Thư Cưu Village Festival

Thư Cưu is located to the northeast of Co Loa Citadel and is one of eight ancient villages worshipping King An Duong Vuong—commonly referred to as “Bat xa ho nhi.” According to folk tradition and surviving documents, in the Au Lac period, Thư Cưu played an important role in the capital’s defense system. It is considered the place where General Cao Lo—the talented general associated with the legend of manufacturing the magic crossbow to protect the nation—stationed troops, trained soldiers, and kept the “military books at the front.” That geographical position and historical depth have nurtured the local people’s patriotic tradition, martial spirit, and deep pride.

According to the “Hậu Thần Bi Ký” stele erected in the Ky Hoi year, the 15th year of the Vinh Thinh reign (1719), at that time Thư Cưu was an independent commune. However, through historical upheavals, especially the impact of the 18th-century peasant rebellion movement, residents dispersed, the village gradually shrank in scale, and it was merged into Luong Quan commune. In the early 19th century, Thư Cưu village belonged to Luong Quan commune, Co Loa canton, Dong Anh district, Kinh Bac region. After 1954, Thư Cưu belonged to Thuong hamlet, Co Loa commune; today Thư Cưu belongs to Thuong Thu village, Dong Anh commune. Although administrative boundaries changed over periods, the cultural and religious tradition of worshipping King An Duong Vuong has been persistently preserved by the community, becoming a connecting thread among generations of residents.

The name Thư Cưu also offers several interesting explanations. Some believe this place was once the king’s book repository, hence “Thư Cưu.” Others hold that it was originally the Au Lac court’s granary, serving the army in wartime. Whichever interpretation is correct, the village name suggests Thư Cưu’s special role in the organizational structure of the ancient capital—a place that preserved knowledge or ensured national logistics.

The Thư Cưu Village Festival has existed for a very long time but was once lost. In 2007, when the Cưu village communal house was completed, the festival was restored and has been maintained annually ever since. It is held after the Co Loa Festival to commemorate the merits of Thuc Phan An Duong Vuong.

From the sixth day of the first lunar month, together with the other villages in the Bat Xa, Thư Cưu sends a palanquin and Bỏng Chủ offering procession team to the Thuong Temple to perform sacrifices—about 60 people. Afterwards, the palanquin returns to the village communal house, and on the fifteenth and sixteenth days of the first lunar month, the village opens the festival.

One of the festival’s distinctive features is the ritual of processing the “Bỏng Chủ” offerings to the King on the afternoon of the 15th day of the first lunar month. Legend has it that from the Au Lac period, Co Loa and Thư Cưu were two villages specializing in making bỏng—a dry, compact, lightweight food convenient to carry on military campaigns, like “field rations” in later resistance wars. Every year, villagers make “Bỏng tiến Vua”; later, bỏng became an indispensable offering in the festival on the 6th day of the first lunar month at Co Loa. The palanquin procession and offering ritual not only express reverence for ancestors but also vividly reenact a slice of Au Lac military and civilian life, recalling the tradition of solidarity in the cause of national defense.

The morning of the sixteenth is the main festival day; after the opening ceremony, officials perform sacrifices at the communal house. The sacrifice includes a chief officiant, a reader of the invocation, two lamp bearers, two gong and drum players, one western assistant, one eastern assistant… about 25 people; the chief officiant is the head of Cưu village.

The festival also features lively cultural and sports activities such as air volleyball, wrestling, pot smashing, quan ho singing… Among them, air volleyball and wrestling attract large numbers of people, creating an excited, healthy atmosphere that expresses martial spirit and community cohesion. The smooth quan ho melodies resounding in the ancient village space make the festival even richer in the cultural identity of the Northern Delta.

In particular, in the past, the Thư Cưu village festival was also famous for its kite-flying festival. According to elderly villagers, each kite was as long as three communal-house bays and was elaborately crafted. When the kite rose high, the flute sound from the kite resounded like a chorus in the spring sky, creating a melodious sound that captivated people. That was once a distinctive cultural activity that attracted many locals and visitors to enjoy. However, with historical upheavals and changes in social life, the kite-flying festival gradually declined. Researching, restoring, and promoting the value of this folk game is a legitimate desire to enrich community cultural life.

The Thư Cưu Village Festival today is not only an occasion to express gratitude for the merits of King An Duong Vuong and previous generations, but also a vivid symbol of cultural vitality in the new era. The festival is being organized more solemnly, beautifully, and splendidly, harmoniously combining tradition with a contemporary breath, sacred rituals with a civilized, modern community cultural space. In the era of the capital and the country’s rise, the Thư Cưu Festival not only preserves a thousand-year memory but also opens up the aspiration for sustainable cultural development—where heritage is preserved with responsibility, spread through creativity, and continued with pride. Each festival season is another time for the community to grow closer, gain more confidence in the future, and join hands to build an increasingly rich and beautiful homeland worthy of the heroic tradition of the sacred land of Co Loa.