Gian communal house festival

Gian communal house festival Time: February 9 - 11 of the lunar calendar. Location: Dinh Gian, Xuan Dinh ward, Tu Liem district, Hanoi city. Objects of worship: Worshiping the village's Tutelary God, Lieutenant General, Supreme Master Ton Than Ly Phuc Man. Characteristics: Sacrifice, water procession, palanquin procession, human chess match... The communal house worships the village's Tutelary God, Captain Ly Phuc Man, who was from Co So village (now Yen So village). Lieutenant Ly Phuc Man was talented in strategy and helped King Ly Nam De suppress the rebellion and expel the invaders. He was appointed Great General by the king and married to a princess. During a battle with the Champa army, due to a sudden attack, Ly Phuc Man's army was surrounded. Because he did not want to fall into the hands of the enemy and to keep his integrity, he committed suicide. Admiring and pitying the brave General who had contributed to the people and the country, the king issued a decree to bring Ly Phuc Man's body back to his hometown to bury it at Ho Ma wharf, and then issued a decree for the villages in the Northern Delta region (74 villages throughout the country) to worship each year with incense and smoke. Gian Communal Festival is held every year for 3 days, attracting many people and tourists from all over to attend. February 8: In the morning, a procession of water from the ancient well dating back to the time of the Trung Sisters to the communal house to make offerings to the Tutelary God was held. Next is the Khai Quang worshiping ceremony performed by monks of Thien Phuc Pagoda (Gian Pagoda). In the afternoon, the ceremony begins with the Foxing ceremony of the men's worship team. After that, the villagers and the women's team offered incense on the Saint's Day. February 9: From early morning, the military parade of Cao Dinh village was held. Next, the incense-burning team of women from neighboring villages joined the communion team on Holy Mass until late afternoon. February 10: (Political Assembly) In the morning, after the ceremony to announce the reading of the communal house's genealogy, there is a procession of Ong palanquin and Ba palanquin to the Mau temple (the shrine worshiping Ly Phuc Man's mother) for the ceremony and then return to the communal house. When carrying the procession, the Ong palanquin goes first, the Ba palanquin goes behind, each palanquin has 16 people taking turns carrying it, men carry the Ong palanquin, women carry the Ba palanquin. In front of the palanquin procession are the Bat Am ward, the swan tien team, the float dance, the mask dance, and the death spirit dance. In the afternoon, the villages hold a thanksgiving ceremony, followed by a team of female incense burners performing the ceremony. The festival ends with a farewell ceremony by the men's worship team in the late afternoon. During the festival, there are also many activities organized such as: cultural performances, water puppet shows, human chess matches, fun games, traditional martial arts competitions...