An exclusively royal ritual conducted through many feudal regimes in the past is being resurrected and opened to the public at large. The Xa Tac worshipping ceremony will be starting at 6.30pm on Sunday in the former capital of Hue. Phung Phu, director of the Hue Monuments Conservation Centre, explains to Vietnam News Agency the significance of the ritual and its revival.
Can you explain the ritual briefly and tell us how the Xa Tac Platform was restored?
The ritual, Te Xa Tac (Worshipping Genies of Earth and Crop), performed on the Xa Tac Platform in the former royal capital of Hue, is one of the most important rituals performed by kings under successive feudal dynasties to pray for peace and good harvests. The event will be re-created on Sunday and opened to the public.
The Xa Tac Platform was built in 1806 under the reign of King Gia Long (the first king of the Nguyen dynasty). The contemporary court ordered provinces across the country to select clean and solid earth for making the platform in Hue to symbolise national unity. So, the platform itself stands for the country as a whole.
Later, it was ravaged by warfare and became a relic. Thua Thien-Hue Province invested in restoring this sacred platform in 2008 based on archaeological surveys and careful research of historical materials compiled under the Nguyen dynasty. Although the work has not been completed yet, the platform looks almost as it did before, especially the upper level.
But why did the restoration use only earth from Thua Thien-Hue Province itself?
During the archaeological survey three years ago, we found that levels of Xa Tac Platform were meticulously built and decided to conserve the remains fully and only use earth from province to complete the platform. We had sound reasons for the decision.
According to official documents compiled by Nguyen dynasty historians, earth contributions from provinces other than Hue were more symbolic than substantial. Every province contributed between a few dozen to few hundred kilogrammes, which when compressed would form just a small section of the platform. As the contemporary capital of the country, Hue supplied the largest amount of clean earth for building the two-level platform.
How can one of the most sacred feudal rituals, which was exclusively reserved for kings, be popularised?
The ritual's revival falls under two sections: ritual proceedings and public prayers. The first section will be re-created based strictly on scientific studies in order to celebrate traditional cultural values of the country, provide space for performances of court music and dances and exhibit the beauty of ritual culture and costumes of the Nguyen court. The second section allows people to pray for good crops, prosperity and peace. Under the feudal era, only monarchs could step onto the platform to pray. However, today's prayers should be opened to everyone.
Some Asian countries have re-created court ceremonies to help people and tourists learn about lost traditions and create space for court performances. We have invited leaders of ministries and provinces and elderly men representing the people of this country to take part in the Xa Tac ritual to convey the wishes of all the people.
We will by no means commercialise the event, so no tickets will be sold or commercial activities allowed at the event. This is a ritual for the community as a whole and we are targeting the average person. This way, we can promote people's awareness of the importance and value of conserving our cultural heritage. — VNS