OPENING CEREMONY OF THE TRAN DYNASTY'S THAI MIEU FESTIVAL IN 2025

15/02/2025 17/02/2025 261 0 Xã An Sinh, Thành phố Đông Triều, tỉnh Quảng Ninh
The Thai Mieu Festival of the Tran Dynasty features a unique water procession ritual, evoking the origins of the Tran family, which were closely tied to a livelihood on the rivers and waterways.

The Thai Mieu Festival of the Tran Dynasty is held annually from the 18th to the 20th day of the first lunar month, with the opening ceremony on the 18th day of the first lunar month being the death anniversary of Tran Thai To (Tran Thua). Before the festival begins, there is a water procession ceremony—an important ritual that reenacts the ancestral life of the Tran Dynasty, closely tied to the fishing profession on the river. This ceremony holds historical significance related to the Tran Dynasty, a royal lineage that established a glorious chapter in the nation's history. Participants in the water procession pray for favorable weather, national peace, and the prosperity and happiness of the people.

The water procession is a ritual practiced in almost all village festivals of the communities along the Red River. This ritual is performed to remind descendants of the Tran family's humble origins as fishermen before they gained sovereignty. According to legend, the teams must prepare palanquins carried by eight strong, unmarried young men from harmonious families without recent bereavements to perform the water procession and offer it to the Tran kings. On the palanquin, there is a small jar to hold water, with a red silk ribbon tied around its neck. When the procession reaches the riverbank, the palanquin is placed on the shore, and an elderly person carries the small jar from the palanquin to a boat, rows to the middle of the river, lowers a banana fiber ring into the water, and scoops river water to fill the jar. The jar is then passed hand-to-hand back to the shore and placed on the palanquin.

In Dong Trieu, the procession departs from the Thai Mieu courtyard, proceeds along the road to Trai Loc Lake, and then boards boats to the middle of the lake. There, leaders of the town and monks scoop water into the jar. Once the jar is full, the procession returns to Thai Mieu. After several days of rituals, the water is distributed to families in the village to receive blessings. This tradition is still regarded as a unique cultural aspect of the worship of the Tran kings.

In addition to the water procession, many other spiritual rituals take place during the festival, such as: the ceremony to invite the kings from their tombs to Thai Mieu, the temple-opening ceremony, the offering ceremony to the kings, and the death anniversary of Tran Thai To (Tran Thua). The Thai Mieu Festival, held at the beginning of the year following the Ngoa Van Spring Festival and the Yen Tu Spring Festival, is an occasion to express reverence and gratitude to the ancestors and Tran kings who established a brilliant dynasty in Vietnamese history. At the same time, the festival contributes to preserving and promoting the value of the relic site, adding a highlight to the spiritual cultural tourism route of Dong Trieu in particular and Quang Ninh in general.

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