Thak Con Festival is a national intangible cultural heritage.

On June 20, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Soc Trang province Son Po informed that the unit had just held a ceremony to announce the decision of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to include the Thak Con Festival (Coconut Offering Festival) of the Khmer people in An Hiep commune, Chau Thanh district, Soc Trang province in the List of national intangible cultural heritage.

Presenting the Decision of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to include Thak Con Festival in the List of National Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The Thak Con Festival, also known as the Coconut Offering Festival, is a unique festival of the Khmer people in An Trach hamlet, An Hiep commune, Chau Thanh district, Soc Trang province and was formed according to legend about 300 years ago, maintained, preserved and passed down through many generations.

The festival takes place for 5 days from March 13 to March 17 of the lunar calendar every year. The opening ceremony starts from March 15 of the lunar calendar.

Coconuts are decorated as festival props.

The Thak Con Festival is a prayer for peace for the Khmer people in the South. This festival originates from a legend about a mound of earth that rises up, and when you step on it, it makes a sound like a gong.

Over the course of history, this event has gradually been sanctified and become a folk belief bearing the mark of agricultural residents.

In addition, the festival also reflects the mindset of farming right from the time of organization, when farmers start a new crop season and celebrate a harvest, to the selection of offerings, with the wish to thank heaven and earth, gods, and ancestors for blessing a good harvest or thank the superiors for a bountiful harvest.

Perform rituals during the festival.

Thak Con Festival plays a very important role in economic, cultural, social life, traditional education... encouraging people to live a good and beautiful life to improve themselves, exchange cultures of ethnic groups, promote local tourism and preserve national cultural identity.

In addition, the festival also has its own mark, which is the slathodon (flower vase made from coconut), symbolizing purity and praying for favorable weather and a peaceful life.

The festival practice creates community cohesion, solidarity, and cultural exchange between the Khmer community and the Kinh and Chinese people in Chau Thanh district and neighboring areas. At the same time, it is an opportunity for the children of Soc Trang who work far away or migrate to other lands to return and join in the festival.

View of Thak Con Festival.

The Thak Con Festival is also an opportunity for people and tourists from all over to enjoy traditional cultural values ​​rich in identity such as Du Ke folk performing arts, Chhay-dam dance, Rom Vong dance, Ngu Am music...

The diversity of cultural and artistic activities in the Thak Con Festival makes the atmosphere of the festival always fresh and joyful, alongside the solemn and sacred traditional spiritual rituals.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/le-hoi-thak-con-la-di-san-van-hoa-phi-vat-the-quoc-gia-post888259.html