Tich Dien plowing ceremony in Doi Son district, Duy Tien province, Ha Nam province with tourism development

incense bowl on the altar and perform the ceremony of placing it in place.

B. WATER PROCESSION

On the morning of the 6th day of Tet, hundreds of local people and officials gathered at Long Doi Pagoda to carry water from Lac Well to Doi Pagoda. The water carrying ceremony opened a solemn and sacred cultural space for the peace praying ceremony.

Leading the procession is the golden dragon. Next, dozens of people are selected to be the palanquin bearers and militiamen wearing red shirts, red pants, gold trim, shoes, holding flags, fans and umbrellas. The center of the ceremony is the Buddha palanquin carried by 4 strong young men, neatly dressed. On the palanquin is a lidded jar of water, covered with red cloth. Venerable Thich Thanh Vu - abbot of Long Doi pagoda walks in front of the palanquin carrying the jar, Buddhists and villagers form a group following behind the palanquin, stretching for half a kilometer.

The bustling procession, accompanied by the famous drumbeat of Doi Tam village, stopped from Long Doi pagoda to the Saint's temple. This is a small hermitage created from a hollow rock at the foot of Long Doi mountain. In the middle of the hermitage, right under the Saint's altar, there is a well with clear water all year round. On the bank of the well, there is a flag of the five elements and a banner with four Chinese characters "Thanh thuy moc duc". Venerable Thich Thanh Vu personally took water from the well and put it into a jar for the procession to the temple. This water will be used to "magically" wash away all worldly dust, purify the soul in the moc duoc and sai tinh ceremonies. When the jar is full of water, two strong young men carry it on a palanquin, cover the jar, and cover it with a red cloth. Then, in the same order as when going, carry the water back to the temple, place it in front of the main hall, hold a ceremony to install it, and place the jar on the altar.

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This water procession is a very special spiritual ritual, on the one hand creating solemnity and sacredness at the Buddha's door; on the other hand, it is a prayer for favorable weather, good wind, and bountiful crops of farmers.

According to ancient beliefs, water has always been the first important element in agriculture. The water brought to the pagoda, besides being used for the bathing ceremony - a ritual of bathing and changing clothes and hats for the statue of the god before the festival, also contains the profound meaning of the wet rice agricultural civilization, praying for good luck.

Wishing for a year of abundant rice, good harvests and most importantly, wishing for people to be warm, happy and for national peace and prosperity.

C. WASHING CEREMONY

In the evening, after the water was brought to Doi Pagoda, Venerable Thich Thanh Vu and the monks, nuns and Buddhists performed the bathing ceremony. Before bathing, use a red towel with clean water brought from the well along with scented water. You must bathe twice, the first time using clean well water or river water, dip the red towel in it to wipe. After wiping, wipe again with scented water. While bathing the statue, the temple, monks, nuns and Buddhist elders chanted the Ksitigarbha Sutra and the Medicine Master Sutra. After bathing, they performed the installation ceremony for the statue.

D. CEREMONY OF THE COURT OF THE THIRD PEOPLE

The Doi Son Tich Dien Festival takes place at the foot of Doi Mountain in Doi Tam village. Therefore, according to tradition, each time the festival is held, local communities must perform a ceremony to open the temple door (communal house door) or a ceremony to announce the news with the meaning of asking permission from the god of that community to let the villagers hold the festival. The Doi Tam communal house worships the two brothers, Mr. Nang and Mr. Ban, who are the ancestors of the Doi Tam drum village. Later, the two were honored as the village's tutelary gods.

Participating in the Cao Nieu ceremony were leaders of the People's Committee of Doi Son commune, the Celebration Committee of Doi Tam village and people in the commune.

The Cao giai ceremony begins with three drum and gong beats. The festival committee brings offerings (including incense, candles, fruits, wine, and traditional cakes of the villagers) to the communal house. At Doi Tam communal house, the altar is placed in the middle, on the altar are placed the worship items. In front of the altar, there are 4 sedge mats printed with flowers in a row: mat 1 (counting from the altar down); mat for the deity; mat 2: mat for the main celebrant; mats 3, 4: mats for the assistant celebrant. On both sides of the mat row are two small tables, the east table for a bottle of wine, the west table for betel and areca nuts. On each table there is a candle.

The Doi Tam village sacrificial team includes the celebrant wearing a hat, red robe and shoes; two assistant celebrants; the Eastern and Western chanters, two inner ministers, ten deacons wearing hats, blue robes, shoes and an octagonal orchestra.

The sacrificial team performed three weeks of sacrifices, the Cao Nieu ceremony took place according to the sacrificial order.

unified, complete and detailed - like a regular ritual.

After the ceremony, the delegates and people in the commune offered incense. Thus, the Cao Nieu ceremony was completed, the gods witnessed and allowed the people of Doi Son to open the Doi Son Tich Dien festival in 2009.

Those chosen from the village team, after completing the Cao Gait ritual on the 6th of January, must abstain from eating meat and fish, and must bathe thoroughly before entering the ceremony. In particular, the chosen celebrant must be elderly, healthy, respected by everyone, and have a complete family.

Also at the Doi Tam communal house, after the Cao giai ritual was completed, the Hat cua dinh ceremony took place. The festival organizers invited the Thang Long Ca tru troupe from Hanoi to participate in the festival. The troupe immediately got to work, preparing very carefully for their music program. In the past, when worshiping the village's tutelary god, Vietnamese people often invited the Ca tru troupe to perform the singing ceremony to open the communal house before starting the ceremony. This is a thousand-year-old custom in the Northern Delta region, now restored in the Tich dien Doi Son ceremony.

Under the dim light of the candles in the inner palace, people heard the call of the giant drum of Doi village, echoing in harmony with the sacred gongs solemnly arranged on both sides of the shrine. The sound of the drum of Doi village has been famous for a long time, and the drum used in this ritual was specially made and quite large, so its sound really caused a strong shock when combined with the deep and majestic sound of the gong, shaking the sacred space of the village communal house. In the past, when going to sing at the communal house, the ca tru troupe, young and old, often went together in groups of dozens. Now, in front of the shrine of Doi Tam communal house, that touching image seemed to be revived.

After the ceremony, all the Thang Long ca tru singers stood in two solemn rows facing each other, with traditional octet instruments in hand, and the ancient Vietnamese ritual music medley began, in place of a prayer to the supreme being. Next was the incense offering dance and singing performance of the four female singers.

beautiful with the sound of the stone zither of the first singer in Vietnam - Ms. Pham Thi Hue, head of the Thang Long Ca Tru troupe. This is one of the new rituals that they have restored in the revival of Ca Tru, now brought to Doi Tam to offer for the great Tich Dien ceremony. Then the ritual Ca Tru songs at the communal house gate such as Thet Nhac, Bac Phan... are performed one after another, accompanied by famous works of ancient literati, offered to the local tutelary god to pray for the villagers, for the country's peace and prosperity. After the Dai Thach singing and dancing performance of the female singers, it is time for the ceremony of the elders of Doi Tam village. In the past, this important ritual always took place at midnight. Now, similarly, the ceremony of the elders is also held at the beginning of the hour of Ty, right after the Hat Cua Dinh program. At this time, the entire troupe of Thang Long Ca Tru singers and actors move to the side of the eight-treasure orchestra, playing the eight-tone music to accompany the village's communal house orchestra.

E. THE PROCESSION OF DOI TAM VILLAGE TO WELCOME THE KING AND THE PROCESSION OF THE KING FROM THE PAGODA TO DOI PLACE

Early in the morning, on the 7th of January (February 1, 2009), the Tich Dien festival officially took place. This was the first time the Tich Dien festival was re-enacted, so it attracted tens of thousands of local people and people from neighboring areas to flock to Doi Son field to wait for the sacred moment when the king plowed the first fields to sow the seeds for a good crop.

Right from dawn, the people here have conducted rituals such as: The ceremony of welcoming the founder of the profession, the ceremony of welcoming the spirit tablet of King Le Dai Hanh to the place of the Tich Dien ceremony to prepare for the grand ceremony. This is a very important ritual in connecting with the Tich Dien ceremony to recreate the legend: When hearing the news that King Le Dai Hanh came to the Doi mountain area to celebrate the Tich Dien ceremony, the two Nguyen brothers made a big drum to welcome the king. When welcoming the king, the sound of the drum resounded throughout the area, the Doi Tam people honored the Nguyen brothers as the founder of the profession and the village's tutelary god.

The Doi Tam village procession is led by five five-element flags, a big drum carried by two people with a drum signal, one person carrying an umbrella to cover the signal and the drum, a mouth drum team of 10 people, a round drum team of 10 people, a gong carried by two people, one person playing the gong, one person holding an umbrella for the signal and

gong. The halberdiers carried a set of equipment including 2 long spears, 1 hammer, 1 axe, 2 awls, 1 literary hand, 1 martial hand, a row of eight treasures, 2 signs "Hoi Ty" and "Tinh Tuc".

The ceremony began with a majestic procession to welcome the founder of the Doi Tam drum profession at the Doi Tam communal house, to welcome the Saint and to stop at Doi Nhi village to welcome the palanquin of King Le Dai Hanh.

The procession of the Ancestor of Doi Tam village consists of many villagers from old men and women with white hair and beards to young men and women full of youthful energy. They carry the drums that have made the name of their famous craft village. Going around the bamboo fence of the village is like a journey through time to the ancient days when our ancestors settled down and practiced their craft. The procession also shows the respect of generations of villagers for their ancestors, inviting the Ancestor of the craft to attend the festival with their descendants.

A special thing about the procession of the Ancestor of Doi Tam village is that most of the drummers on the carts are not men like in other processions. Doi Tam drum village is famous for its members who are all women. These women are considered the soul of the craft village because they not only know how to do the job and pass on the job, but also know how to skillfully perform the traditional art of their ancestors.

The drums resound loudly and jubilantly, sometimes urgent like an army charging into battle, sometimes high and low like the call of the mountains and rivers, sometimes joyful, exciting, and soaring, stirring people's hearts during the festival.

When the procession of the village's ancestors was almost finished, it was also the time when the procession of King Le Dai Hanh's spirit tablet from Long Doi Pagoda down to the foot of the mountain. The procession from Doi Pagoda was led by 5 five-element flags, 1 Buddha flag, a drum team, a gong team, and the Long Dinh palanquin - a palanquin with a roof, carried by 4 unmarried young men, surrounded by parasols, on top of which was placed an incense burner and incense sticks of King Le Dai Hanh.

Monks pray and recite Buddha's name to express their respect under the palanquin of King Le Dai Hanh - the king who opened the sacred Tich Dien festival.

Therefore, every time the festival opens, people organize a procession with incense sticks and spirit tablets.

The king witnessed the sincerity of his descendants to restore the ceremony that the king had started more than 1000 years ago.

At the foot of the mountain, the two processions meet and merge into one, becoming a symbol of the solidarity between the monarch and the people in the past, and of the people's role as the main subject in the festival today.

It can be said that the festival belongs to the people, is participated by the people with the help of the Institute of Culture and Arts and the attention of government leaders at all levels, from the role of the people being especially important from the festival activities to the plowing ceremony.

F. PLOWING CEREMONY

After a series of rituals taking place to prepare for the Tich Dien plowing ceremony, the Tich Dien plowing ceremony was solemnly and jubilantly conducted with the participation of thousands of officials, nearly forty thousand people with colorful flags and flowers jostling to wait for this sacred and meaningful moment.

The Tich Dien plowing ceremony was held in a 1-hectare field in front of the Doi Son Primary and Secondary School, and in front of the majestic and sacred Doi Mountain. In this field, an altar was set up to worship the God of Agriculture, in which the spirit tablet of King Dai Hanh was worshiped. The altar was 180 square meters wide, with a height of 10 meters from the field surface to the top of the decorative banners. After the two processions were merged, they moved to the area where the Tich Dien plowing ceremony was held. After being carried, the Long Dinh palanquin was placed on a red cloth platform, with a set of eight tablets and a set of ceremonial objects (holes) on both sides. Behind the palanquin hung a large banner with two large characters: Than Nong, on both sides of the Than Nong banner were large banners with the following large characters: "Phi thuong bat phu", "Phi cong bat thinh", "Phi tri bat tien", "Phi nong bat stable", "Phong dang hoa coc", "Thuc tuc binh cuong" in Chinese characters. In front of the king's palanquin, there are incense altars, trays of hats, fruits, tea, tobacco, five-piece set of utensils, and incense bowls. 10 meters from the incense altar, there are rows of seats for central and provincial delegates in the middle.

The Tich Dien ceremony was made more magnificent and special with the appearance of a female drum team of 50 people and 12 young men playing accompanying musical instruments. The highlight was the largest drum in the village, with a diameter of up to 1.8 m. Contributing to increasing the

The solemnity of the festival is the appearance of a live music band, also consisting mostly of female members. They are the female singers and instrumentalists of the Thang Long Ca Tru troupe (Hanoi). The girls in the red-colored ao dai like in the To Nu paintings step out, an indispensable part of rituals such as the worship singing on the night of the 6th day of Tet at Doi Tam communal house. They are also the accompanists for the peace-praying altar on the night of the 7th day of Tet at Long Doi Son.

Entering the festival, led by the dragon procession, followed by the flag team of 200 people, the group of elders holding banners, Venerable Thich Thanh Vu and the Long Dinh palanquin procession, followed by the ceremonial team and the Saint palanquin procession, and finally the group of elders.

The opening of the Tich Dien ceremony is the solemn and resounding drumbeat of the female drum team of Doi Tam village. Joining the bustling drumbeat is the dragon team of Doi Tin village, brilliantly undulating and rhythmically in the spring sunshine.

The 2009 Tich Dien Festival was honored to welcome Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan, Central delegates and delegates from provinces in the Red River Delta region: Bac Ninh, Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh, Hai Duong, Hung Yen, Quang Ninh, Thai Binh, Vinh Phuc, Hanoi city, provinces outside the region, such as Thanh Hoa, Hoa Binh, along with religious dignitaries and a large number of local people and tourists from all over the country to attend the festival.

After the dragon dance, Chairman of Ha Nam Provincial People's Committee Tran Xuan Loc solemnly read the congratulatory speech to King Le Dai Hanh, respectfully informing the ancestors and asking for permission to open the festival. The congratulatory speech read:

Sincerely:

Inviting heaven and earth, the ancestors of Vietnam and the spirit of Emperor Le Hoan

- Invite the spirits of famous people, heroes, martyrs, and heroes whose names are recorded in history books.

Know that:

King Le Dai Hanh first came to plow the fields in Long Doi Son in the spring of 987, starting a fine custom of promoting agriculture, making his name forever famous.

That is the reason

Promote agriculture, encourage mulberry cultivation, and build a foundation of lasting peace. People are well-off, contented, and build the homeland.

Building new countryside with rich people, strong country, fair, democratic and civilized society.

Then I know:

Agriculture has created a stable foundation for a peaceful and prosperous country.

Abundant food, farmers are excited, confident in the path to the future. Creating a tripod, agriculture contributes with industry and trade to build the economy.

economy

Exchange, integration, big waves, strong winds still steady rowing. Today:

Peace and prosperity

Brilliant Vietnamese culture

Ha Nam rises with the whole country

To forever leave a bright mark on the ancient Tich Dien Festival

Forever remembered! Organizers

Respectfully offer incense to heaven and earth with the ancestors. Vegetarian and fruit ceremony

Offering our sincere heart, Continuing the virtue of our ancestors, Continuing to open up agriculture, Bringing prosperity and peace, Sufficient food, Strong soldiers, Peaceful country and peaceful people.

Beware!

After that, the incense offering ceremony took place solemnly and majestically, Vice President

Nguyen Thi Doan with Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the People's Council of Ha Nam province Dinh Van