Ritual prays for peace in Con Son – Kiep Bac festival
A heaven-earth sacrificing ritual was held on February 17 at Ngu Nhac Mountain in Con Son – Kiep Bac special national relic site in the northern province of Hai Duong.
The activity, which is part of the Con Son – Kiep Bac Spring Festival 2022, takes place annually on the 17th day of the first lunar month with the aim to pray for peace, prosperity and development.
After the ceremony, local authorities presented five types of cereals including corn, rice, bean, peanuts and millet to participants.
Ngu Nhac Mountain, located in Le Loi commune, Chi Linh district, consists of five sacred peaks stretching over 4 km. Five shrines were built on top of the peaks, namely Bac Nhac (North), Trung Nhac (Middle), Dong Nhac (East), Tay Nhac (West) and Nam Nhac (South) to worship the gods of five directions.
The Con Son-Kiep Bac complex was listed as a national relic in 1962 and as special national relic in 2012. The festival was recognised as a national intangible heritage in 2013.
The festival will also feature a string of cultural and sport activities such as incense offerings, a mud banger festival (an ancient game involving tossing a large, shaped piece of clay, approx. 30kg and trying to make the loudest bag from it smashing apart), a wrestling contest, and a cake making contest.
Covering a total area of eight hectares in Chi Linh district, the Con Son-Kiep Bac historical site is entwined with the lives and causes of Tran Hung Dao and the Great Man of Culture of the World, Nguyen Trai. The site was a defence line built at the end of the 13th century to protect the Thang Long Imperial Citadel.
It witnessed important battles between the Tran dynasty army and the Yuan-Mongol invaders. Con Son, surrounded by pine trees, saw the pure and upright life of Nguyen Trai (1380-1442), one of Vietnam’s most famous poets and writers.
With its special values, the Con Son – Kiep Bac was recognised as a national heritage site in 1962 and a special national heritage site in 2012. In 2013, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism named the Spring Festival in Con Son Pagoda and the Autumn Festival in Kiep Bac Temple as national intangible cultural heritages.
