Stone communal house festival

Stone communal house festival in Ha Nam Time: January 6 - January 8 of the lunar calendar The Stone communal house festival is held in An Mong village, Tien Phong commune, Duy Tien district, Ha Nam province. Dinh Da is the place to worship Princess Nguyet Nga, a talented female general of Hai Ba Trung. In addition to the birth date which is the full moon day of the 7th month and the transformation day which is October 12, the festival also organizes sacrifices, incense offerings, and the first spring festival is usually held from the 6th to the 8th of January every year. During the Stone communal house festival, there are sacrifices, palanquin processions, sacrifices to the farmer god and fun competitions such as wrestling, boat racing... In the ceremony of sacrificing the farmer god, the celebrant and the waiters will perform rituals such as: offering incense, offering wine, reading poems to pray for peace for the villagers, and praying for good crops. Next, there will be a procession of incense offerings to a field near the communal house that has been plowed before the festival. The group of people will follow behind the incense altar, some carrying a few bundles of rice seedlings, a few reeds, some holding bamboo branches, some holding knives, bundles of mulberry cuttings. When they reach the rice fields and mulberry fields, the group stops and places incense burners on the edge of the fields, surrounded by villagers. The officiant and priest are the people trusted by the villagers and assigned to wade into the fields and plant a few rows of rice on behalf of all the villagers, and onto the mulberry field to plant a few mulberry cuttings as a symbol. The villagers will gather around and cheer, joining in with the sounds of gongs and drums to express joy, and wait for an upcoming bountiful harvest. People in the village also splashed water in the fields on those carrying seedlings, those planting, those carrying mulberry cuttings, those placing bamboo branches, and those placing reeds in the fields. Everyone prays for good rain and wind so that the rice and mulberry trees can grow well, as strong as reeds, as strong as bamboo stalks to withstand the harsh nature, and for the rice and mulberry seasons to be productive, for the villagers to have a prosperous and happy life. Boat races on the Chau River are often held at the river confluence in the east of Tien Phong commune (today Quang Trung dam), this is where it is said that Ms. Nguyet Nga died and is also where the dragon boat appeared to take her to the aquarium. The boat racing festival usually has two large boats, the head is shaped like a dragon, and the tail is like a shrimp tail. Each boat is arranged with a driver wearing a red shirt, with a scarf on his head, a muzzle in his hand, and rowing to the rhythm of the oar to encourage the whole team. The bow of the boat has 2 rowers on both sides to keep pace with the oars. On both sides of the boat there will be 12 rowers on each side. Thus, each boat in the boat race must have up to 28 rowers, all wearing uniform clothes and towels. Those participating in the race must take a bath and go to the temple to worship before being able to participate in the competition. The swimming route is a river section longer than 1km, you can swim 2 to 3 laps. The boat of the armored team that reaches the finish line first and grabs the branch is the winner. The winning Giap will receive a prize, at the same time be honored for his victory and will be blessed by the saint with good luck. The wrestling game is often held with the purpose of commemorating the military training of Ms. Nguyet Nga. According to legend, Lady Nguyet Nga often organized this game to increase the health of her soldiers. The wrestling team has many similarities with the wrestling association of Gua village in Liem Thuan, Thanh Liem, but also has a few different features such as having a separate wrestling association for the elderly (for men over 50 years old). This festival has the typical festive nature of this competition, creating a happy, exciting and bustling atmosphere for the early spring festival, demonstrating the sublime spirit.