Introduction
The Hoa Lu Ancient Capital Festival is a major festival that takes place annually to honor the Vietnamese national hero Dinh Bo Linh. He unified the country, established the Dai Co Viet state, and began a long period of independence and unification for the Vietnamese. Every year, in the third lunar month, local people begin to enjoy the vibrant atmosphere of the festival. Tourists from other places also began flocking to Ninh Binh to enjoy the bustling festival atmosphere. Then, let’s explore the Hoa Lu Festival in Ninh Binh with a Ninh Binh Private Car.
Hoa Lu Ancient Capital Festival Overview
Meaning of Hoa Lu Festival
Hoa Lu Festival (also known as Truong Yen Festival or Co Lau Festival) is one of the oldest historical festivals in Vietnam. This festival is currently a national intangible cultural heritage significant to the Vietnamese.
This annual festival takes place to honor the noble contribution of hero Dinh Bo Linh. He ended the war, opening an era of independence for the Vietnamese through the Dinh, Le, Ly, and Tran dynasties.
Hoa Lu Ancient Capital Festival boldly and vividly reflects the life, background, and career of King Dinh Tien Hoang and the history of Vietnam through the three dynasties of Dinh, Le, and Ly. The festival has greatly influenced, preserving unique cultural and folk art elements through dynasties. It still attracts many tourists from all over the world who want to visit and experience it.
History Of The Festival
Since Hoa Lu became the ancient capital, the Hoa Lu Ancient Capital Festival has become a National Holiday. Every time it is held, the royal court in Thang Long or Hue sends high-ranking officials to attend the festival.
During the Nguyen dynasty, grand ceremonies were organized to worship the kings through the generations. Four Kings were especially important to King Minh Mang: Kinh Duong Vuong, Lac Long Quan, Hung Vuong, and Dinh Tien Hoang. Not only did the festival occur in Hoa Lu, but King Minh Mang also built a temple to worship Dinh Tien Hoang in Duong Xuan, Hue’s capital.
Today, there is a blend of many factors that make for a festival of the same magnitude as the Hoa Lu Ancient Capital Festival. Historical and legendary elements are intertwined in it to create a majestic festival.
Time and Location of the Festival
Hoa Lu Ancient Capital Festival is held annually from the 6th to the 8th of the third lunar month. The venue is right at the ancient capital of Hoa Lu in Truong Yen, Hoa Lu district, Ninh Binh province. If you come to Ninh Binh during the day, don’t forget to participate in the festival.
Parts of the Hoa Lu Festival
Ceremony Section
The ceremony includes the Moc Duc Ceremony, Temple Opening Ceremony, Water Fetching Ceremony, Incense Offering Ceremony, Fire Fetching Ceremony, Offering Main Sacrifice Ceremony, and Sacred Offering Ceremony.
Sacred Cleansing Ritual
The Moc Duc ceremony is a ritual of washing the idol, conducted at midnight on the day before the festival’s opening. Before bathing the statue (cleaning the worship statue), a ceremony must be held to inform the god. After cleaning the idol, the statue will be dressed in clothes and a mandarin hat. And for high-ranking mandarins who do not have statues but only tablets, their costumes, and hats will be placed on the altar.
Temple Opening Ceremony
The temple opening ceremony occurred at the King Dinh Tien Hoang and King Le Dai Hanh temples one day before the festival. After the temple opening ceremony, visitors can visit during the festival without presenting an entrance ticket like usual.
Water Fetching Ceremony
At 5 a.m., the group moved from Dinh Tien Hoang Temple to Hoang Long River. Here, people bring water from the river to the temple. The process is very elaborate and thorough. Before starting the Water Fetching Ceremony, choose a large bamboo tree in the Hoang Long River. On the bamboo top is a yellow banner with a mantra.
The meaningful content is to be grateful to this river for saving the Dinh Dynasty emperor, so he could win. The ceremony was held solemnly to demonstrate the sincerity and morality of “When drinking water, remember the source” of the Vietnamese people.
Fire Fetching Ceremony
Next, the Fire Fetching Ceremony will be at the Hoa Lu Ancient Capital Festival. This ritual takes place at two temples of King Dinh, starting at the place where he was born and ending at the place where he became emperor. The ritual shows the hero’s childhood, from when he grew up to when he built a career unifying the country.
The sacred fire occurs during the Dinh Bo Linh temple procession in Gia Phuong commune, Gia Vien district. The torch procession offers incense, makes offerings to heaven and earth, and conducts rituals to ask for fire. After completion, they will march to King Dinh Tien Hoang Temple in Truong Yen commune, Hoa Lu district. The group will light and pass on the sacred fire during the festival.
In addition, the fire will continue to be brought to the temple of King Le and the generals of the Dinh and Early Le dynasties. The sacred fire will also travel to Hanoi at the statue of Ly Thai To to open several other cultural and sports events.
Main Sacrifice Ceremony
Right after the water procession returns to the festival’s central stage, after the ceremony of releasing the dragon, the main sacrificial ceremony will begin at the two temples of King Dinh and King Le. Many delegations participate in the ceremony according to the registration schedule. There will be palanquin processions and incense sticks from relics under the reign of King Dinh and King Le to participate in the ceremony. If a group is far away, they must travel by car to arrive promptly.
Sacrifices were then conducted day and night at the temples of King Dinh and King Le. The content praises the merits of the two kings, and visitors come to burn incense to commemorate them.
Sacred Offering Ceremony
The offering ceremony at the Hoa Lu Ancient Capital Festival will be integrated with the groups’ offerings. There is also a competition to select the most beautiful five-fruit tray.
Fair Section
The festival has special folk games such as boat racing, stick dancing, human chess, word formation, shuttlecock throwing, cheo singing competition, and wrestling. In addition to games like other Vietnamese folk festivals, the Hoa Lu Festival also has several typical festival games.
Opening of the festival
This contemporary stage performance will open the festival and be broadcast live. After introducing delegates, opening speeches, and speeches from central and local leaders, there is a drum performance at the Hoa Lu festival. Next, there will be performances that recreate important historical events in the ancient capital of Hoa Lu, including the coronation event of Dinh Bo Linh and Le Hoan, who defeated the Song invaders and moved the capital to Thang Long. Finally, the dragon will be released at the end of the opening morning.
Reed Flag Battle Drill
This game depicts the rehearsals and training sessions of hero Dinh Bo Linh in his youth. Participating in this game include 60 children aged 13 to 15, and one person will play the role of Dinh Bo Linh, who is wearing a straw hat. The remaining troops will be divided into two wings: Thung Lau and Thung La. Describe Hero Dinh Bo Linh’s military exercise.
Thai Binh Word Arrangement
The Thai Binh letter formation performance commemorates the era name King Dinh Tien Hoang set when he ascended the throne. At the same time, this is also the name of the first Thai Binh currency in Vietnam. Participating in this performance are 120 young women wearing blue four-panel traditional dresses, holding flags, following the beat of drums every 3 hours, running, and drawing words.
The first row draws the word Thai, runs to the front, and pulls down to form a “Thanh” stroke. Then, it circles up to the left hand and pulls down to form a “Mác” stroke. Finally, run around to the right-hand side and pull down to create a “Chấm” line. So it became the word “Thai.” Meanwhile, in the second row, the children ran and pulled the word “Bình.” Both rows lowered their flags to highlight the words “Thái Bình.”
In addition, many other festivals are held in response to the Hoa Lu Ancient Capital Festival. The Hoa Lu Beauty Contest, Cheo Singing Contest, and Hoa Lu Volleyball Cup are among them.
Conclusion
The Hoa Lu Ancient Capital Festival has great significance for the Vietnamese people because it carries within it the crystallization of the cultural flow after thousands of years of building the country. The festival grows yearly and becomes grand, but retains the most quintessential things. So, if tourists plan to visit Ninh Binh now, do not miss the opportunity to participate in traditional Vietnamese festivals. That is the information about the Hoa Lu Ancient Capital Festival. Ninh Binh Private Car hopes this information will be useful to you. At the same time, we wish you a perfect tour of Ninh Binh.