Representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity: Gióng Festival, a strange attraction

VHO - The Gióng Festival at Phù Đổng Temple, Gia Lâm District (Hà Nội) is a Battle Festival, initiated and organized by King Lý Công Uẩn during the Lý Dynasty; taking place from the 7th to the 9th day of the 4th lunar month every year, to recreate the heroic battles of Thánh Gióng - the son of Phù Đổng village, who fought against the northern invaders.

Tens of thousands of people and tourists followed the footsteps of the army on the march, along the dike slopes to follow the "long march" of Saint Giong. Witnessing the First Battle: Playing chess in Dong Dam and Mr. Hieu's flag dance

Leading the way were the Red Shirt group wearing colorful ao dai, holding rattan canes, two old school teachers and the Black Shirt group...

The festival is preserved and passed down by the local people in its original form from generation to generation; it is a folk theater, taking place in a large space with thousands of main roles being the people; aiming to educate the Vietnamese people on the tradition of patriotism, national pride, and love of peace . With such great and unique values, in 2010, the Gióng Festival at Phù Đổng Temple, Gia Lâm District, together with the Gióng Festival at Sóc Temple, Sóc Sơn District, were recognized by UNESCO as "Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity".

"Mr. Hieu" drum, the Left General of Saint Giong, held the ceremony of leaving the generalship.

The festival has 28 female generals playing the role of villains, symbolizing 28 invading armies.

Mr. Hieu Tieu Co

To organize the Gióng Festival at Phù Đổng Temple, those who have the honor of being chosen to play important roles such as the Flag Bearers (Flag Bearers, Drum Bearers, Gong Bearers, Middle Army Bearers, Little Ancient Bearers), the role of the Female Generals or the Black Shirt groups, Red Shirt groups... must abstain from activities for a whole month before the Festival. The main Festival day is on April 9, taking place solemnly, sacredly and bustlingly, especially the two battles: The first is the chess game at Đống Đa and the second is the chess game at Soi Bia. The battlefield is 3 mats, on each mat there is a large bowl symbolizing mountains and hills, covered with a white paper symbolizing the clouds and sky. Surrounding them is the army of Saint Gióng and on the other side is the army of 28 female enemy generals (symbolizing the Yin element). After the Saint worshiping ceremony, the Flag Bearers take turns entering each mat, jumping over the hills (upside down bowls) and performing the "chess playing" movements. The cheers echoed with the sound of gongs and drums, expressing the fierceness of the battle. The end of each flag dance was the end of a battle. As soon as the flag bearer stepped off the mat, the mat was thrown up, and people rushed to grab pieces of the mat with the belief that it would bring their families luck throughout the year.

The "Phu Gia Ngoai" army carries the horse of Saint Giong

The 2022 Gióng Festival attracts tens of thousands of people and tourists to participate.

People rushed to get pieces of mat which they believed would bring their families luck throughout the year.

The joy of people participating in the Festival to get lucky mats

The annual Gióng Festival attracts tens of thousands of people and tourists to participate. It is an opportunity to promote the image of the country, its people, its unique traditional culture, an intangible cultural heritage recognized by UNESCO. Rituals, folk performances, dances, songs, costumes... demonstrate the tradition of filial piety towards ancestors, national heroes and the spirit of tolerance and humanity of the Vietnamese people. With thousands of people voluntarily and wholeheartedly participating for generations, it has shown the everlasting vitality of a Vietnamese cultural heritage.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/van-hoa/di-san-van-hoa-phi-vat-the-dai-dien-cua-nhan-loai-hoi-giong-suc-hut-la-ky-81335.html