Traditional festivals from the community perspective

Traditional festivals are cultural beauty that demonstrate the tradition of "When drinking water, remember its source", meeting spiritual needs, and at the same time being a bond that connects the community, preserving the national cultural identity for future generations.

People's spiritual needs

As a province rich in historical and cultural traditions, An Giang has many unique traditional festivals associated with folk beliefs, national heroes and community life; notably, the Via Ba Chua Xu festival of Sam mountain, Nghinh Ong Kien Hai festival, Phan Thi Rang (Ms. Su) festival, Okombok festival, Bay Nui bull racing festival... Especially, Nguyen Trung Truc festival takes place from the 26th to the 28th of the 8th lunar month every year in Rach Gia.

Many people attended the traditional Nguyen Trung Truc festival.

The Nguyen Trung Truc traditional festival has two parts: the ceremony with solemn rituals of worship and incense offering along with a full tray of offerings contributed by many organizations and individuals; the festival includes many cultural activities, arts, sports, and lively and healthy folk games... The special feature of the Nguyen Trung Truc festival is the participation of the entire political system in the province and especially the main role of the majority of people from all over the country. Everyone, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, religion, joins hands to organize a unique, joyful, impressive and solemn festival. In which, the government ensures security and order, organizes programs and events to commemorate the merits of National Hero Nguyen Trung Truc and the insurgents, and performs the task of state management of the festival; the elderly guide their children and grandchildren in preparing trays of offerings and worshiping; Tens of thousands of people from inside and outside the province serve throughout the festival... In particular, all visitors from all over the country participating in the festival are served free meals.

Ms. Nguyen Thanh Tuyen, a resident of Rach Gia ward, shared: “I consider the death anniversary of Mr. Nguyen as the death anniversary of a relative. Every year, I and everyone else prepare and serve the festival. The people of Rach Gia and many visitors from all over the country come to attend the festival with the same heart to remember Mr. Nguyen, hoping to contribute a little to the overall success of the festival.”

According to Master Nguyen Hoang Thien - lecturer at Kien Giang University, traditional festivals are cultural products crystallized in the historical process of the community. Organizing traditional festivals well not only enriches the spiritual and cultural life of the people but also unites the community, educates the younger generation about the good traditional values of the nation. From there, raising the sense of responsibility of the community in preserving and promoting the value of traditional festivals, contributing to building an advanced Vietnamese culture, imbued with national identity.

Listening to the community - the direction of sustainable development

Domestic cultural researchers affirm that the vitality of traditional festivals comes from the community and the community is the soul of the festival. Therefore, to develop traditional festivals in a sustainable way, it is necessary to put the community in the center. The community must play the role of the festival's subject instead of standing outside to observe or "leaving" it to event organizers. However, along with the development of tourism, many people are concerned that festivals are gradually becoming "eventized" too much; in which, the theatricalization of rituals, the rushed organization time or the change of traditional rituals make people feel unfamiliar with the festival.

Distributing drinking water to people coming to Nguyen Trung Truc traditional festival.

Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Mai, a resident of Nui Sam Ward, shared: “I am proud that the locality has the Via Ba Chua Xu festival in Sam Mountain. The festival is recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage and the temple attracts millions of visitors every year. The belief and willingness of Chau Doc people in particular and the Southern region in general are the factors that keep the festival alive.” According to Ms. Mai, she often goes to the temple to do volunteer work. She hopes that the Via Ba Chua Xu festival in Sam Mountain will maintain an orderly space and sacred place, without being distorted; the government will manage service activities, avoiding solicitation, overcharging, superstition, etc., which will affect the reputation of the festival and the community’s trust.

Master Nguyen Hoang Thien said that in order for the role of the community to be promoted in traditional festivals, there needs to be fundamental and proactive solutions from the government, the cultural sector and the community, such as encouraging clans, ritual groups, folk artists... to participate in the design of ceremonies and festival organization; digitizing and disseminating folk knowledge of ancient rituals, prayers, and legends about traditional festivals from the elderly and prestigious people; strengthening education for students about local traditional festivals through local history subjects so that the young generation is not only a participant but also a successor...

Article and photos: THUY TIEN

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/le-hoi-truyen-thong-goc-nhin-tu-cong-dong-a425680.html