Quyt Communal House

The Quyt Communal House Festival was formed before 1945, when local people in the village organized it on the 8th day of the first lunar month every year at Quyt Village Communal House, in the middle of the village, under the shade of two thousand-year-old banyan trees and the village communal house. At that time, the small communal house was made of bamboo and wood. The festival was held at the beginning of the new spring with the meaning of thanking the saints and deities and praying for favorable weather, harmony, and peace for the whole village; it was also an occasion for everyone to meet at the start of spring, join the festival, and welcome the new year. Over the years, with many repairs and rebuilds, the communal house has now been built spaciously. The Quyt communal house area was recognized as a city-level historical relic in 2023, and the two banyan trees were recognized as national heritage trees in 2019.

At Quyt Communal House, located at the foot of Ba Vi Mountain, Saint Tan Vien Son is worshipped; he is one of the four figures honored as the “Four Immortals” in Vietnamese folk belief. For generations, the image of Ba Vi Mountain, also called Tan Vien Mountain, has become an immortal symbol of strength, willpower, and the spirit of mastering nature. Around the foot of Ba Vi Mountain, most places worship Saint Tan. Quyt Communal House also worships the local deities who govern the area and the Village Tutelary God. The festival is held so that local people can meet, exchange, and strengthen bonds of neighborhood affection.

Describe the forms of expression, practice process, and material and spiritual products created in the process of practicing the intangible cultural heritage, related cultural space, etc.:

The festival consists of two parts: the ceremony and the festival activities. In the ceremony, local people prepare trays of food, offerings, incense, and flowers to worship Saint Tan Vien Son and the deities, praying for favorable weather, harmony, abundant harvests, and for children to thrive and people to be healthy.

In the morning, the ceremony is conducted first. After the offering ceremony ends, the festival activities begin; everyone enjoys the festivities until noon and drinks a cup of blessed wine together, and in the afternoon they continue playing traditional folk games.

The festival activities also include many folk games such as blindfolded goat catching, banana tree climbing, con throwing, crossbow shooting, pot smashing, and more, so that visitors from everywhere can come to enjoy the festival and burn incense to pray for peace, fortune, and prosperity. The festival also includes rituals such as incense offering and ritual con throwing; ritual objects have been passed down from generation to generation to preserve the distinctive features of the festival. In addition, on the festival day there are wrestling performances and traditional artistic performances of folk songs. Today, there is also a combination with modern artistic performances, bringing a fresh color to the festival day