Den Do Festival

On the web, a search on festivals in Vietnam will produce numerous results. That's right, many provinces and even some villages have their own unique event to commemorate each year. Some of the events are closely linked to the arrival of the New Year while some are to celebrate and remember historic fiqures.

Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to enjoy the sounds and sights of one such event. This took place in Apr 2008 in the nearby province of Bac Ninh in the village of Dinh Bang. The village is located in Tu Son District, about 20 km northeast of Ha Noi. I went there by public bus from Long Bien Terminal (Bus 10).

The three-day festival is held at Den Do (Do Temple) to commemorate the enthronement of King Ly Thai To. He is best known for establishing Ha Noi, then known as Thang Long, as the capital of Vietnam in 1010. Den Do was built under the Ly Dynasty in 1030 in Chau Co Phap village (now Dinh Bang village), in Tu Son district, where King Ly Thai To was born. The temple was to dedicated to the King and then his seven successors. King Ly’s descendants from the Republic of Korea have returned to join local descendants and thousands of pilgrims in the festival, which annually takes place on the 14th-16th day of the third lunar month (which fall on April 19-21 this year) with the main rituals on the 15th day. The Ly family from the RoK is descendants of prince Ly Long Tuong, seventh son of Ly Anh Tong (1138-1175), who had to leave the homeland in 1226 to avoid a bloodshed made by the Tran Dynasty which took the throne from the Ly Dynasty. [Italics - extracted from http://www.smiletravelvietnam.com/]

By the time I reached Tu Son, the procession had already started and the bus I was on was caught in a massive jam. Considering this was a one-lane, two-day road, it was a slow crawl. not wanting to miss out, I decided to alight short of our destination and walked the remaining 300m to the junction leading to Dinh Bang.

The procession was a sea of colours when young and old dressed in their traditional costumes lining up in two making their way to Do Temple. Along the way, the procession stopped at Dinh Bang Commune Hall for a short rest. When I arrived at Den Temple, it was filled with many people either offering prayers or just to soak in the atmosphere. (to be continued)