Lanh Giang Temple Festival commemorating ancestors virtues
Lanh Giang Temple Festival was traditionally held twice a year: in the Sixth and the Eighth lunisolar months. Traditionally, the June festival was mainly for visitors from afar, while the August festival was primarily for the local people. However, after many years of discontinuation, in 2009, the Ha Nam Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism collaborated with the Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts to successfully restore Lanh Giang Temple Festival, combining folk and contemporary elements. Since then, the temple only hosts one main annual festival in June.
The festival aims to glorify and honor the contributions of the three Water Gods in assisting King Hung Due Vuong to defeat the Thuc army, protecting the borders of Van Lang, and to pay tribute to the deeds of Princess Tien Dung and Chu Dong Tu. The June festival is held at the peak of the Red River’s water levels, which threaten floods and crop failure, so the people organize the festival to worship and pray for the Water Gods to bless them with a prosperous and happy life. Thus, the festival bears the cultural imprint of the rice-farming residents in the Red River Delta with rituals like the incense offering ceremony, water procession, palanquin procession, worship ceremony, rowing competition… Moreover, with the development of the Mother Goddess Worship religion, the water gods worshiped at Lanh Giang Temple have been integrated into the pantheon of this belief system as Venerable Mandarin, specifically as the Third Venerable Mandarin. This integration has given Lanh Giang Temple Festival its unique characteristics.
HISTORICAL VALUES
Hagiographies and historical documents say that the figures worshiped at Lanh Giang Temple are three water gods from the era of King Hung Due Vuong, who helped the king defeat the invaders from the North. Additionally, the temple venerates the mother of Princess Tien Dung, Pham Thi Phuong (a goddess of water), and the couple of Princess Tien Dung and Chu Dong Tu – one of the four immortals in Vietnamese folk-belief. They are honored in the main festival as symbols of the power to reclaim marshlands, and as protectors of fishing and agriculture in the lower Red River Delta. Therefore, Lanh Giang Temple Festival holds its position and role in the history of the Vietnamese people. The rituals in Lanh Giang Temple Festival represent the reenactment of cultural layers, embodying the inheritance and promotion of the beliefs of the residents in the lower Red River Delta throughout the thousands of years of national history.
CULTURAL VALUES
Lanh Giang Temple Festival is a quintessential festival that embodies the cultural identity of the Vietnamese in the lower Red River Delta. It integrates various cultural layers from different periods of Vietnam’s historical development. Initially, it involved the worship of the water god by the residents along the Red River, followed by the worship of the deities Tien Dung and Chu Dong Tu, and the incorporation of royal and historical elements, especially highlighting the mother of Princess Tien Dung under the reign of Emperor Le Thanh Tong. By the 17th and 18th centuries, the worship of the water god was integrated into the worship of the Mother Goddess at the temple, giving rise to the figure of the Third Venerable Mandarin (the Venerable Mandarin of Lanh Temple).
The underlying meanings of festival’s rituals indicate the identity of the residents living along the Red River, as well as their process of exploring and conquering the lower delta. The festival includes the tradition of carrying water for worship, the procession of the Mother Goddess’s palanquin, and dragon boat racing, all of which honor the worshiped figures. The festival is held in the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth lunisolar months, coinciding with the beginning, peak, and end of the Red River’s flood season, making water worship a unique aspect of the festival. Lanh Giang Temple Festival also features shamanistic elements, with ceremonial performances by priests who are serving the reflection (receiving blessings or are closing to the spirits) of the Third Venerable Mandarin.
Notably, over time, despite several changes in the festival’s timing, the historical and cultural values of the festival have been well preserved, maintained, and promoted in contemporary life. Lanh Giang Temple Festival is considered the foundation of local spiritual life. Each festival season, community members participate consciously in the rituals. They are excited to be chosen for the procession team, ritual ceremonies, or any other assignments. This fosters a sense of community among the residents of both Yen Lac Village and Moc Nam Commune, Duy Tien Town, Ha Nam Province. It is obvious that today’s Lanh Giang Festival plays its role well in fostering love for the homeland, national unity, and mutual support in life. This is one of the foundations for the sustainable development of rural cultural life today.
RESEARCH VALUES
Lanh Giang Temple Festival significantly contributes to the richness and diversity of Vietnam’s typical festival system. It provides valuable information on the history, nature, culture, society, and customs of the lower Red River delta region.
The festival is a form of cultural activity typical of the Red River delta’s residents, reflecting the ancient historical pages of our nation during the Hung King’s era of nation-building. It also reflects the process of cultural assimilation and creativity of the people through different historical periods.
Research on Lanh Giang Temple Festival indicates the soft power of culture and beliefs in social life. This power has created a spirit of unity in the community, arousing the community’s pride in the traditional cultural values of the nation. Furthermore, Lanh Giang historical site and festival have played a significant role in promoting local socio-economic development.
