Phet Hien Quan Festival

Special features of Phet Hien Quan festival Spring is the season of traditional national festivals. Coming to the festivals of the regions, we will be immersed in the traditional cultural space with the majesty of the rituals, showing respect and gratitude to our ancestors and the vibrant and bustling space of unique folk games. In the warm Spring weather, return to the sacred ancestral land of Phu Tho, join the stream of people attending the Phet Hien Quan festival to commemorate the female general Princess Thieu Hoa - who helped Hai Ba Trung fight the enemy to save the country - and participate in the exciting game of "robbing" Phet, leaving visitors with many emotions. Phet Hien Quan Festival is a folk festival held on January 12-13 in Hien Quan commune, Tam Nong district, Phu Tho province. The festival is held to commemorate and honor the merits of the female general Princess Thieu Hoa - the Holy Mother Great King. Legend has it that at the age of 16, Thieu Hoa came to practice at Phuc Thanh-Hien Quan pagoda. Hearing that Trung Trac had raised an uprising, Thieu Hoa gathered an army of 500 people, practiced martial arts every day, played Phet and javelin throwing games, and then returned to Hat Mon to gather for the cause. Standing under the flag of Hai Ba Trung, Trung Trac was appointed "General of the Eastern Palace" to lead the vanguard to Luy Lau to attack To Dinh. After defeating the enemy, Trung Vuong rewarded the generals. Thieu Hoa refused to accept court officials and asked to return to the commune. Trung Vuong granted Song Quan commune (Hien Quan today) as a hamlet. A year later Thieu Hoa died, the people set up a temple and Trung Vuong bestowed the title "Princess of the Fatherland". Every year, people in the area organize the Phet Festival to commemorate her merits. The Phet Hien Quan festival consists of four parts, including palanquin procession, sacrifice, military parade, Phet beating... The palanquin procession is conducted from the afternoon of January 12. On the palanquin are the ordinations, tablets, Phet fruits, and Chui fruits kept in the forbidden palace of the village communal house from the 10th day of the 10th lunar month. The Phat fruit was previously meticulously carved from bamboo. The Phat stick was a curved bamboo stump like a hammock shoe, with a handle made from a continuous bamboo stem. The Phat stick was about 1.5 m long. But today it is made of round wood, about 10 cm in diameter, painted red and placed solemnly in wooden boxes placed above the palanquin. The Chui fruit is also made of wood but is smaller than the Phat fruit. The palanquin is carried from the communal house to the temple escorted by soldiers wearing armor. After the palanquin procession, there is a ceremony. Participating in the ceremony are the village elders. Orations were written in the ordinations with the wish for peace, good harvests and for the family to always have good health to build and protect the Fatherland. After three weeks of wine offerings comes the military gathering ceremony. Before the military gathering ceremony, the group of soldiers stood together in front of the temple door to listen to the edict, then split into two directions, chanting to the whole sky. The military pulling ceremony is divided into two groups, each group has from 100 to 200 participants. At the head of each group is an elder, wrapped in a yellow loincloth, with a red scarf on his head, holding a flag in his hand, chanting loudly to show the majesty of the group. Next is the team of main drums and small drums that beat the rhythm. There were men and women in the group of soldiers, wearing yellow armor, conical hats, leggings, shoe-toed shoes, and holding long swords and flags in their hands. When the army met each other, the soldiers freely fought to capture the flag and dragon sword. The group that steals the most is considered the winner, then returns to the temple grounds to receive the medal. Just like that, the military pulling ceremony was repeated three times and then gathered in the middle of the temple yard to cheer for victory. The end of the troop pulling ceremony is also the beginning of the Phet throwing ceremony. This is a vibrant and bustling festival, attracting many participants. After the Phet player reads the chant for about 5-7 minutes, he tosses the Phet fruit and Chui fruit in his hand several times and then throws it into the hole (also known as Lo Phet). Phet hole is about 50-70 cm deep and about 60 cm wide in diameter. When the Phet fruit and Chui fruit are in the hole, that is when the competition begins. The players holding Phet sticks raced to get in and dig out the Phet and Chui balls from the bottom of the hole. Along with the sound of gongs and drums are the "pop, pop" sounds of Phet sticks hitting each other. When the Phet fruit and the Chu fruit were dug up from the hole, everyone raced to use their strength to steal and throw them towards their side. When Phet was close to the destination of a certain faction in the village, the whole sea of ​​people rushed in that direction. The cheers echoed like a rising tide, drowning out the sound of gongs and drums outside. If someone steals the Phet fruit without anyone chasing or someone chasing but not touching the person holding the Phet fruit, it is considered the winner; Whichever side wins Phet, that year is considered a lucky year for them. Each Phet group usually only throws 3 Chut balls and 6 Phet balls. Phet Hien Quan Festival has become a tradition, demonstrating the martial spirit of the nation. The festival depicts scenes of ancient martial arts practice with the heroic spirit of our nation during the process of building and defending the country in the early years of the common era. In addition, Phet Hien Quan Festival with the game "Robber Phet" is also a highly cultural sport in fostering physical and mental strength for people. However, for the festival to become a healthy spiritual dish, everyone participating in the "robber" Phet game needs to behave in accordance with the rules, avoiding unfortunate things to happen to make the image of the festival more beautiful in the eyes of visitors.