Traditional festival of Phuong Ban village

The festival takes place from the 9th to the 13th day of the first lunar month

- Venue of the festival

+ Inner temple in Phuong Ban village, Chuong My ward

+ Outer temple in Phuong Ban village, Chuong My ward

+ Village communal house in Phuong Ban village, Chuong My ward

According to the convention of Phuong Ban village, the village communal house festival is held once every 3-5 years (Great Festival), with offerings and palanquin processions. The festival takes place from the 9th to the 13th day of the first lunar month. In ordinary years when the Great Festival is not held, it is only called village affairs, with only offerings and rituals, no processions, and takes place on many days during the year: the ceremony on the 12th to 14th of the 8th lunar month commemorates the birthdays of the village tutelary gods; from the 1st to the 5th of the 11th lunar month is the anniversary ceremony of the village tutelary gods; the two spring and autumn periods in the 2nd and 8th lunar months when the village holds the Tien Hien ceremony; on the 20th of the 7th lunar month, the military feast ceremony on the 20th and 30th of the 10th lunar month. On Tet holidays during the year such as Lunar New Year, Doan Ngo Festival, and Trung Thap Festival, there are also ceremonies for the gods, more or less depending on circumstances, but the essence lies only in the heartfelt reverence for the Tien Hien. Description of forms of expression, practice process, material and spiritual products created during the practice of intangible cultural heritage, related cultural spaces, etc.:

The festival is held to commemorate the merits of Duc Uy Son Dai Vuong, Mo Dich Dai Vuong, and Lady Phung Hung.

Uy Son Dai Vuong is the title of a deity worshipped by the Vietnamese people, associated with the merit of suppressing rebellions and protecting the country during the Hung Vuong, Dinh, and Ly dynasties, or regarded as a skilled medical deity who cured smallpox, especially in temples belonging to the Four Guardian Temples of Thang Long (such as Cao Son Temple, Hanoi), Hoa Lu, and many northern provinces. This deity has many roles, being one of the Three Mountain Gods (Son Tinh - Cao Son - Quy Minh), or identified with figures such as Cao Bien, or even a legendary "divine physician".

Mo Dich Dai Vuong (or Hung Nhuong Dai Vuong) is the title of Tran Quoc Tang, son of Hung Dao Vuong Tran Quoc Tuan, a famous general of the Tran dynasty; he is worshipped and associated with guarding the Northeast sea region.

Bo Cai Dai Vuong, whose real name was Phung Hung, was from Cam Lam village (now Duong Lam commune in Son Tay town). He was a man strong enough to fight buffaloes and wrestle tigers. During the Dali era (766-779) of the Tang dynasty, the An Nam protector-general Cao Chinh Binh was cruel and tyrannical, brutally exploiting the people; people everywhere were resentful and rose up against Tang colonial rule. Phung Hung and his younger brother Phung Hai gathered local soldiers and launched an uprising against Tang domination,

After taking control of Duong Lam land, Phung Hung recruited soldiers from nearby hamlets and led his troops through Quoc Oai to besiege Tong Binh prefecture. On the march, Phung Hung set up a camp at Hoa Ban to gather more soldiers from various places and then attacked Tong Binh prefecture. Under the fierce advance of the insurgent army, Cao Chinh Binh could not withstand it and died. The insurgents captured the prefecture, and the Tang protectorate troops fled back to their country. The insurgent army won victory and liberated the country from Tang colonial rule. Phung Hung proclaimed himself king and established his capital at Tong Binh. After ruling for 7 years, in 781 Phung Hung fell seriously ill and died. After his death, remembering his merits and virtues, the people honored Phung Hung as Bo Cai Dai Vuong, and many places built temples to worship him. In Phuong Ban, the people worship both Phung Hung and his wife and honor them as the village tutelary gods.

* Prohibitions and taboos during the festival: chief celebrant: if the family is in mourning for parents or parents-in-law, one must wait until the mourning period ends before continuing to serve.

* Before the festival: The local government holds a joint conference with the secretaries, village heads, and heads of departments and mass organizations. After that, a festival steering committee is established, and tasks are assigned to each member of the steering committee. The meeting takes place at the village communal house or the neighborhood cultural house.

On the afternoon of the 8th day of the first lunar month, the elderly men of the village go to the communal house to perform rituals to cleanse the altar objects and assemble and wash the palanquins. The elders wipe them three times: first with clean well water, then with ginger water, and then with alcohol. After that, the temple caretaker and some respected elders dress the village tutelary god. The elderly women sweep and clean the communal house.

On the morning of the 9th day of the first lunar month, the ceremonial troops and the elders perform rituals and carry out the procession of the saint from the village shrine to the communal house. When the saint is brought to the communal house, an enthronement ceremony is performed. Then the palanquin team directs the procession along the route. The order of the procession is: a flag and drum team of 20 people leading; then 20 people carrying dragon and unicorn figures; next is the team of long swords and eight treasures and the ritual music team. The palanquin team includes the Long Dinh palanquin patrolling to clear the way, the Gia Van palanquin, and the Bat Cong palanquin. Following the procession and palanquins are village organization blocks and the people. After the procession returns to the communal house, an enthronement ceremony is held.

 * The 10th day of the first lunar month: Perform rituals and ceremonies inviting the eldest brother and the young children to attend the festival

* The 11th day of the first lunar month: The respected elderly jointly perform the joint ritual ceremony * The 12th day of the first lunar month: Perform the Suong Ca ceremony; organize traditional cultural and artistic activities;

* The 13th day of the first lunar month: Perform the Man Tich ceremony and carry the saint back to the shrine. After the saint is returned to the shrine, perform the enthronement ceremony and conclude the festival

Through the festival, descendants are educated about the people's tradition of remembering the source when drinking water, that is, gratitude to predecessors. The festival is also an occasion for families and villagers to meet and strengthen community bonds in the village.