What is the Phu Day Festival and when does it take place?
The Phu Day Festival is a traditional belief festival held annually at the Phu Day relic complex in Kim Thai Commune, Vu Ban District, Nam Dinh Province. The festival usually takes place in the first ten days of the third lunar month, lasting for many days with the participation of local authorities and a large number of people and pilgrims from all over.
According to Nhan Dan newspaper, the 2024 Phu Day Festival was held from April 11 to 16 on the solar calendar, which is from the third to the eighth day of the third lunar month. The opening ceremony took place on April 11 (the third day of the third lunar month) with incense offering rituals and cultural and folk sports activities at the relics in the complex.
This is one of the five largest traditional belief festivals in the country, associated with the legend of Saint Mother Lieu Hanh, one of the Four Immortals of Vietnamese folk beliefs. The festival is not only an occasion for spiritual cultural activities but also an opportunity to honor and spread the profound humanistic values of the nation's ancient folk culture.
Origin and legend of Saint Mother Lieu Hanh
Saint Mother Lieu Hanh is the patron deity of the Mother Goddess worship of the Three Palaces, revered by the people as a symbol of compassion, protection, and the power to support humans. According to sources cited by VietnamNet, Nam Dinh Province is considered one of the localities with typical centers of worship of Saint Mother Lieu Hanh, with places that preserve the legend of the Mother's incarnation such as Phu Day, Phu Nap, and nearly 400 places of worship of the Holy Mother.
In particular, according to preliminary survey data, Nam Dinh currently has more than 600 relics related to worship and practices of Mother Goddess worship throughout the area. The most typical are the Phu Day Architectural and Artistic Relic Complex (Kim Thai Commune, Vu Ban District) and the Quang Cung Temple National Historical-Cultural Relic (Yen Dong Commune, Y Yen District). These are places that mark the legend of the first and second incarnations of Saint Mother Lieu Hanh.
The legend of Saint Mother Lieu Hanh is associated with the image of Vietnamese women with noble qualities: kindness, sacrifice, tolerance, and love for people. Mother Goddess worship in general and the worship of Saint Mother Lieu Hanh in particular have become an indispensable part of the spiritual cultural life of Vietnamese people through many generations.
The Phu Day relic complex and unique architecture
The Phu Day Historical-Cultural Relic Complex is an architectural ensemble consisting of more than 20 temples, communal houses, pagodas, tombs, shrines, and palaces. Among them, the center is Phu Tien Huong, Phu Van Cat, and the Tomb of Mother Lieu Hanh. This complex carries typical values of history, culture, and architectural art and has been ranked as a National Historical-Cultural Relic by the State.
The structures in the Phu Day complex not only have architectural value but are also places that preserve many precious artifacts and documents reflecting the development history of Mother Goddess worship through periods. The architecture here bears the traditional style of the Northern Delta region, with exquisite carvings, systems of columns and beams, curved roofs, and solemn worship spaces.
According to information from VietnamNet, the People's Committee of Nam Dinh Province has approved the zoning plan (scale 1/2,000) for the Phu Day Architectural and Artistic Relic Area and related adjacent areas. This plan aims to preserve and develop the historical, cultural values, as well as the unique ecological landscape of the area.
Main rituals and activities in the festival
Chau Van singing and Hau Dong mediumship rituals
Prominent in the Phu Day Festival are the Chau Van singing and Hau Dong mediumship rituals, considered important belief rituals of Mother Goddess religion. According to Ms. Ha Lan Anh, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Nam Dinh Province, this ritual expresses the connection between humans and deities through music, dance, and vibrant traditional costumes.
Hau Dong is a special ritual in which mediums perform dance, singing, and incarnate the deities in the Three Palaces Mother Goddess worship system. This ritual not only has spiritual meaning but is also a unique form of performing art, combining music, dance, costumes, and acting.
Chau Van singing art festival
Within the framework of the festival, there is also a Chau Van singing art festival, attracting the participation of artisans and musicians from many localities. Chau Van singing is a unique traditional musical art form, with melodies rich in national cultural identity, used in Mother Goddess worship rituals.
Folk cultural and sports activities
Besides the ritual part, the festival part also takes place vibrantly with many rich activities. According to Nhan Dan newspaper, during the festival days, there were activities such as: the procession of the Mother to the capital, human chess competition, and the letter-pulling festival (Hoa Truong Hoi) with the words "Quoc thai dan an" and "Thien ha thai binh".
In addition, there are also unique spiritual cultural activities and folk art such as: Hau Dong, Van singing, and lion-dragon dance. The letter-pulling festival (Hoa Truong Hoi) is a unique folk game, expressing the people's wish for a peaceful and prosperous country.
Cultural values and social significance of the festival
Honoring the role of women
According to UNESCO's assessment cited by VietnamNet, the Mother Goddess worship of the Three Palaces of Vietnamese people is a spiritual activity, a form of indigenous worship with religious and belief characteristics. The practices in this belief exalt the value and role of women in Vietnamese family and social life.
Mother's love becomes the root associated with love for the homeland, country, and nature, contributing to uniting people's hearts, stabilizing, and developing society. This is a profound ethical and humanistic value, reflecting the tradition of respecting and exalting women in Vietnamese culture.
Intangible cultural heritage of humanity
The Phu Day Festival and the Chau Van Singing Ritual of the Vietnamese people have been included in the National Intangible Cultural Heritage list by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism. In particular, the "Practices of the Mother Goddess worship of the Three Palaces of the Vietnamese people" has been inscribed by UNESCO as a Representative Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
This recognition further affirms the significance and importance of the heritage in the cultural life of the people. Nam Dinh was assigned the task of chairing the construction of the dossier submitted to UNESCO for the inscription of the heritage "Practices of the Mother Goddess worship of the Three Palaces of the Vietnamese people".
Conservation and promotion of heritage values
Conservation projects and planning
To protect and promote the value of the heritage, the cultural sector of Nam Dinh Province has coordinated with the Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts to build the project "Protecting and promoting the value of the practice of Mother Goddess worship of the Three Palaces of the Vietnamese people in Nam Dinh until 2030", which has been approved by the Provincial People's Committee.
The project focuses on the centers of practice of Mother Goddess worship, which are the Phu Day Relic Complex (Kim Thai Commune, Vu Ban District), Quang Cung Temple Relic (Yen Dong Commune, Y Yen District), and some other localities. This area is identified as the center of practice of the Mother Goddess worship of the Three Palaces of the Vietnamese people, the area for preserving the relic complex associated with the representative intangible cultural heritage of the nation and humanity.
Honoring artisans and developing spiritual tourism
Along with state management activities on cultural heritage, the Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism of Nam Dinh Province has advised well on the work of honoring, rewarding, and conferring the titles "People's Artisan" and "Meritorious Artisan" on artisans in the field of intangible cultural heritage. To date, Nam Dinh Province has had one individual awarded the title "People's Artisan" by the President and five individuals awarded the title "Meritorious Artisan" by the President in the field of "Practices of the Mother Goddess worship of the Three Palaces of the Vietnamese people".
According to Ms. Ha Lan Anh, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Nam Dinh Province, the Phu Day Festival is not only an important cultural event but also an occasion to promote, preserve, and promote the value of the homeland's cultural heritage, associated with sustainable spiritual tourism development. Over the past 30 years, thanks to local attention to restoring and fully gathering the cultural values of spiritual beliefs, the Phu Day Festival has become one of the largest festivals in the country and an attractive spiritual tourism destination, attracting millions of domestic and international visitors to visit and worship the system of Mother Goddess relics.
Points to note when participating in the festival
When participating in the Phu Day Festival, visitors should learn in advance about the meaning and rituals of the festival to be able to participate respectfully and properly. Spiritual rituals such as Hau Dong and Chau Van singing should be viewed as part of cultural heritage, and there should be no disrespectful behavior or actions affecting the sacred space.
The work of ensuring security and order, environmental sanitation, traffic safety, fire prevention, and health during the festival days is organized and implemented methodically. Visitors should comply with the regulations of the organizers and maintain general hygiene to contribute to the success of the festival.
The Phu Day Festival is one of the important cultural and spiritual destinations, not only meeting the belief needs of the people but also contributing to traditional education and fostering love for the homeland and country for generations, especially the younger generation.
