cart. With our throats parched, drinking a glass of cool water felt so refreshing. There is no place like Tay Ninh. My phone ran out of battery, so I borrowed a spare charger from the waiters, hoping they had one. Unexpectedly, a very enthusiastic guy lent me a charger, enough to power up my phone and call home. I am not embarrassed to praise my own people all the time.

The next evening, I returned to the Holy See again to satisfy my curiosity about before, during and after the festival. It had only been one night, but all the trash had been cleaned up, leaving the Holy See grounds as clean as any other normal day.

What a unique festival. Yet this is the first time I have fully enjoyed it.

Tran Nha My

Source: https://baotayninh.vn/lan-dau-xem-mua-rong-nhang-a179076.html