DA NANG PASSIONAL RETRACTION FESTIVAL

Muc Dong procession festival is a festival for buffalo herding children held in Phong Le village, Hoa Chau, Hoa Vang, Da Nang city. Usually this festival does not take place every year but is only held once every 3 years.

For the people of Phong Le village, this is a big festival, and for the people of Da Nang, this is a festival imbued with the traditional culture of the nation. The Muc Dong procession festival takes place for two days at the end of the third lunar month, mainly to pray for a good harvest and a prosperous life.

The Muc Dong procession festival is associated with a long-standing legend. Legend has it that long ago in the village of Phong Le there was a grass dune. One day, a farmer drove a flock of ducks onto the dune when suddenly the ducks' feet were stuck to the ground, as if someone was holding them tightly.

So, from then on, people in the area named it Con Than. Not long after that, a herd of buffaloes in the village ran astray onto the dune. A group of buffalo herding children came to look for them but did not encounter anything.

Since then, villagers have rumored that Than Islet only allows children herding buffaloes to come near it. Xom Con is also called Xom Con, a gathering place for shepherds in the village. From then on, generations in the village gradually formed a festival for buffalo herding children, loosely called the Muc Dong Procession Festival.

From the last week of the third lunar month, when the farm work has ended, it is also the time when the festival is about to begin, and families compete to prepare arrangements. The landowners from middle farmers and above (meaning their assets include a few acres of fields and a few buffaloes) directly take charge of everything.

Villages up and down below, everyone is busy organizing the Festival to welcome the Shepherds. In addition to the small flags of the shepherds, large flags of the 13 clans in the village are also prepared on the day of the Shepherd's Procession Festival. A large bamboo flag with a length of up to 5m hangs the animals. From the four sacred animals (unicorn, dragon, tortoise, phoenix) to the four arts (scholar, farmer, worker, merchant).

However, the type of flag that is hung the most is still the image of agricultural tools in agricultural production such as plows, harrows, hoes, shovels, shovels, etc. How to receive prizes at the festival is also important. The topic is quite of interest. Clans that have the means compete to hire Kim Bong carpenters to carve extremely sophisticated wooden animals. Carrying so many things on your body looks very heavy, so the athletes must be in very good health to be able to carry the flag during the festival.

On the afternoon of the 19th day of the third lunar month, the Dong Dong ceremony begins. This is the time when descendants living in distant provinces and cities flock to the village in large numbers. Shepherds carry flags around the fields with the hope that this year's harvest will be bountiful.

On the morning of the 30th day of the lunar calendar, the procession is officially held. It was not yet dawn, dawn was beginning to rise, and the sound of village drums echoed everywhere, like a sound urging the villagers to return to attend the ceremony.

Everyone gathered in the court of the god's communal house, which is also known as the Muc Dong communal house. The person in charge of the shepherds dressed in formal clothes, solemnly entered the back of the temple, prayed to Than Nong's tablet and placed it in the palanquin.

The palanquin is decorated like a palanquin carrying Gods. The roof of the palanquin has 4 roofs decorated with 4 leaves, and the curtain of the palanquin is hung with flowers and garlands, looking extremely brilliant. The people carrying this palanquin are four shepherds of about the same height.

Leading the procession of the Shepherd's Procession Festival is the shepherd flag group, followed by the flags of the 13 clans. Ancient music, gongs and drums resound in the village communal house. Each house has many buffaloes or few buffaloes and prepares offerings. The offerings are usually a tray of raspberries and fruits.

Sometimes it is a chicken or a pig's head for the person to wear on their head to follow the procession. The villagers followed each other last. The most prominent highlight is the palanquin procession. In the bustling stream of people like dragons and snakes crawling on the ground, the colorful palanquin procession looks majestic and luxurious heading towards Con Than.

The bustling sounds of ancient music, drums and gongs, under the flickering light of torches, the procession creates an extremely peaceful scene on the village streets still dim in the morning mist. It is truly a peaceful picture of a very Vietnamese village.

When the sun rises from the bamboo top, the ceremony has just finished and everyone returns to their daily routine. But, after the Shepherd's Procession Festival, everyone always has a belief in their hearts that this year will have a good harvest.

The Muc Dong procession festival is simple, sincere but also colorful with simple people, attractive folk games and unique performances by buffalo herding children, creating an unforgettable impression on guests. travel when coming to the tourist city of Da Nang, the most vibrant city in Vietnam.