On the afternoon of October 26, the Department of Culture and Information of Son Tay town said: Every January and September, Va Temple organizes a festival to welcome the children of the homeland and visitors from all over to offer incense to express gratitude to Saint Tan. Among them is the Da Ngu festival (fishing festival), which takes place on the full moon day of the ninth lunar month, originating from a legend of Saint Tan pulling a net on the Tich River.
Crowds of people attend the 2022 Fishing Festival.
Legend has it that one day, Saint Tan Vien disguised himself as an old farmer and walked along the Tich River. When he reached the middle of Vang Bridge (a bridge over the Tich River), he saw an old man sitting and pulling a fishing net. When the sun was at its zenith, the old man opened a rice ball with sesame salt and invited him to eat with him. Moved by his kindness, Saint Tan Vien asked about him and wanted to help him pull the fish.
The old man complained that he had not caught any fish since morning. The old man happily asked him to try to catch a fish. Strangely, when he picked up the net, the old man saw a lot of fish. He happily hurriedly caught the fish in the basket. The two of them counted 99 fish while catching them. Seeing that there was only one pregnant catfish at the bottom of the net, the old man listened to the old man and released it back into the river to do good.
Saint Tan Vien stayed behind to teach the old man how to prepare fish dishes right at the place where he caught the fish. He didn't have time to go home to get salt, so all the dishes were bland. After eating, Saint Tan Vien felt his mouth was bland, so he taught the old man to pick fresh areca nuts, betel leaves, and the bark of the quach tree and chew them without using lime. Strangely, the more he chewed, the more excited and warmed up the old man felt, and his mouth was fragrant, without any trace of fishy smell. From then on, the old man knew how to make a net and prepare fish dishes, and taught the people in the area to do the same.
As for the story of the catfish, after being released, it gave birth to many offspring. In gratitude for saving its life, when it was about to die, the catfish tried to swim near Va Temple, turned its head and bowed. This place was later called the Catfish Hamlet (now in Dong Doi village, Thanh My commune, Son Tay town).
In memory of Saint Tan's merits, every year, people in the area hold a fishing festival on the Tich River on the 15th day of the 9th lunar month.
Young men join in fishing on the Tich River.
The rules of this region stipulate that the fishing season on the Tich River lasts for 3 months, and fishing is only allowed from the opening day of the festival.
Every time the festival comes, people from both banks of the Tich River pour out to cover a section of the river. Young men from the villages of Van Gia, Nghia Phu, Mai Trai, and Ai Mo flock to the sections of the Tich River from Thuong Cau Vang (the section bordering Duong Lam commune) to Ha Ma Mang (the section bordering Ai Mo village) to fish together.
Under the water, clams were bustlingly swimming and scooping up fish, while on the shore, villagers were beating drums and gongs to cheer them on. They beat until they had selected 99 large white fish, then brought them back as offerings to Saint Tan to thank him for his kindness.
Those 99 fish are turned into dishes such as: boiled fish, grilled fish, salad... but salt is not used. After the presentation, the ceremony is held. At the end of the meal, everyone enjoys the blessings together, feeling refreshed. After finishing the meal, everyone drinks water and chews betel (betel leaves, areca nuts, shells) but lime is not used.
Therefore, there is a folk saying: "Hoi Den Va betel without lime, sticky rice without salt".
Through the festival, we can recognize the ancient customs of the ancient Vietnamese people with their taboos and rituals that are still passed down to this day.
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