Dong Tru Village Festival

There are love stories that enter history not only through victories but also through the way they end: two people, two graves, one loyal heart. The love story of Dao Ky and Phuong Dung in Dong Tru village, Dong Anh commune, is such a story.

According to documents still preserved on steles and the village communal house bell tower, the worship of General Dao Ky and Princess Phuong Dung dates back to the Dinh, Le, Ly, and Tran dynasties.

The old story tells: at the beginning of the Common Era, our country suffered under Han rule, and the people lived in misery under the cruel policies of Governor To Dinh. Dao Minh and Tran Thi To came from Nong Cong, Thanh Hoa, to Coi Giang village in the Dong Ngan region, where they settled and had a son named Ky. Dao Ky was intelligent, skilled in letters, and also proficient in martial arts. At the same time, in Luong Tai, Kinh Bac region, Nguyen Trat’s family had a youngest daughter named Phuong Dung—beautiful, gentle, and skilled in both literature and martial arts. When To Dinh killed her father and three brothers because he could not bribe them, Phuong Dung carried a deep hatred. Meeting Dao Ky, the two were drawn to each other for their virtue, respected each other for their talent, married, and together nurtured great aspirations.

Hearing that the Trung sisters had raised the banner of uprising, Dao Ky and his wife brought troops to Hat Mon to present themselves. Lady Trung accepted them, appointed Dao Ky as Grand Marshal commanding two land and water forces, and made Phuong Dung a military strategist. After defeating the Han army and driving To Dinh back to his country, Trung Vuong took the throne and sent Dao Ky to govern the Bac Duong region. Three years later, Ma Yuan invaded with troops; the couple returned to the battlefield, went to Lang Giang to block the enemy, and then to Cam Khe to rescue King Trung. The enemy was strong and our forces weakened, and the couple became separated in battle. Dao Ky was seriously wounded, turned his horse back toward Coi Giang, and when passing Co Loa he collapsed from exhaustion; termites piled earth over him into a grave. The next day Phuong Dung escaped the encirclement, came upon that very mound, asked around, and learned that her husband had died; she immediately drew her sword and took her own life on the spot—termites also piled earth there into a twin grave.

Later generations wrote poetry praising their integrity:

In life a great general, in death a god

For all ages, moral duty weighed heavy on their bodies

Two mounds by Co Loa reflect the moonlight

Passing here, people speak of the general’s grave.

Subsequent dynasties conferred on them the title of Superior God and allowed the people of Coi Giang to build a temple to worship them. In the old Coi area, many villages worship the couple as tutelary deities, including Dong Tru, and they share the custom of the tomb-welcoming procession to the grave mound in Phuc Tho village.

The Dong Tru communal house festival takes place on the ninth and tenth days of the third lunar month, with the main festival on the tenth. Every five years, the village holds the main festival once, and only in that year is the tomb-welcoming procession organized—the procession goes from Dong Tru communal house to Dao Ky’s tomb in Phuc Tho village, Dong Anh commune.

On the afternoon of the ninth there is the Nhap Tich ceremony, following the traditional order: drums and gongs sound, eight-tone music plays, offerings are inspected, incense is offered, wine is presented into the sanctuary, a secret prayer is read, and the ceremony concludes. On the morning of the tenth, from six o’clock the village elders are welcomed to attend the festival; half an hour later, the tomb-welcoming procession sets off. Before departing, the chief officiant enters to perform the report ceremony asking permission from the Saint. The procession stretches out amid solemn drums and gongs and lively eight-tone music: the great spirit flag and the national flag lead, followed by twenty flags in paired rows, the guard of long swords and eight precious weapons, two worship horses drawn by people, the eight-tone music band, and the money-clapper dance troupe winding along just before the Saint’s palanquin; then come the incense table, the Lord’s bat cong palanquin with two parasols, the Lady’s palanquin with two fans, and finally the male ritual team, the female incense-offering team, and the people.

Upon reaching General Dao Ky’s tomb, the palanquin is lowered, the flag and fan attendants arrange themselves solemnly, and the chief officiant and officials perform rites before the grave. After the rites, the palanquin procession returns to the communal house for the main festival ceremony at ten o’clock, following the prescribed order: drums and gongs, inspection of offerings, washing hands with ginger water, offering incense, offering wine, reading the eulogy, and burning the eulogy. After the ritual comes the festival with folk games, quan ho singing in the afternoon, and a mass cultural performance in the evening.

In the main festival year, about one hundred strong young people are selected to carry palanquins and flags, including thirty men carrying the Lord’s palanquin, thirty women carrying the Lady’s palanquin, and twenty women carrying flags. The preservation of the festival relies not on written texts but on oral transmission through many generations; each year the ritual team and incense-offering team gain new members, who are taught by their predecessors through practice sessions and by witnessing the rites themselves.

Compared with the past, the scale of participation has expanded greatly: not only village residents but also people from neighboring areas. In the past the village held the festival for many days; now, due to economic conditions, it is organized mainly for one day. For the people of Dong Tru, the festival is an occasion to remember the village’s deity, to better understand the principle of remembering the source when drinking water, and also an opportunity to meet and strengthen solidarity among generations.