From 7 to 9 February, the northern province of Bac Ninh will host this year’s Kinh Duong Vuong festival whose scale is much larger than in previous years. The festival will be convened in Dai Dong Thanh and Dinh To communes in Thuan Thanh District.
Vuong, known as Loc Tuc, was renowned for his intelligence, righteousness and generosity. He established the first primitive state named Xich Quy in the year 2879 BC. Kinh Duong Vuong married Than Long, daughter of Dong Dinh Quan, and gave birth to Lac Long Quan, or Sung Lam, who then married Au Co and gave birth to a sac containing 100 eggs from which 100 children were born. The eldest son of Kinh Duong Vuong and Than Long later became Kinh Hung Vuong, Vietnam’s first monarch, who set up the nation’s capital in Phong Chau, present-day Viet Tri City in Phu Tho Province.
The festival features an incense purifying ceremony at the temple dedicated to Kinh Duong Vuong-Lac Long Quan-Au Co and a palanquin procession rite alongside other activities. The event is to honor and promote the country’s traditional values, aiming to set up tours to religious cultural and historic relics in Thuan Thanh District like Dau Pagoda and the ancient bastion Luy Lau. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism recognized the long-standing tomb and temple of Kinh Duong Vuong, Lac Long Quan and Au Co as a national cultural and historic relic four years ago. |