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Steps in the right direction: The Temple of King Tran Nhan Tong on Ngu Phong Mountain in Hue. — VNS Photo |
THUA THIEN - HUE — Some 3,000 local residents attended the Huyen Tran Temple Festival which kicked off yesterday at the complex of temples in the central city of Hue's Ngu Phong Mountain to worship Huyen Tran Princess and her father, King Tran Nhan Tong (1258-1308).
Deputy President Nguyen Thi Doan joined a ritual ceremony, and lit incense to pray for peace and prosperity in the new lunar year of the Tiger.
The prayers and rituals were conducted by hundreds of Buddhist monks at the temple of King Tran Nhan Tong.
The ceremony was also attended by hundreds officials from Ha Noi, HCM City, Da Nang and provinces of Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Quang Nam.
The princess (1287-1340), was given in marriage to King Jaya Sinhavarman III of the Kingdom of Champa in 1306 following a promise by the Vietnamese King Tran Nhan Tong.
The Champa king in return offered the provinces of O and Ly to the Vietnamese kingdom of Dai Viet. The land of the two provinces was bordered by the Hieu and Thu Bon rivers, and today consists part of Quang Tri Province, Thua Thien Hue Province, Da Nang City, and part of Quang Nam Province.
Following the princess's marital move, residents in neighbouring Thanh Hoa and Nghe An regions came to settle the land, becoming the first residents of the four provinces and city. Here they lived in cultural harmony with the Cham people.
Princess Huyen Tran was therefore honoured as the founder of the land by local residents. They hold an annual ceremony to give thanks to the princess on the ninth day of new lunar year, which marks her death anniversary.
Thua Thien-Hue Province officially began hosting the Huyen Tran Temple Festival in 2008. This year's festival is part of activities held by the province to celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Ha Noi.
Phan Tien Dung, director of the provincial Department of Culture, Tourism and Sports said the festival reminds people of the princess's contribution and offers a chance to pray for the peace.
Participants played folk games and visited an exhibition which displays local traditional handicraft products, including bronze and wood carving, embroidery, and incense and conical palm-leaf hat making.
The festival also include a conference on the role of women in preserving national culture, an orchestral performance of songs featuring Hue City, a flower arrangement contest, and a kung-fu performance.
The festival proves a popular pilgrimage for Buddhist followers in Hue and neighbouring provinces, as King Tran Nhan Tong became a Buddhist monk and his daughter a nun in the last period of their lives. — VNS