Bac Ninh: Dong Ky Festival

26/08/2021 04:24

(BNP) - 4th day of January, people of Dong Ky village, Tu Son, Bac Ninh have organized the picking up ceremony of banger in the early in the year. According to legend, this festival existed from the 6th Hung King dynasty, originating from the fact that Thien Cuong general came back to his village to gather the troops to help Hung King fight against the enemies. When defeat, Thien Cuong led the successful troops returning and the village has opened the feast to the troops. This custom is still remained by people of Dong Ky village up to now.

Dong Ky Festival (Source: Internet).

Along  with Lim festival and Do Temple festival, festival of banger in Dong Ky is a traditional festival of Kinh Bac region from so long. Dong Ky Village Festival takes place with many interesting content, such as wrestling, cockfighting, chess, tug of war, but there are two ceremonies attract most people is picking up the banger and “Xô quan đám”.

Banger picking up ceremony is an indispensable ritual of Dong Ky people on every spring time, the banger is 2-3 meter long, 40-50cm in diameter decorated picky. Today people in Dong Ky still maintained and held the traditional festival of the village with a bun of bangers replaced by model.

“Xô quan đám” is a strange ritual. Four old ages in the village sent out four men round fifty years old, of good moral character without funeral in the past year to act as the “quan đám” (a mandarin), further assign tens of strong men to carry the mandarin. The crowd of the men were shirtless, wearing a red loincloth, holding the leg, thigh lift the crowd to “the mandarin” in his hand. Dress pants, symbolize the heroes of martial land up with the enemy, wearing red shirt, red pants, red scarf, just screaming just dancing on the dance anomalies. The picking up ceremony went round yard of the temple under the loud voice like thunder up of tens of thousands of villagers and pilgrims, making the viewer lost in another world.

Address: Dong Ky Village, Dong Ky Ward, Tu Son Town, Bac Ninh Province

 Date of opening the festival: 4th day of January (lunar calendar) every year. 

By P.H