Historical Origins of the Doi Son Tich Dien Festival
According to historical records, in the spring of the Dinh Hoi year, the 7th year of the Thien Phuc era, i.e., 987, King Le Dai Hanh chose the land at the foot of Doi Mountain (now in Tien Son Commune, Duy Tien Town, Ha Nam Province) to perform the Tich Dien ceremony, the first plowing ritual in Vietnamese history. This act was not only ceremonial but also a profound reminder to all subjects about the importance of agricultural production, considered the root of prosperity and happiness.
Since then, the Tich Dien Festival became a fine custom practiced solemnly and reverently by later feudal dynasties. Following the predecessors, in 2009, the Doi Son Tich Dien Festival was revived right on the fields at the foot of Doi Mountain, where King Le Dai Hanh once made the first plowing furrows of spring. This event marked the revival of a ritual over a thousand years old, tied to the cultural and spiritual life of agricultural residents in the Northern Delta.
The Doi Son Tich Dien Festival is regarded as a national ceremony, the largest plowing festival in the Northern Delta. This stems from the profound humanitarian meaning in the agricultural mindset, praying for favorable weather, bountiful harvests, and encouraging people to work diligently on their homeland fields for a prosperous life. The festival is also an occasion to awaken attachment and love for labor with the homeland and educate younger generations about national cultural traditions.
Time and Location
The Doi Son Tich Dien Festival takes place from the 5th to the 7th day of the first lunar month annually, in Tien Son Commune, Duy Tien Town, Ha Nam Province. The central location is the field at the foot of Doi Mountain, known as Kim Ngan field, along with related relics such as Long Doi Son Pagoda, the Than Nong altar, and palanquin procession areas.
In 2023, it marked the 1,036th anniversary of King Le Dai Hanh's plowing on the field at the foot of Doi Son Commune. This was also the 15th year the festival was maintained and organized by Duy Tien Town, aiming to promote to domestic and international tourists the typical and unique traditional cultural values of the locality. After 15 years of revival, the organization has become systematic and proficient according to the overall script of the Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts.
Ritual Structure of the Ceremony
The ceremony part of the Doi Son Tich Dien Festival is performed with full traditional rituals, deeply spiritual and solemn. The festival begins with the procession of King Le Dai Hanh's spirit tablet from Doi Pagoda. When the procession reaches the foot of the mountain, it merges with the procession of the Thanh Hoang palanquin and the drum craft ancestor palanquin, proceeding to the altar on the Tich Dien grounds.
Main rituals include:
- Cao Yet ceremony: reporting to the deities about the festival organization.
- Water procession to the altar: an important ritual symbolizing purification and praying for abundant water for agriculture.
- Sai Tinh ceremony: cleansing the sacred space before main rituals.
- Prayer for peace at Long Doi Son Pagoda: praying for peace for the people and harvest.
- Procession of King Le Dai Hanh's palanquin, Thanh Hoang palanquin, and Doi Tam drum craft ancestor palanquin.
After the incense offering to the Than Nong altar, King Le's spirit tablet, and patron deities, an elder of Tien Son Commune reads the proclamation. Then, an elder who has performed the ritual of receiving royal spirit steps down to make the first plowing furrows to open the Tich Dien festival. Reportedly, the elder makes three furrows, provincial leaders and delegates make five furrows, and leaders of Duy Tien Town, Tien Son Commune, and other elders make subsequent furrows on Kim Ngan field to start a new production year.
In farmer attire, delegates perform the Tich Dien ritual, plowing the first furrows to start the new crop. The loud festival drum and furrows are likened to awakening the land, opening spring and breaking ground, praying for favorable weather and a bountiful harvest. This is the expectation not only of Ha Nam residents but also of people nationwide.
Festival Activities and Folk Culture
Besides the solemn ceremony, the festival part of Doi Son Tich Dien is lively with many cultural, sports, and unique folk game activities. Right after the Than Nong worship ritual is the festival drum performance by the female drum team of Doi Tam Village combined with dragon dance. On the drumbeat background is the dragon dance celebrating the festival by Doi Tin Village people.
Festival activities include:
- Mass sports tournaments such as air volleyball, leather volleyball, and Chinese chess.
- Folk games such as swinging, blindfolded goat catching, monkey bridge crossing, blindfolded pot hitting, cockfighting, and Tich Dien wrestling.
- Buffalo painting and decoration contest with selected strong buffaloes decorated with the year's zodiac symbol.
- Rice cake making contest of Doi Tam Village clans.
- Cultural and artistic activities and exhibition booths displaying typical agricultural and handicraft products of Duy Tien Town and Ha Nam Province.
These activities not only bring a joyful and exciting atmosphere to the festival but also contribute to preserving and promoting the local traditional cultural values. Especially, the participation of the female drum team of Doi Tam Village and clans in the village shows deep community spirit, connecting generations in heritage preservation.
Cultural Significance and Spiritual Values
The Doi Son Tich Dien Festival carries many layers of cultural significance and profound spiritual values. First, it is a vivid symbol of the "agriculture as foundation" ideology, a philosophy deeply ingrained in Vietnamese life over thousands of years. Reenacting the king's plowing ritual is not only an act of remembering the merits of predecessors but also an affirmation of the importance of labor in social life.
Second, the festival is an occasion for the community to pray for favorable weather and bountiful harvests. This is the eternal aspiration of agricultural residents, whose lives are closely tied to nature and weather factors. The water procession, peace prayer, and other spiritual activities all aim at this sacred goal.
Third, the festival helps awaken attachment and love for labor with the homeland. In the context of rural renewal, with improved material and spiritual life and ensured social security, maintaining traditional festivals becomes more meaningful in preserving national cultural identity.
Fourth, the festival plays a role in educating younger generations about national cultural traditions. Through participating in and witnessing rituals, they learn more about history, the merits of ancestors, and the value of labor. This is a vivid visual education that no book can replace.
Preservation and Promotion in the Modern Era
The preservation and promotion of the cultural values of the Doi Son Tich Dien Festival are of special concern to local authorities and people. At the scientific workshop "Preserving and Promoting the Doi Son Tich Dien Festival Space Associated with National Tourism Development," Mr. Nguyen Van Luong, Secretary of the Duy Tien Town Party Committee, emphasized that tourism development is one of the sustainable solutions to preserve and promote the cultural values of the Doi Son sub-region and the Tich Dien Festival.
Future directions include coordinating with the culture, sports, and tourism sector to advise Ha Nam Province on implementing the Master Plan for the Special National Relic Site of Doi Son Pagoda and the Tich Dien Festival Space Plan as a basis for projects and plans linking tourism development with cultural heritage of the Doi Son sub-region. The goal is to create uniqueness based on outstanding, authentic values of cultural heritage, history, and local cultural traditions.
The Duy Tien Town People's Committee also organizes the Tich Dien Festival in line with social development trends, improving the quality of festival activities with the aim of combining tradition and modernity. Specific solutions include gradually improving human resources in tourism, encouraging investment, expanding scale, and modernizing facilities and equipment at tourism service businesses.
With the existing potential of the Tich Dien Festival, along with the attention and direction of authorities from central to provincial and local levels, and the cultural tradition of unity and consensus of Duy Tien Town people, the preservation and promotion of the Tich Dien Festival space associated with tourism are expected to bring great, sustainable values to the economy and society of Duy Tien Town in particular and Ha Nam Province in general.
Unique and Distinctive Features
What makes the Doi Son Tich Dien Festival unique compared to other festivals in the Northern Delta is the harmonious combination of historical, spiritual, and agricultural production elements. The festival is not only an occasion to remember King Le Dai Hanh, who had merits in reclaiming and establishing a strong agriculture, but also a gathering place for traditional craft villages such as Doi Tam drum village, rice cake making village, and other sideline occupations.
The participation of the female drum team of Doi Tam Village in the festival drum performance is a unique feature. The drum sound not only signals the new plowing season but also demonstrates the inheritance and promotion of the local traditional craft. Additionally, the ritual of receiving royal spirit by the elder before the first furrows is a unique ritual, showing respect for King Le Dai Hanh and belief in the deities' blessings for the new crop.
Kim Ngan field, where the Tich Dien ritual takes place, is not only a historical site but also a symbol of prosperity and wealth. The name Kim Ngan field means gold and silver, wealth, expressing the wish for a prosperous and full life for the people.
Conclusion
The Doi Son Tich Dien Festival is a National Intangible Cultural Heritage, a thousand-year-old fine custom deeply imbued with the agricultural soul of the Vietnamese nation. From King Le Dai Hanh's plowing ritual in 987 to its revival and development in modern times, the festival has gone through a long and meaningful journey, becoming a symbol of the spirit of valuing agriculture, loving labor, and attachment to the homeland.
Preserving and promoting the festival's values in the modern context is not only the responsibility of local authorities but also of society. Efforts in planning, investment, and improving the quality of festival organization are opening new prospects for linking cultural heritage with sustainable tourism development. Through this, the Doi Son Tich Dien Festival will continue to endure and shine, like an endless cultural flow from the past to the future.
