The spacious Hung Long Temple shows the people's gratitude to the patron saint of the river region.
Heaven does not fail good-hearted people.
Venerable Thich Minh Tuan, the head of the Hung Long temple, shared: The ancients have a saying: "Hoang thien bat phu hao tam nhan", meaning that people who live virtuously will be helped by heaven and earth. According to the legend of Hung Long village, Duc Thanh Hoang Bo - the god who governs the river region, incarnated as Minh Duc Dai Vuong, who appeared at Hung Long temple, Dong Tien Hai commune today.
The legend tells that: In the old days, in Kenh Xuyen village, there was an old couple, Mr. Tran Thai Cong and Mrs. Dang Thi, who were kind and virtuous. They were old but had no children to continue their family line. They made a vow to take care of the incense lamps at the temple of the Holy Mother De Tam Thuy Tinh, and also did good deeds such as building roads, repairing dikes, and giving alms to the poor. This merit moved the Holy Mother. At noon on the summer solstice, June 13, the old lady gave birth to a handsome boy with an unusual appearance, and named him Minh Duc. When he grew up, he was devoted to Zen Buddhism and built a hermitage to study Buddhism every day. After the old man and old lady passed away, the Thanh Su came to deliver the imperial edict to the Dragon Palace to summon them. He transformed into a White Snake and crawled down the sea to return to the Dragon Palace. The temple and hermitage have since then been cold and smokeless. Suddenly one night, all the villagers dreamed of a handsome prince wearing a golden crown, white clothes, a silver sword on his back, riding on a pair of white snakes appearing on the sea surface, telling the villagers to worship the Holy Mother as seriously as before, when there was a disaster, she would come to save them, and in the future she would bless the land forever. From then on, the villagers built a throne and a tablet for the great king Minh Duc Hoang Bo Thoai to worship, burning incense day and night.
In the year of Giap Ngo, there was a big storm, the dike broke open, the water flooded everywhere, the villagers remembered their dream of setting up an altar to pray for rain, suddenly from the sea a white python swam in, wherever it swam, the dragon followed. According to legend, the place where he appeared is now Bach Long village, the place where the dike broke is now Hung Long village, the place where he dived into the sea is now Cong An Long, the annual water-carrying wharf - the place where no trace of him can be seen anymore is now Hai Long village. Because Kenh Xuyen village was protected by the underworld, it expanded further into the sea and has now split into 4 villages. The Holy Emperor was granted the beautiful title "Dong Hai, Thuy Tinh, Bach Long, Linh Phu, Hien Ung, Tinh Tue, Bac Hue, Minh Duc Dai Vuong Thuong Dang Than" by the Nguyen Dynasty.
National intangible cultural heritage
After many ups and downs of history, today, Hung Long temple has been renovated, showing the gratitude of the people to the patron saint of the river region. Hung Long temple festival has been restored and maintained annually with unique sacrificial rituals, offerings are local products. The unique feature of Hung Long temple festival is that the villagers elect the bosses, the chapter ladies, the lucky branch hosts, the food storehouse, the literature storehouse, the boatmen, the officials, the officials, the leaders... with the wish that the traditional festival is strictly maintained according to the village's regulations. The enthusiastic participation of the people in different roles has shown the sense of responsibility of the community towards preserving the local cultural characteristics.
Local people and tourists participate in the procession at Hung Long temple festival.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngát, one of the chapter leaders at the Hung Long Temple Festival in 2025, said: I manage the work in the solemnly organized festival. Especially for the procession, which is an important part of the ceremony, I am in charge of the Senh Tien and Ban drum teams with dances expressing the spirit of hard work, creating a joyful and exciting atmosphere, reminding the younger generation to look back to their roots, preserving and promoting the good traditional cultural values of their homeland.
Senh Tien dance team in Hung Long temple festival.
Mr. Tran Van Linh, Chairman of Dong Tien Hai Commune People's Committee informed: The history of Hung Long Temple Festival is closely linked to the history of formation and development of Hung Long village. The fact that the festival was recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage has affirmed the recognition of the Party and State for the work of preserving and promoting the traditional cultural values of the locality over the years. At the same time, it affirms the historical, cultural and spiritual values, and educational values of the festival in the life of the community. Promoting the value of national intangible cultural heritage, the local government and people will strive to connect this place with historical relics in the region to become a destination on the journey of cultural and spiritual tourism experiences for visitors from near and far.
Tu Anh
Source: https://baohungyen.vn/le-hoi-den-hung-long-di-san-van-hoa-phi-vat-the-quoc-gia-3183224.html
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