Ta Lai Festival

Ta Lai Festival, Tan My commune, Van Lang district, Lang Son province Ta Lai Pagoda was built by the Nguyen Dinh family in the 18th century, inscribed with the name of the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, the North Military Admiral of the Right Admiral Nguyen Dinh Loc. Ta Lai Pagoda is located halfway up Phia Chau mountain in Ta Lai village, Tan My commune, Van Lang district, 20km from Lang Son city. According to legend, after a night of heavy rain, strong winds, gusts of wind, and thunder and lightning; The next morning, the sky was clear and the people heard a strange bell ringing from Phia Chau mountain. The village elders sent someone to check and discovered a bell and a pickaxe in the cave. Next, we sent someone to Bo Chi cave and found the bell missing and the bamboo paintings scattered. Therefore, the elders agreed to establish a pagoda here, so the pagoda is also called But Bay Pagoda. Since then, the pagoda has undergone many renovations and embellishments to have the current landscape. In particular, in 2006 the pagoda was renovated and embellished on a large scale, the system of worship palaces and worship statues was supplemented with more variety (Mother palace, Son Trang palace, mother statues...) demonstrating the combination of worship "Previous Saint - Later Buddha". Ta Lai Pagoda Festival is held on January 8 every year in the fields in front of Ta Lai Pagoda, also along National Highway 4A. But from 1979 onwards, the Festival has not taken place as intact as before but has changed somewhat. The ceremony and festival parts have also been shortened quite a bit. In recent years, the People's Committee of Tan My commune has organized the festival. * Ceremony: When the Festival day comes, families belonging to the three branches of the Nguyen Dinh family in the village prepare their own ceremony trays from January 7 to early in the morning of January 8, bringing them to the fields to prepare for the ceremony. Families of other families in the village also prepare their own ceremonies in the same way. The ceremony tray includes: 01 large castrated rooster, 01 piece of pork about 7 - 8 ounces, 01 pair of banh chung with sli banh khau, pet log, sweet soup, wine, and fruits. After bringing the ceremony to the field in front of the pagoda, there will be a Mr. Pu Mo sent by the villagers to pray for good fortune, praying for a year of good rain, good wind, and good harvests... * Festival: Every year on the 8th day of the first lunar month, people eagerly flock to the fields near Ta Lai pagoda to attend the festival. Not only the people in the village participated in the festival, but also some nearby villages and hamlets also came to join in the fun. During Ta Lai festival, a number of folk games take place to serve local people. Folk games and folk performances taking place at the festival include: Lion dance, spinning, tug of war, sli singing, and dancing all night long. - Lion dance: On the right day of the festival, there will be a few lion dance teams from neighboring communes coming to celebrate the festival such as communes: Thanh Long, Tan Thanh, Thach Dan (Cao Loc)... to join the festival. This lion dance team consists of about 9 to 13 people. In order for the performance to be successful, this lion team needs to gather together and practice for about half a month. When they come to Tan My commune to dance, the lion team fully prepares human resources as well as props for the lion dance including: 01 lion head, 02 monkey masks, 01 fat man's face, 01 fan, 01 stick to dance, performance costumes are normal clothes. When these lion dance teams come to dance to entertain the people here, the people in the village will assign each other to contribute food to invite this lion dance team to two sumptuous lunches and dinners along with a little cash to thank them. The lion dance team arrives on the festival day and performs for one day. They will ask permission to leave and see you again next year. - Spinning: Each person participating in the game needs to prepare a sturdy spinning top along with a spinning wire to play the game. The rule of the game will be to see who can spin the spinner the longest and will be the winner. The participants play according to the command and roll the spinning tops onto the playground surface. The sound coming from the spinning tops is very pleasant. To play, you can also draw a circle on the ground and let the spinner spin in it. - Singing sli, luon: This is a form of folk performance of the two ethnic groups Nung and Tay that is indispensable every time the festival season comes in the locality. Every festival is also the time when people in the middle ages and young people come to sing love songs with each other, singing songs with many rich contents such as: Praising the love of couples, the natural beauty of the country, the good crops in the locality, praising the Party and the State. The lyrics are like confiding words, confiding and encouraging each other to increase production, it is also an opportunity to bond the emotions between people more, and strengthen solidarity among the people. People will sing at the festival for the entire day of the festival. Families in the area where the festival is held will organize a meal to celebrate the festival. This is an opportunity for the homeowner to invite distant family relatives to the festival, have intimate meals with the family and visit each other. The family will treat guests with more hearty dishes than daily meals. Ta Lai Pagoda Festival is most crowded from about 9:00 a.m. until about 4:00 p.m. Famous for its sacredness, Ta Lai Pagoda attracts a large number of tourists inside and outside the province to visit, pray for wealth and fortune. On the day of the festival, tourists stood packed to pray at Ta Lai pagoda.  Through many events and ups and downs of history, Ta Lai Pagoda has always existed at the same time, becoming a spiritual and cultural activity spot for local people and tourists from all over. Ta Lai Pagoda Festival is an attractive festival that pilgrims cannot miss during the first year of the year in Lang./.