Mai Hien Village Festival

Some festivals come every year in the villagers’ anticipation; there are also rituals that must pass through many years before being restored, so that memories thought to have receded far away come alive again in the heart of the community. The Mai Hien Village Festival, especially the Nghinh Lang procession ceremony commemorating General Dao Ky and Princess Phuong Dung, is such a cultural feature. After 64 years of interruption since the last organization remembered by the village elders in 1926, the Nghinh Lang ceremony has been restored, reconnecting the ties between generations, between the sacred memory of ancestors and today’s cultural life.

On the tradition-rich land of Dong Ngan, the Mai Hien festival is not only an occasion to remember the two tutelary deities worshipped by the villagers, but also a place where historical stories, ancient rites and the moral principle of gratitude to origins are preserved and transmitted through the years. In the sound of festival drums, the colors of sacred flags and the steps of the procession, the past seems to awaken and be present in the reverence of the people of the homeland.

According to the accounts of elders, the Mai Hien communal-house festival has existed for a long time, but the exact starting point has not been determined. The festival is associated with the legend of General Dao Ky and Princess Phuong Dung, the two deities worshipped by the villagers, who are said to have helped the Hai Ba Trung fight the invaders and protect the country.

According to the legend handed down locally, on the 15th day of the third month in the year of Nham Than, Mrs. Tran Thi Vien gave birth to a handsome, healthy son. Before that, the father had been told in a dream by a divine general, so he named his son Ky. As he grew up, Ky became famous for his talent, and at the age of 18 he married Phuong Nuong, who was said to understand astronomy and geography. The two became a talented man and beautiful woman, sharing great aspirations in the face of the country’s fate.

When the Hai Ba Trung raised the flag of uprising, Dao Ky and Phuong Nuong joined the ranks of the insurgent army. Dao Ky was appointed Grand Marshal, commanding both naval and land forces; Phuong Nuong remained at the main camp, responsible for military counsel. In the spring of the year 40, when Trung Vuong ascended the throne, Dao Ky was appointed district magistrate of Dong Ngan, according to the story preserved in the legend.

The years of war eventually passed, but the story of the loyalty of the two generals is still kept by the people of Mai Hien. The legend tells that in a fierce battle with the northern army, the generals fell one after another, leaving only Dao Ky and Phuong Nuong surrounded by the enemy. Amid the many layers of encirclement, Dao Ky fought fiercely with one horse and one sword. When the enemy general Ma Vien raised his sword to strike, the sky and earth suddenly turned dark and murky. He held his head and retreated, crossing beyond the territory of Co Loa, and when he reached the Coi Giang area, both he and his horse collapsed. In a moment, termites piled up into a mound of earth. According to the legend, this happened on the 15th day of the eighth month in the year of Quy Mao.

Behind the encirclement, Phuong Nuong also broke through the battle with one horse and one sword and returned to the base. When she passed through the territory of Co Loa and learned that the newly risen mound was the place where Dao Ky had fallen, she lamented in pain that if the general was gone, what was the point of her living. On the 16th day of the eighth month, she drew her sword and took her own life. At the place where she died, termites also piled up into a mound of earth, now in Phuc Tho village according to local accounts.

The story of the sacrifice of the general and his wife is tragic and heroic, expressing folk conceptions of loyalty, marital fidelity and the spirit of those who forget themselves for the country’s affairs. The mounds associated with the legend are not only traces of an old story but have also become places where the community entrusts its remembrance. Through many generations, the images of General Dao Ky and Princess Phuong Dung have been preserved in religious life, becoming a spiritual anchor and a source of pride for the people of Mai Hien.

For the people here, worshipping the two tutelary deities is not merely the practice of a religious rite. It is also a way to remind descendants of patriotism, the spirit of dedication to the community, and the morality of fidelity and steadfastness. Those qualities are conveyed in the legend, present in the offering and procession rites, and continue to be transmitted through each festival season.

The traditional festival of Mai Hien village takes place on the 14th, 15th and 16th days of the third lunar month every year. Among these, the Nghinh Lang procession ceremony is a special activity, customarily held every five or ten years. That infrequency makes each Nghinh Lang occasion an event awaited by the community, because it is not only a ceremonial procession but also a return to a part of the village’s sacred memory.

Preparation begins on the 10th day of the third month, when the altar objects are cleaned and the worship space is arranged solemnly. Each item and each ritual vessel is carefully attended to, showing the people’s reverence before the great festival day.

On the 14th day of the third month, the villagers organize a procession to bring the tablets of the two tutelary deities from the shrine to the communal house. The procession with the palanquin of the male deity, the palanquin of the female deity, sacred flags and lao bat creates a solemn atmosphere imbued with traditional festival character. Every step and every rite is tied to conventions preserved by the community, so that the procession is not only the movement of tablets between worship spaces but also an expression of the villagers’ respect for the two deities worshipped.

The 15th day of the third month is the main festival day. After the opening ceremony, the activities of offering to the Saints, incense offering and the Saint ceremony are carried out solemnly. This is the moment when the community turns toward the tutelary deities, remembers the merits handed down in the legend and prays for a peaceful life and a stable homeland. Besides the ritual part, cultural and artistic activities and folk games help make the festival more lively, creating a space for exchange and meeting between villagers and visitors from elsewhere.

On the 16th day of the third month, the villagers hold the farewell ceremony, then process the tutelary deities from the communal house back to the shrine, closing the festival days. The sequence from processing the tablets, to offering rituals, to processing them back expresses the connection between worship spaces and the continuation of traditional rites in community life.

In the past, the village festival also had swinging, a folk game once associated with festival activities in many rural areas of the North. Over time, due to limited organization space, swinging is no longer maintained in Mai Hien. Instead, the village continues to organize duck catching along with cultural and sports activities suited to current conditions. Although the forms of activity have changed, the spirit of the village festival is still preserved: solemn in the ritual part, joyful in the festive part and cohesive in community feeling.

The festival’s distinctive character is also expressed through costumes and ceremonial formations. The offering team wears white trousers, blue tunics, chuon hats and shoes; the incense-offering team wears white trousers, pink shirts and closed turbans; the sinh tien team wears yellow shirts, white trousers and closed turbans. Together with the palanquins of the male and female deities, sacred flags and lao bat, these costumes create the traditional appearance of the festival, helping to highlight the solemnity and beauty of folk rites.

Each festival season, from preparation to the main rites, the people each have their own part. Elders pass on rules and experience; members of the offering and procession teams persevere in practice; families join hands in preparation so that the festival takes place properly. Therefore, the festival is maintained not only by established rites but also by the community’s sense of responsibility and consensus.

A notable feature of Mai Hien customs is the taboos handed down through many generations. According to village custom, people do not name their children Ky or Phuong; during festival days and death anniversaries, they do not wear yellow or purple-red clothing; people in mourning do not participate in festival activities.

Those conventions are tied to religious conceptions and the community’s traditional way of behaving toward the two tutelary deities. In old village life, village custom not only regulated behavior but also expressed conceptions of reverence, solemnity and each person’s responsibility for communal activities. Over time, the conventions continue to be recalled as part of Mai Hien’s cultural memory.

The person serving as chief officiant and the temple keeper are carefully chosen by the villagers. According to custom, they must be people with a complete married life, a well-ordered family and the respect of the community. Those criteria reflect traditional conceptions of the character, morality and prestige of the person representing the community in sacred rites.

In particular, the rites are transmitted not mainly through instructional texts but through oral accounts, direct instruction and the process of practice. About two weeks before the festival, the offering team, the incense-offering group and the palanquin procession group begin practicing at the communal house. Experienced people guide newcomers in each movement, how to walk and stand, offer incense, perform rites and coordinate in formation. In this way, what belongs to the rites is passed from those who came before to those who come after, with patience, meticulousness and respect for village custom.

Direct transmission also creates a close relationship between generations. Young people not only learn the movements of ritual performance but also hear about the origins of the tutelary deities, the meaning of each rite and the responsibility to preserve the common heritage. Through this, the festival becomes a natural space for cultural education, where the values of the homeland are received through lived experience rather than only through introductions.

In the cultural life of Mai Hien village, the festival commemorating General Dao Ky and Princess Phuong Dung is a connection between belief, legendary history and communal life. The festival days in the third month every year help the people maintain worship of the tutelary deities; the Nghinh Lang ceremony, held every five or ten years, has special significance in awakening collective memory and reconnecting traditional threads that had been interrupted.

After 64 years without being held according to the accounts of the elders, the restoration of the Nghinh Lang ceremony is a memorable milestone in the journey of preserving the customs of the Mai Hien people. It is not only the return of an ancient rite but also the result of community awareness and the desire to keep the values handed down by ancestors present in today’s life.

From the stories of the general and his wife to the solemn processions, from the village customs preserved to the teaching of each ritual movement, all create a cultural whole rich in identity. The festival is where people turn toward their roots, express gratitude to the figures worshipped for their merits to the people and the country, and at the same time cultivate bonds between families, generations and people who share the same homeland.

In the rhythm of modern life, when many forms of traditional activity face changes, the Mai Hien festival still carries meaning as a durable thread connecting past and present. Each festival season, people again prepare together, perform rites, carry palanquins and pass on the stories of the village. Each rite performed is a time memory is recalled; each succeeding generation is a time heritage is entrusted.

And in their reverence toward General Dao Ky and Princess Phuong Dung, the people of Mai Hien continue to preserve the moral principle of remembering the source when drinking water, nurturing pride in the homeland’s tradition. The festival therefore does not belong only to the past but is still alive in the present – like a cultural source quietly flowing through many generations, steadfastly preserving the soul of a countryside rich in affection and tradition.