Triều Khúc Village Festival
15/07/2010
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10:40:00
VGP – Triều Khúc Village now belongs to Tân Triều Commune, Thanh Trì Districts, a suburban area of Hà Nội. In order to reach it, one must, starting from Hà Nội downtown, follow the Hà Nội-Hà Đông Highway up to Km No. 18 and then turn left and go along a communal road for 2 km.
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Dragon
procession at the Triều Khúc Village Festival |
Archaeological
findings show that Triều
Khúc Village
is the site of a former 4,000-year old ceramics production centre. Local
villagers have also learned from their ancestors that an insurgent leader, King
Bố Cái Đại Vương Phùng Hưng and his troops liberated Đại La (that is, Hà Nội
nowadays) in 791 from the Tang invaders of China
and that during the operation, some of his army units were stationed in Triều Khúc
Village. For this reason,
Triều Khúc worships Phùng Hưng as its Spirit Protector.
Its second
Spirit Protector is Vũ Uy, who served as Ambassador to China where he
could learn the trade of weaving traps for conical hats. Thereafter, he came
and stayed in Triều
Khúc Village
and trained local villagers in this new trade. From then on, Triều Khúc supplied
hat traps to the whole country and some time later developed silk weaving. At
present, the village is producing banner fringes and decorative silk patterns.
It also buys feathers of chicken and ducks from various parts of the country:
good quality feathers are exported to Hong Kong.
Whereas lesser ones are turned into feather dusters for sale in the domestic
markets both as a household utensil and a handicraft item.
The
relative affluence of Triều
Khúc Village
is reflected, among other things in the revelry of its festivals, some of
which, like the one held from January 10, last for two or three days. Indeed,
the January 10 Festival involves many games: dragon procession, lion procession
with flags, wrestling, cockfighting. But one of its main items is a ceremony in
honor of village tutelaries, a ceremony marked by a religious dance which is
combined with a “liquor offering rite” performed by two young men disguised
with girls of easy virtue, called “girls’ offerings”. The whole ceremony is
designed to beg the tutelaries for peace and prosperity for the village.
During the
rite and dance, the two young men, disguised as girls of easy virtue wear white
long dresses, crepe turbans, white trousers inside and back gauze skirts
outside, along with five-color fringes and a rosy belt. They perform the dance
and the presentation of liquor amid traditional music and folk-songs, in
particular the “Ngũ Đối” tune. It is a most solemn ceremony and women’s
attendance is strictly forbidden.
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An
original dance performance at the Triều Khúc Village Festival |
A most
exhilarating item is the dragon procession in the main road of the village to
be followed by a dragon dance in the yard of the communal house. The dance
originates from an ancient belief of the Vietnamese people that they are the
offspring of a Dragon and a Fairy. The dragon has become a sacred symbol of the
nation. The dragon is 10 meters long. Marching in front of the dragon is the
dance leader who holds a big ball and a symbolic piece of emerald. One person
carries the head of a dragon – with his head and a part of his body hidden in
the big head of the latter-, while 8 to 10 others carry parts of the body of
the dragon. All of them are clad like royal warriors in ancient days; short
tunics, long pants, puttees, red belts, red turbans, etc. The dragon dance is
performed under the guidance of the leader.
The dragon
procession is usually followed by the Lion Procession, which is simple: one
person carried the head of a lion, while another person holds the tail of the
animal as symbolized by a long and wide piece of cloth. The Lion Dance is
performed by the carriers in coordination with a martial arts club wielder, a
masked dancer, a dancer playing the role of Bà Thánh (a character in Buddhist
mythology) and another dancer playing the role of Ông Địa (The Genius of
Earth).
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Palanquin
procession at the Triều Khúc Village Festival |
The flag is
performed on the concluding day of the Festival, immediately following a
ceremony for escorting village tutelaries into the temple. The flag dance
originates from an ancient race- in which runner carry flags- designed to
select young and healthy people for enrollment in the national army (for
fighting against foreign invaders). As the ceremony held in the communal house
comes to an end, drums, horns and gongs strike up vigorous martial tune, as if
exhorting troops to advance, and a big flag is hoisted in the yard. Young men
line up in two rows, with flag carriers standing at the beginning and the end
of each row, and those wielding wooden spears, lances, scimitars, halberds,
clubs in the middle. These two rows run into the fields, confront each other in
a mock battle, then run again with their lines interwined with each other for
several times and then run back to the communal yard where they perform martial
arts. The end of the flag dance, as signaled by a long round of drum beats,
also marks the end of the Triều Khúc Village Festival.