The "June Festival of Praying for Blessings" of Tuong Son village is not only a religious ritual, but also an occasion to turn to ancestors and origins.
Tuong Son village is the ancient name of the old Quang Long ward, bordering Phan Long village (Ba Don) to the south, along the gentle and poetic Mai river (Kia canal) to the west, leaning against the forest, vast sand dunes to the east, bordering Phap Ke village (old Quang Phuong) to the north. Previously, Tuong Son village had the hamlets of Thuy Son, Lam Son, Trung Son, Tay Son and Vung No.
After 1954, due to the need to divide the boundaries to suit production, the village was divided into: Thuy Son, Truong Son and Tien Phong villages. Thuy Son village mainly produces handicrafts and small trades at Ba Don market, while Truong Son and Tien Phong villages mainly produce agriculture .
Tuong Son village has a communal house located on high ground facing the West, in front of the Mai River (Kia Canal), in Thuy Son village. According to documents (historical relic of Tuong Son communal house), the communal house was built in the year Canh Ngo (1750) to worship the village's tutelary god and for community activities. The village's tutelary god includes the "predecessors" of the Tran, Ngo, Nguyen, and Pham families; later, there were also "postdecessors", who contributed to the homeland and the country, to the "opening and reclamation" of Tuong Son village. Tuong Son communal house fully possesses the common cultural values and identities of the Vietnamese people, and at the same time bears the distinct mark of a village associated with a historical figure - General Nguyen Dung of the Quang Trung - Nguyen Hue period.
In 1771, the Tay Son movement broke out, Nguyen Dung from Dai Dan village (Tuong Son) joined the insurgents and was highly regarded by Nguyen Hue. He and King Quang Trung-Nguyen Hue went through the entire history of the resistance war against the invaders, creating a great victory in the spring of Ky Dau (1789), when our army defeated 290,000 Qing troops.
General Nguyen Dung was appointed by King Quang Trung to the title of Marshal of the District, granted the title of “Golden Seal” and granted the Tuong Son village the parallel sentence: “The first class of the old temple/Golden Seal bestowed upon Tuong Son village”. With the contributions of General Nguyen Dung and Tuong Son communal house during the struggle, construction and protection of the Fatherland, on February 22, 2004, the Minister of Culture and Information signed and granted a certificate to rank the “Nguyen Dung tomb and Tuong Son communal house” as a national historical relic. In 2017, with the permission and support of the State, with the high determination of the Party Committee and the people, local children supported the funding to restore and embellish the communal house.
Every year on the afternoon of the 17th day of the 6th lunar month, the village organizes a procession of the gods and the village guardian spirit to be enshrined at the village communal house. The association of the elderly establishes a ritual committee consisting of: the master celebrant, the assistant celebrant, the inner minister, the chanter... to perform the rituals. The master celebrant is a prestigious person in the village, responsible for conducting the entire ritual, reading the funeral oration and petition to ask for the blessings of the gods. The assistant celebrant is the person who assists the master celebrant in offering the rituals in the correct order.
The inner man is the person in charge of logistics and rituals, such as decorating the altar, arranging flags, umbrellas, drums, gongs, etc., and assigning tasks to each person in the ceremony committee. The chanter is the person who chants each part, maintaining a solemn rhythm for the entire ceremony. These people must be prestigious, knowledgeable about the village's cultural traditions, attentive, and knowledgeable in worshiping to ensure solemnity and respect. During the entire process of praying for peace, all of them wear proper ceremonial clothes and coordinate rhythmically according to the ritual.
Depending on the year, the festival has programs that are suitable to the actual situation. Usually on the evening of the 17th of the 6th lunar month, the village's "Sixth Moon Festival for Good Fortune" organizes cultural and artistic activities.
One year, in addition to the traditional performances of the elders, the village invited the Ca Tru club of Dong Duong village and the Kieu singing club of Phap Ke village (in Quang Phuong commune, old Quang Trach district) to join in the exchange and enjoy the festival. When the moon rose high, the Mai River seemed to light up in the myriad of flower lanterns. People together released small, shimmering lanterns with prayers for peace, luck, prosperity of the country, good crops, successful careers, and happiness for every family.
On the 18th day of the 6th lunar month, the village holds a boat racing festival, otherwise, they gather for the main blessing ceremony. From early morning, the clans and villagers of Tuong Son village prepare trays of offerings, depending on their conditions and sincerity, with their own unique features. Under the guidance of the ritual committee, representatives of the local government, representatives of the association of the elderly, clan heads, and village heads offer incense to open the festival, pray to ancestors, Thanh Hoang and General Nguyen Dung; pray for “National peace and people’s peace”, favorable weather, bountiful harvests, and favorable business.
Before the altar filled with incense smoke, prayers were read in a slow, warm voice, as if echoing from the past. The bows carried with them all the sincerity; the solemn space seemed to listen to the voice of heaven and earth, of ancestors, of sacred cultural values passed down from ancient times.
In the village consciousness, the “June Festival of Praying for Blessings” of Tuong Son village is not only a religious ritual, but also a word of “faith” towards ancestors, the source of strength. It is a symphony between history and the future, together firmly going through all the ups and downs of the times, a source of culture that has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
No matter how modern society changes, for the people here, the sixth lunar month is still a sacred time to turn to their roots. Just as rice plants need soil and water to grow, the soul of Tuong Son village also needs the "June Festival of Praying for Blessings" to continue, to flourish, to sublimate, to pass on beliefs and aspirations!
Tran Dinh
Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/le-hoi-luc-nguyet-cau-phuc-cua-lang-tuong-son-truyen-doi-niem-tin-va-khat-vong-195582.htm
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