Au Co Mau Temple Festival

Au Co Mau Temple Festival: A unique cultural beauty On the 7th day of the first lunar month every year, the people of Hien Luong commune (Ha Hoa district, Phu Tho province) rejoice in the colors of flags and the bustling sounds of drums and gongs of the Au Co Mau Mau Temple Festival. With wishes for health, wealth, and luck, many domestic and provincial tourists consider this as one of the spiritual destinations at the beginning of the new year. Au Co Mau Temple is located in Hien Luong commune - a land with majestic mountains, many meandering lagoons, lyrical and interesting scenery. The temple is a long-standing precious historical-cultural work, associated with the legend of Au Co - Lac Long Quan, which every Vietnamese person is proud of their Dragon Fairy lineage. Legend has it that, on the 7th day of the first lunar month, the fairy Au Co descended to earth (also known as Fairy Day), then met and got married to Lac Long Quan and gave birth to a sac of a hundred eggs, which hatched into a hundred children - the origin of the Vietnamese people. After his children grew up, Lac Long Quan took 50 children to the coastal region, while Au Co left his eldest son as King and took 49 children to the mountains to reclaim land, establish hamlets, and expand the territory to form the land of the ancient Vietnamese people. When setting foot on the land of Hien Luong, Mau Au Co saw the charming scenery so she decided to stay here and teach Hien Luong villagers to sow rice seedlings, grow mulberry trees, raise silkworms, weave fabrics..., dig Loan wells and Phuong wells to get clean water for daily life, and establish a prosperous village. The festival consists of two parts: Ceremony and festival. The Ceremony part includes two main ceremonies: palanquin procession and sacrifice. The national flag was carried by 50 young people representing the 50 children who followed Mother Au Co up the mountain, and the festival flag was carried by local people. The Mausoleum palanquin from the village communal house to the temple is carried by strong men, while the incense bowl palanquin worshiping the Mother Goddess is carried by women, followed by the village elders wearing turbans and turbans, and finally the officials and people. Two palanquins were lowered in front of the temple's yard and then stopped to let the women's team carry incense bowls into the temple and place them on the altar. Then do the duty of the National Mau ceremony. The ceremony begins with an incense offering ceremony, a district leader recites a prayer, then the leaders offer incense. Next will be the wine offering ceremony and food offering ceremony (including 100 cakes, 100 oan products and a tray of five fruits: bananas, oranges, tangerines, grapefruits, and Buddha's hands). All are vegetarian.  The Festival section had many unique folk games such as cockfighting, tug of war, wrestling, swinging, chess... The competitions took place very excitingly, with judges working fairly to ensure fairness throughout the competition. Athletes participated in the competition with the spirit of learning exchange and high determination, creating exciting and exciting games. During the festival, there are also many cultural and artistic activities organized to preserve and promote the traditional cultural identity and solidarity of the nation. Performing arts performances by students of Ha Hoa High School, art troupes of Chue Luu, Minh Hac, Vinh Chan communes. Hien Luong is closely followed and highly appreciated by the people for her national songs and dances associated with the legend of Mother Au Co.

Over time, the Au Co Mau Temple Festival has not only acquired historical value but also cultural and tourist value. The festival reminds children and grandchildren of the gratitude of Vietnamese ancestors, preserving and promoting the tradition of "drinking water, remember the source" of our people.