Solemnly organize the bathing ceremony of Ba Chua Xu of Sam mountain

VHO - The Ba Chua Xu Sam Mountain Bathing Ceremony - an important opening ceremony in the series of activities of the Ba Chua Xu Festival, was solemnly held according to traditional rituals. Notably, this is the first year the Festival has been held since the Ba Chua Xu Sam Mountain Festival was recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity at the end of 2024.

Many locals and tourists from all over the country arrived early to wait for the time to perform the Ba bathing ritual.

The Sam Mountain Lady Festival takes place from May 19-24 (April 22-27 of the lunar calendar).

On the morning of May 21 (April 24 of the lunar calendar), at Ba Chua Xu Temple on Sam Mountain (Chau Doc City, An Giang Province), the Ba bathing ceremony was solemnly held according to traditional rituals.

This is the opening ceremony in the main series of activities of the Ba Chua Xu Sam Mountain Festival - a representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity that was recently recognized by UNESCO at the end of 2024.

An Giang provincial leaders offer incense and tea to the Holy Mother

From 11pm on May 20, leaders of An Giang province, Chau Doc city, representatives of departments, branches, the Management Board of Sam Mountain Mausoleum and elders conducted the incense offering, tea offering and wine offering rituals.

At exactly 0:00 on May 21, the red velvet curtain was drawn to cover the worship area, opening the ritual of bathing the statue of the Lady in a sacred and solemn space.

The Management Board of Sam Mountain Temple and members in charge of the ceremony offered incense and asked for permission before bathing Ba.

The Lady's bathing group offers incense and asks for permission before bathing the Lady.

Before bathing the Lady, the offering ceremony of the pre-registered groups took place in an orderly and solemn manner.

The Lady's bathing team consists of nine carefully selected women, using water boiled from nine types of fragrant flowers: White Lily, Red Lily, Yellow Chrysanthemum, Gerbera, Royal Poinciana, Orchid, Rose, Jasmine and Lotus, all cooked in a copper pot on a wood stove for 12 hours.

The filtered water is used to wipe the statue of the Lady with a new towel, offered by the Ritual Committee and pilgrims.

Beautiful crown ready to be placed on the statue of the Lady

After the bathing ceremony, the statue of the Lady was given a new crown and jewelry. At nearly 1am, the velvet curtain was opened, allowing thousands of locals and tourists to come in to worship, burn incense, and pray in a sacred and respectful atmosphere.

Statue of Lady of Sam Mountain after the bathing ceremony

Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Vuong - Head of the Worship Team, Head of the Lady Bathing Team shared: "Serving at the Lady Temple is a great honor. Every action when bathing the statue must be done gently and carefully, showing deep respect for the Lady of the Land".

Many locals and tourists from all over the country came to offer incense to the Holy Mother of the Land after completing the bathing ceremony.

Mr. Nguyen Trong Tien (62 years old, An Giang province) was moved: “When I witnessed the bathing ceremony of the Lady's statue, which was organized solemnly and respectfully, I was naturally moved. I felt that at that moment I was closest to her, praying for peace and health for my family.

Knowing that this festival has been recognized by UNESCO as a Cultural Heritage of Humanity, I feel very proud. It is very precious that our hometown's traditions are still preserved like this. The festival is also the time when people from all over gather, everyone is sincere, praying together, feeling people closer to each other, loving each other more."

Before that, more than 100 people from volunteer groups were present at Ba Chua Xu Temple on Sam Mountain to prepare water to bathe Ba.

The Ba Chua Xu Festival on Sam Mountain is one of the biggest festivals in the South, imbued with the cultural identity of folk beliefs.

Not only attracting millions of pilgrims each year, the festival is also an opportunity to promote the culture, people and tourism potential of Chau Doc city in particular and An Giang province in general to domestic and foreign friends.

Ba Chua Xu Temple on Sam Mountain, where the Festival takes place

The Ba Bathing Ceremony is not only a ritual of bathing and changing new clothes for the statue of Ba, but also an occasion for people to show their devotion to the goddess, praying for national peace, favorable weather, and family peace.

Careful and solemn preparation contributes to preserving and promoting the unique spiritual cultural beauty of the people of the South.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/van-hoa/trang-trong-to-chuc-nghi-le-tam-ba-chua-xu-nui-sam-136131.html