Ceremony to honor Ba Linh Son Thanh Mau (Tay Ninh)

The main festival of Linh Son Thanh Mau (Ba Den Temple) takes place from the 4th to the 6th of the 5th lunar month. However, on the 10th - 15th day of the Lunar New Year (God of Wealth day), a large number of people and tourists flock to Ba Den Mountain (Tay Ninh) to worship and pray for fortune and luck at Ba Palace, creating a vibrant early spring atmosphere.  Outstanding activities during Tet and January 10: Dien Ba Pilgrimage: Tourists offer offerings and pray for health and fortune at the 300-year-old Ba Pagoda. Admire the mountain peak: Visit the Tay Bo Da Son Buddha statue and the Maitreya Bodhisattva statue on the top of Ba Den mountain. Spring atmosphere: Ba Den Mountain is splendidly decorated, festive activities are bustling.  Note: The Lady's Resurrection Ceremony is officially recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage in the 5th lunar month. The 10th - 15th day of Tet is an important spiritual time at the beginning of the year, attracting a large number of Southern people. 

The ceremony to honor Ba Linh Son Thanh Mau takes place for 3 days from the 4th to the 6th of May (lunar calendar) every year, at Linh Son Tien Thach Tu (Ba Den Mountain), Tay Ninh city, Tay Ninh province. Along with the Ba Den Mountain Spring Festival, this is a festival that attracts a large number of visitors from all over to worship Buddha.

The festival is held at Ba Pagoda, also known as Linh Son Tien Thach Tu, located halfway up the mountain, at an altitude of 350m, including the oldest pagodas in Tay Ninh such as Ba Pagoda, Hang Pagoda, Dong Hoang Chung, Trung Pagoda, Moi Pagoda... dating back nearly 300 years.

This is a spiritual work associated with the religious life of local people, attracting millions of tourists from all over the world to come to worship and pray for peace all year round. Buddhists from all over also come here to worship the reclining Buddha, also known as "Buddha entering Nirvana" on Mount Ba, a Buddhist monument not to be missed during the pilgrimage to the spiritual land.

The Via Ba Festival begins with the Moc Duc (statue bathing) ceremony held at 0:00 on the 4th day at Dien Ba. The ceremony took place in a solemn atmosphere, the electric door was closed to prevent outsiders from entering, most of the candles were turned off, only six women, including three nuns of the temple, were allowed to stay in the temple and perform the ceremony.

First, everyone comes in front of her statue, lights incense, and asks permission to bathe and change her clothes. After half a week of incense, under the direction of an elderly woman in the group, the group began to take off the coat for the Lady statue.

They passed around buckets of fragrant water made from lotus flowers, jasmine flowers, porcelain flowers, cinnamon, aromatic oils... to pour and bathe the Lady statue. After the bathing process ends, clean towels scented with fragrance are delivered to dry the statue. Her statue is dressed in a new outfit.

When the ritual of bathing and changing clothes for the Lady statue ended, the group lit incense to worship her. At this time, the incense and lamps in the palace are also lit and the palace doors are opened for pilgrims to come in and worship.

During the 4th day of the lunar calendar at Dien Ba, folk festival rituals take place including singing shadow puppets to invite, singing shadow puppets from the comedy "Dia Nang", dancing to offer flowers, offering five-colored trays, toy dances (lu dance, water hyacinth dance, lily dance...)...

The 5th day of the lunar calendar is the official day of her death and also the festival of Ba mountain. The most important ritual is "Presenting ten offerings" which means offering 10 dishes to her including incense, lamps, fruits, tea, cakes, wine... On this day, the monks take turns chanting sutras continuously in front of her altar.

The 6th day of the lunar calendar is reserved for worshiping ghosts, dead souls, and offering sacrifices to the people. On this day, participating monks will recite the repentance prayer for the souls of unjust souls. In the afternoon, after the midday worshiping ceremony, there is a salt-giving ceremony. At night, the monks continue to pray for salvation for the people.

However, when compared to the Buddha worship ceremony in the Northern region, the Ba worship ceremony is richer and more fun, because there is a modern orchestra, which acts as a light band to accompany the monks performing the Buddha worship ceremony.

This is the main festival that attracts a large number of tourists to pilgrimage at Ba Den Mountain. On August 14, 2019, "Celebration of Mrs. Linh Son Thanh Mau - Ba Den Mountain" honorably received the Decision of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.