Ha Thai village festival

Ha Thai village festival Ha Thai village communal house (also known as Ba Lay communal house) worships two village tutelary gods, the military mandarin of the Le Bui Si Luong period and Mrs. Dinh Thi Trach (also known as Mrs. Lay), who voluntarily surrendered herself to the tiger to relieve the villagers of the annual human tribute limit. The village's genealogy records that: in the past, this land was still wild, with luxuriant trees and sparse population. At that time, in the forest there was a ferocious tiger, called a tiger wolf (a star tiger), who often came to the village to capture people and livestock to eat. The villagers could not subdue the tiger, so they had to pay tribute to the tiger once a year on the 10th day of the 11th lunar month to keep them safe. At that time, Mrs. Lay was old and had no husband or children. Compassionate for the fate of the villagers, she made a vow to heaven and earth and voluntarily asked for the tiger's life with the wish that from now on that term would end. On the 10th day of the 11th lunar month, the tiger came and pounced on her and took her away. But since then, the villagers no longer see tigers coming to harass them. To commemorate her merits, Ha Thai villagers built a temple to worship her (now Ha Thai communal house), honored her as the village tutelary god and took the 10th day of the 11th lunar month every year as the traditional village festival. As for the military mandarin of the Le Dynasty, Bui Si Luong was born on March 10, 1544 (Giap Thin), and was a very intelligent man, perfect in literature and martial arts. He rose to the position of Grand Master and Palace Commander. When the Mac dynasty usurped the Le dynasty, he commanded 100,000 elite troops to destroy the Mac pro-Le dynasty, bringing peace to the country. When passing through Ha Thai village, he saw that this place had a terrain where dragons flanked tigers and was densely populated. He immediately built a family home and taught the people to start a business. He died on May 10, 1597 (Dinh Dau) and was honored by Ha Thai villagers as the village's Tutelary God. Ha Thai village festival is held for three days, from 9 to 11 of the 11th lunar month every year, attracting many people and tourists from all over. November 9 In the morning, old men and women in traditional costumes and villagers go to the communal house to attend the opening ceremony of the communal house and the opening of the festival. The celebrant lit incense and invited the two tutelary lords to testify to the respect of the villagers. Next, the water-letting ceremony at the well of Ha Thai pagoda was held. The well water is carried back to the communal house for the ceremony of investiture (moc duc). In the afternoon, the procession to bring the feast to the communal house to celebrate the Saint's Day is solemnly held. Leading the way are the lion dance team, the five-way flag team, the eight-sound team, and the folk music team, and lastly are the feasts of the hamlets in Duyen Thai commune. In the evening, the monks of Ha Thai pagoda hold a six-offering ceremony with six offerings including: incense, flowers, candles (posters), tea (tea or wine), fruits (various fruits), food (oan, compressed sticky rice, rice). November 10 (Political Assembly) In the morning, the palanquin procession from the communal house to Duc Ong temple (worshiping military mandarin Bui Si Luong) to ask for blessings begins early in the morning. Leading the procession is the lion dance team, followed by the Bat Am ward, the group of people carrying flags, eight treasures, and the palanquin carrying team. The people carrying the palanquin are all young men who are healthy, have good morals, and are unmarried. The Ong palanquin (Long Dinh palanquin) is carried by four boys, and the Notre Dame palanquin (Bat Cong palanquin) is carried by eight girls. Following the palanquin-carrying team are the men's worship team, the women's worship team, the ceremony team and the villagers. The atmosphere of the procession is very jubilant and bustling with the sound of drums, the music of the Bat Am guild and the cheers of the villagers. Arriving at the temple, the worship team brings offerings to perform the ceremony to announce the Saint and ask for a blessing to bring back to the communal house. When the procession team settled down in the communal house yard, the female altar team performed the incense offering ceremony to the Saint. In the afternoon, the men's worship team performed the Saint ceremony. In the evening, cultural exchange performances of Ha Thai village and other villages were held. November 11: In the morning, worship teams from neighboring villages in traditional costumes took turns performing offerings and offering incense to the Saint. In the afternoon, the men's worship team of Ha Thai communal house performed a farewell ceremony and distributed Holy fortune to everyone. During the days of the festival, many games and folk arts take place such as; Lion dance, Seong Tien dance performed by children, Quan Ho singing on dragon boats, Chinese chess competition, cockfighting...