Controversy over 'wearing a yin geisha costume and carrying the queen's palanquin' in a promotional ceremony in Hue

The image of some people wearing yin gong (a type of costume worn by coffin bearers in Hue) carrying the queen's palanquin during a street parade in Hue has caused a wave of controversy. The leader of the Department of Culture and Sports of Hue City has expressed his opinion.

According to Thanh Nien reporter's investigation, this image was taken at the Ao Dai Festival street performance, themed "Vietnamese style convergence", organized by the Department of Culture and Sports of Hue City yesterday afternoon, June 8.

The festival gathered more than 1,200 people from all over the country, creating a parade showing off Vietnamese ao dai and traditional costumes on the streets of Hue .

Image of soldiers carrying the queen's palanquin during the parade causes controversy

PHOTO: PHILIP NGUYEN

Notably, the image of people playing the role of Nguyen Dynasty soldiers, wearing red and orange-trimmed costumes carrying the queen's palanquin, was said by netizens to be "wearing the costumes of underworld soldiers carrying a coffin", which is not suitable for the context.

There is a social media account that clearly states that "Hue artists and scholars oppose the use of am cong (funeral) costumes to carry the queen's palanquin". Another account even combined photos of the public ceremony (above) and the funeral in Hue (below) for easy comparison.

Under the status line, the account owner also attached pictures proving that the costumes in the promotional ceremony were similar to the Yin Gong costumes.

The post received hundreds of likes and controversial comments such as: "This is something to carry in a funeral"; "Probably because the budget is not enough, so I borrowed the costume temporarily, after the festival I will return it to the original owner"...

Documentary image of the Nguyen Dynasty king's palanquin carrying ceremony provided by Mr. Phan Thanh Hai, Director of the Department of Culture and Sports of Hue City

PHOTO: PTH

What does Hue City Department of Culture and Sports say?

This morning, June 9, speaking with Thanh Nien reporter, Mr. Phan Thanh Hai, Director of Hue City Department of Culture and Sports, explained about the "yin gong-like" costume.

According to Mr. Phan Thanh Hai, in fact, Hue's yin gong costume was taken from the old soldier's costume of the Nguyen Dynasty, because nowadays people only see that costume appearing in funerals so they think it is the yin gong costume of carrying the funeral.

Regarding the palanquin carrying in yesterday's parade, according to Mr. Hai, this reenactment of the palanquin carrying was performed by young people from the North who love ao dai and came to Hue to participate in the program.

"Because they had no experience, they hired the palanquin carrying team and didn't pay attention to the costumes of the group. If they had given them conical hats, no one would have said anything, because it looked like the uniforms of soldiers in ancient times. We should also sympathize with the young people, they are very enthusiastic but lack experience," said Mr. Phan Thanh Hai.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tranh-cai-vu-mac-do-am-cong-ganh-kieu-hoang-hau-trong-le-quang-dien-o-hue-18525060909255955.htm