Similarities and Differences of Worship Customs in Relation to the Worship of Other Historical Figures

The ancestral consciousness of the Lung Nhai oath-taking characters viewed from the perspective of the shrine/temple shows that the arrangement and decoration in the relics always strictly adhere to the order and hierarchy of Confucianism. On the highest throne of the incense altar is always the tablet of "Cao To" (the character of the Lung Nhai oath-taking) placed in the middle, followed by other family members or then the wife, children, grandchildren and characters of later generations in the family on the left and right [PL8, photo 11, page 231; photo 27, page 239]. The middle of the shrine always displays horizontal lacquered boards or large characters such as "Binh Ngo Khai Quoc Cong Than", "To Duong" or parallel sentences implying the honor of the ancestors' illustrious careers.

The influence of Vietnamese ancestor worship has had a profound impact on the practice of worshiping the Lung Nhai oath-taking characters in Thanh Hoa. The clearest evidence is the ancient Thai Mieu festival (Le Temple), where clans still maintain the custom of sending their clan heads to attend and offer sacrifices. The close relationship between the clans of the Lung Nhai oath-taking characters is viewed from a kinship perspective and has become a custom and a beauty in the cultural life of the community. Unlike other historical festivals, the Lam Kinh festival still has a profound impact on the consciousness of ancestor worship, as it is an occasion to commemorate the death anniversary of Le Loi organized by the community, not the anniversary of his accession to the throne or the victory of the Lam Son uprising.

It can be said that the practice of worshiping historical figures participating in the Lung Nhai oath has the unique characteristics of ancestor worship, which has influenced and dominated all aspects of religious practice from customs, rituals to relics and temples.

4.1.3. Similarities and differences of worship customs in relation to the worship of other historical figures

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It can be seen that in the Vietnamese people's belief in worshiping human gods, historical figures account for the largest number. The tradition of fighting against foreign invaders throughout historical periods, patriotism, national pride and the good moral of "remembering the source of water when drinking" and the philosophy of "living as a famous general, dying as a god" have contributed to the worship of heroic men.

The worship of historical figures participating in the Lung Nhai oath in 1416 in Thanh Hoa has a common feature with the worship of historical figures, which is to show respect and commemorate national heroes, those who have made great contributions to the country, especially in the fight against foreign invaders to keep the border safe, bringing independence to the nation in the process of building and defending the country. It can be said that "there is no hero with merit in history, no uprising that happened in history that was not recognized by the masses" [114, p. 46]. The historical figures participating in the Lung Nhai oath have walked alongside many other national heroes such as Hai Ba Trung, Ba Trieu, Tran Hung Dao, Ly Nam De, Quang Trung to enter the common cultural and religious life of the whole nation. Traces of worship and commemoration of historical figures participating in the Lung Nhai oath in the country such as Le Loi, Le Lai, Nguyen Trai, Luu Nhan Chu, Bui Quoc Hung and many other figures of the oath are honored as tutelary gods and worshiped in many communal houses, temples and shrines throughout the country, affirming the tradition of worshiping national heroes, local heroes, and people who have contributed to the defeat of the enemy of our people.

Similar to typical historical figures such as Hai Ba Trung, Ba Trieu, Ly Nam De, Tran Hung Dao and many other historical figures, the historical figures participating in the Lung Nhai oath after being honored and rewarded by feudal dynasties were constantly mythologized, sacred and sanctified by the community to become deities joining the Vietnamese folk belief system.

For the community, historical figures after their death are honored by the people as gods of the village, of the locality, of the nation. Historical figures participating in the Lung Nhai oath-taking ceremony have been honored by the community as village tutelary gods, becoming gods in the community and ancestors of the family. From there, they have been cultivated and embellished through generations to form traditional cultural value systems, seamlessly expressing the centripetal psychology of small communities in the multi-ethnic national community system of Vietnam. On the other hand, through the worship of historical figures participating in the Lung Nhai oath-taking ceremony, it is possible to see the forms of belief

This threshold originates from the sense of shared destiny, shared sympathy, and shared residence of the agricultural community, living on a land that is constantly confronting the great forces that threaten the territorial sovereignty of our nation throughout history. From there, a sense of solidarity and community cohesion is formed. Practicing religion is also a form of strengthening the common consciousness and psychology of the community and the nation.

And since becoming the gods of the village and locality, the worship of these historical figures has been expanded to all places of worship from communal houses, temples, pagodas, shrines, and ancestral halls, associated with rituals and worship ceremonies to express the people's respect, admiration, and deep gratitude. Most of them have a special role in the spiritual life of the people, meeting their spiritual needs, connecting the community, and being a creative environment for folk culture to preserve and maintain the cultural identity and traditions of the nation.

It can be said that the custom of worshiping historical figures participating in the Lung Nhai oath in Thanh Hoa, like many other forms of worship and honoring historical figures of the Vietnamese people, was formed, existed and developed on the basis of historical and social conditions. It is closely associated with the community's respect and gratitude for those who have fallen and sacrificed for the nation.

In addition to the similarities in commemorating and honoring historical figures, which is a prominent feature of the form of worship. The custom of worshiping historical figures participating in the Lung Nhai oath also has its own unique features in comparison with the worship of historical figures of the Vietnamese people. It is one of the worshiping beliefs associated with the sacred oath in the history of the nation's struggle to defend the country, which has been expanded to many local areas, with a large number of figures. This is quite special, because in the history of our nation's struggle to build and defend the country, no oath has formed a worshiping custom with such sustainability and stability as the worship of historical figures participating in the Lung Nhai oath in Thanh Hoa.

The emergence of worship is associated with a historical event, which is a specific uprising. Usually, for a major national event such as

In the Hai Ba Trung uprising, the uprising of Ba Trieu or Hung Dao Vuong and the Tran Dynasty against the Yuan-Mongol three times and many other uprisings, historical figures worshiped often only focused on the leaders, leading figures, never seen the phenomenon of worshiping many figures participating in a historical event associated with a large area like in Thanh land.

The worship of historical figures participating in the Lung Nhai oath in Thanh Hoa has a unique and distinctive feature, which is established in both aspects: worship in the community and worship in the family and clan. Different from the worship of historical figures by Vietnamese people in many local areas, the belief has almost been established in the form of community, becoming a symbol of worship in many villages, even many regions and the whole country such as worshiping Ly Ong Trong, Hai Ba Trung, Tran Hung Dao... The fundamental difference of the custom of worshiping historical figures participating in the Lung Nhai oath is the emphasis on the ancestral and clan elements. This is very rare in the folk religious life of our people.

On the other hand, through the festival calendar and worship rituals, it can be seen that the time of festivals commemorating historical figures in localities often falls in spring, coinciding with the agricultural cycle of the usual idle farming season. As for festivals, practicing worship rituals for historical figures participating in the Lung Nhai oath are held on many occasions during the year, mainly on the death anniversary of the figures, taking the "death anniversary" as the main day to commemorate them in the whole community and village.

In addition, the difference in worship is also reflected in its scope and level of influence in the life of the community. While the worship of other historical figures in many localities in the country is often limited to the Vietnamese community, the worship of historical figures participating in the Lung Nhai oath in Thanh Hoa not only has a widespread influence in the Vietnamese community but also in the Muong and Thai communities with very unique customs and taboos associated with indigenous knowledge and the livelihood of the people through separate, unmixed customs.

4.2. The value of worship

4.2.1. Re-enacting and honoring history

Worshiping historical figures participating in the Lung Nhai oath in Thanh Hoa is to honor, show gratitude, and commemorate heroes and historical figures related to the Lam Son uprising, demonstrating the traditional morality of "remembering the source of water when drinking water" and "remembering the person who planted the tree when eating fruit". That is the traditional morality of gratitude, honoring, and commemorating those who have contributed to the homeland and country.

The worship custom has expressed the consciousness and mentality of the community to honor history, honor the values and symbols of the Lam Son uprising for the event and characters. While history books have recorded in detail the people and lives of the historical figures participating in the Lung Nhai oath, the community has its own way of evaluating and perceiving these historical figures. The historical figures participating in the Lung Nhai oath have been recorded in official history as outstanding heroes, whose merits encompassed the world, but in the consciousness of the community, or through folk legends, they are very close and simple. In many places in Thanh Hoa, mentioning the Lam Son uprising is synonymous with pride and self-respect for one of the great victories of our nation in the resistance war against the invaders of the 14th century.

XV. That is why the community is even more grateful and acknowledges the contributions of heroes for the people and the country.

The characters of Lung Nhai Oath from historical people, entered the temple, became kings of the dynasty, tutelary gods of the village, ancestors of the family. They were deified because of their great contributions and entered the spiritual and cultural life of the community. History is the past, not today. But history is recreated by the living. Through worship, the atmosphere and activities of Lam Son insurgents are recreated through images, sounds, words, emotions but full of sacredness through religious activities. Most popular are in community festivals, where people show their feelings and pride in the characters through rituals, ceremonies, and performances as if they were participating in each battle during the period of "tasting honey and lying on thorns". Those are historical records, myths, legends and events of Lam Son uprising that are portrayed by the people in a very realistic and vivid way. People carry Le Lai's palanquin from Tep temple (Ngoc Lac) to the temple

Le (Cham village, Xuan Lam commune, Tho Xuan) to worship him and then carry his palanquin to Lam Kinh in the main festival. That was the way for the people to fulfill the last wish of Le Thai To before he died, to commemorate Le Lai one day earlier than the king. In the community's opinion, Le Loi and Le Lai were like two comrades, like blood brothers. Those complicated rituals seemed to recreate the comradely and brotherly relationship between Le Loi and Le Lai in the Lam Son uprising. During the grand ceremony at Lam Kinh palace, there was also a team of "royal guards" (like royal guards) wearing the Muong uniforms of Le Lai's hometown, along with weapons and flags standing along both banks of the Ngoc River and on the stage, Thai Mieu in Lam Kinh... This demonstrated the close connection between the rituals of the royal court and the customs and cultural activities of the people. The festival honoring the participants of the Lung Nhai oath is both a historical commemoration and an environment for preserving the traditional cultural values of the ethnic group. While the festival is taking place in Lam Kinh, in Tep village, Le Lai's hometown, there are also folk performances such as throwing con, shooting crossbows, Pon Poong dance (Muong dance), performing the historical story of Le Lai saving the king and many folk games with cultural characteristics of the Muong people in Ngoc Lac district. Some Thai areas in Ba Thuoc and Lang Chanh districts still preserve the custom of worshipping Le Loi, but during the Lam Kinh festival, people still commemorate King Le in their living area with customs, rituals and offerings associated with the daily life of the people such as oranges, grilled dog meat, half-cooked boiled meat, bamboo rice, and can wine...

The Lam Son uprising was not simply a demonstration of the military victory in our nation's resistance against foreign invaders. It has entered the memory and subconscious of the community in a lasting and lingering way. The rituals in the festival about the Lung Nhai oath characters in Thanh Hoa today are often recreated in many unique and distinct ways. The Le Temple Festival (Thanh Hoa City) maintains the "battle festival" ritual, this ritual is also often found in some villages in Thanh Hoa, held annually to honor the Lam Son uprising. The performers of this act are always divided into two factions, our army (Lam Son army) and the enemy army (Ming army, Ngo army) dancing martial arts and swords as if they were fighting each other in the open.

The atmosphere was very dramatic because of the large number of spectators and the noisy sounds outside. After the "fighting" performance, the script always agreed on the result: the Ming army lost and fled, our army won. During the festival, there were also other unique games such as tossing the top (tossing the head of the Wu enemy, the symbol is the top), tossing back and forth, and wherever it was tossed, the villagers cheered. At the end of the Le temple festival, there was a game called "running the word Thien ha Thai binh" to praise Le Loi and Le Lai for their brave fighting and victory to open up a period of peace and prosperity for the country and people. In Chuoc village (Thieu Tien commune, Thieu Hoa), every year people also perform puppetry in the village festival to praise the Lam Son uprising. This game includes many scenes such as: Le Loi plowing, Le Loi fighting Lieu Thang, Le Loi strolling on Hoan Kiem lake... According to legend, the village had 4 hamlets, but each time the game was performed, only one hamlet was assigned to perform this game. The artisans made human puppets as big as 10-11 year old children, and horse puppets as big as goats. The remaining three groups performed other plays such as Phung Nghi Dinh, Dao Vien Tong Nghia... In the section "Le Loi fights Lieu Thang", people often call it the "Dau Ma" play. On the puppet stage, the artisans presented the figures of Le Loi and Lieu Thang. The two sides introduced themselves, then asked and answered each other, challenged each other, and then rushed into battle. Lieu Thang was beheaded. Le Loi won the battle... In the Lam Kinh festival, the community recreated the Lam Son uprising by performing the Xuan Pha play with stories such as Ai Lao, Xiem Thanh, Ngo Quoc... through which the historical-political-social atmosphere of the Le Dynasty appeared vividly and proudly. Honoring the Lam Son uprising and commemorating the historical figures who participated in the Lung Nhai oath has become the wish and sentiment of everyone in the community. For them, the festival is not only an occasion to “play” but also to “enjoy”. They want to see the image of the hero in flesh and blood, with a lively and realistic voice and gestures. These performances have a great psychological and emotional impact on the people. Going beyond the boundaries of a performance, it has become a documentary film recreating the lives and careers of the heroes and the characters participating in the Lung Nhai oath.

In many festivals and rituals to worship the Lung Nhai oath, the community has recreated history through historical relics and legends such as the Lung Nhai oath, Le Lai rescues

Lord, Dong Quan oath, Le Loi receiving the magic sword... Those are the most condensed and distilled images of the community towards the Lam Son uprising.

Memories of the Lam Son uprising and what happened after 600 years of history are respected, cherished and included in worship customs by the people. Every year at the Le Hiem Temple Festival (Tan Phuc Commune, Nong Cong), villagers and their families reenact the rituals of "sacrificing to the army", "sacrificing to celebrate the army", "celebrating the victory" and giving rewards. The unique and special feature is that in the sacrificial ceremony and the military parade, villagers have to make life-sized paper mannequins of people, horses and weapons to perform. These are fossils, fragments in the subconscious, vivid memories of the community about the battles and victories of more than 600 years ago and have been preserved and maintained through the practice of worship.

In many villages and clans in Thanh Hoa worshiping the Lung Nhai oath characters that the researcher had the opportunity to survey, he recorded many material evidences that showed the pride and self-respect of the homeland, villages, and clans towards the Lam Son heroes in general and the Lung Nhai oath characters in particular. These are the memories of the history of the people, in which the village name, the name of the hamlet, the relic, the customs, the abstinence have become legends and anecdotes. The anecdote about Ngoc Lan temple (Lam Son town) is passed down by the people from the story of a place where there was once a beautiful girl named Ngoc Lan, who volunteered to become a base of operations for the insurgents to conduct reconnaissance and intelligence on the enemy situation and at the same time recruit soldiers and insurgents in the area for the Lam Son commander. People believe that after the uprising was successful, Le Loi ascended the throne, in memory of the merits of the girl in the past, he bestowed the title on her and ordered the people to build a temple to show their respect. Historical memories are also recounted at many relics and festivals to worship the characters of the Lung Nhai oath. The stories of Don Ban temple in Ba Thuoc; the story of Ma Hao waterfall, the story of Pu Ten temple in Lang Chanh are retold with respect, honoring the hero in plain clothes Le Loi and the insurgents during the period of "tasting honey and lying on thorns" in the mountainous region of Thanh Hoa.

Historical memories can be rewritten by the community through genealogy and worship stories, but they can also be retold and repeated to remember the Lam Son uprising.

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