Legend associated with the Hung Kings
For a long time ago, Lac Long Quan (King Dragon of the land of Lac) had power strength; he wanted to live near water. He succeeded to the throne of his father, and governed the Lac-Viet tribe. One day, the King of the Northern tribe, De Lai with his daughter had a visit to the South.
De Lai married Au Co to Lac Long Quan as admiring Lac Long Quan’s talent. Au Co gave birth to a membranous sac. The sac became bigger and bigger, and burst on the seventh day. Surprisingly, there have one hundred eggs in the sac which hatched into one hundred cute babies. They are the ancestors of Vietnam, so the Vietnamese are regarded as the “Dragon and Fairy descendants” The eldest son of Lac Long Quan was the King Hung I. After establishing himself realm at Phong Chau, now the Southern part of Phu Tho Province whose realm was made up by 50 tribes, The 18 Hung kings then ruled the country from 2879 to 258BC.
According to history records, the Hung King’s regime was very healthy and stable, starting for setting up Viet Nam as a sovereign nation. The Hung King’s 18 generations saw development of a nation with the features as the sense of community, mutual affection, patriotism and unwillingness to yield to oppression. From this initial settlement, the Hong River (Red river) civilization and the pre-Dong Son cultures developed. To commemorate the anniversary of Vietnamese people ancestor death, they hold a festival nationwide on the 10th day of the third lunar month, founder of the Vietnamese nation – the first Hung King.
Hung King Anniversary
Annually from the 8th to the 11st of the third lunar month, Vietnamese people holds Hung King anniversary. On the 10th of the third lunar March, is the main festival day, on which Vietnamese working people have one more national holiday to mark the anniversary of the Hung King’s death. Every year, on this traditional occasion, Vietnamese people worldwide join their brothers and sisters in spirit to observe Vietnam National Day in commemoration of their ancestors. Hung temple on Nghia Linh Moutain in Phong Chau District, Phu Tho Province is the main place to hold the main ceremony.
Let’s contemplate this historical vestige!
The Hung Temple is located on the top of the 175 meter – high Nghia Linh mountain. It is an ancient and sacred architectural. The festival is one of the chances for Vietnamese to visit their land of origin. In the festival days, flags are to be hung across the road leading from Viet Tri to Hung Mountain. Besides, many huge balloons with various colors will be hung in surrounding areas. In the earnest the following morning, 10th day the main worship service is held, beginning with the flower ceremony. In Den Thuong (Upper Temple) where the Hung Kings used to worship deities with full rituals, the ceremony consists of a lavish five-fruit feast. Banh Chung (square cake) and Banh Giay (circle cake) are also served to remind people of the Lang Lieu Legend (the 18th Hung King who invented these cakes), and the merit of the Hung Kings who taught people to grow rice. Besides, some marches in the procession also are took place as the elephant march followed by the procession chair. Especially, a Xoan song performance (a classical type of song) in the Den Thuong, a “Ca Tru” (a kind of classical opera) in Den Ha (Lower Temple) are performed in the march, and other activities like cross-bow shooting, rice cooking, swinging contests, cock fighting, and dragon dancing are also took place.
Annually, on the 10th day of the third lunar March visitors from all over the country will come to Phu Tho province to take part in the festival. They believe that it is a way to show their love and pride of their ancestral land. The Hung King Temple Festival is one of the most important festivals of the Vietnamese people; it is deeply imbedded in the minds of all Vietnamese citizens, regardless of where they originated from.
