Dóng Village Festival
VGP - Dóng Village, alias Phù Đổng Village, is now part of Gia Lâm, a suburban district of Hà Nội. In order to reach the village, one should, starting from the downtown of Hà Nội, follow Highway No. 1, cross Chương Dương and Cầu Đuống Bridges, then turn right to the bank of the Đuống River and then go four kilometers further downstream.
The village
is the native place of Dóng Genie, a mythological figure in the treasure of
folkloric tales of Việt
A
folk painting displays Dóng Genie driving the foreign invaders away
Then lived
in
Water pavilion in front of the Dóng Temple |
Organizing and Background
Previously
Phù Đổng
But the
real organizers of the festival were not the entire villages but smaller
population units in each village, were called “Giáp”. Thus, Phù Đổng
Thus, the
10 “giáp” of Phù Đổng and Phù Dực Villages were the “leading Giáp” of the
festival, that is they assumed the main responsibility in organizing it. Among
other things, they appointed:
-
a
flag commander,
-
a
drum commander
-
a
gong commander
-
a
commander of the army headquarters,
As officers
of Dóng Genie, these commanders were covered by two parasols while the flag
commander was provided with 4 parasols as the flag symbolized the power chosen
from unmarried young men, some of the married young men could be appointed to
such posts provided they were no more than 26 years in age. They were indeed
the commanding staff of the battle.
Dóng’s
troops comprise two kinds: 120 regular troops, and 121 members of his
bodyguard. The regular troops were made up of young men from 18 to 36 years
coming from all the 4 villages, and were divided into 8 groups, each having 15
troopers headed by a low-level commander. The members of the bodyguard were
chosen from young men of
Soldiers
were bare-bodied except for a black loin cloth and a scarf hanging from the
left shoulder to the right ribs across the chest. Each soldier wore on his left
rib a black and embroidered bag having the form of the blade of a scythe, with
a string of violet color hanging from the right shoulder. Each wore a hat made
of print cloth, decorated with gold thread and a small round mirror, and having
on its back side a hanging piece of cloth which covered the neck. Each soldier
also carried a paper fan, not for cooling their bodies but for performing at
military movement the order of the commanders.
Dóng Festival |
Preparations
Preparations
were usually undertaken one month in advance as the Festival’s agenda was quite
heavy and required good quality performances.
On March 1
(lunar year), the Council of the “Giáp” met to prepare for the “betel
presenting” ceremony to Genius Dóng to be officiated by the head of a leading “Giáp”
to whom the Festival book (containing instructions on the holding of the
Festival) was handed over.
On March 2,
the Council of the “Giáp” met to discuss the program and the division of work.
From March
6, all the “commanders” must lead a pure life. In particular, the flag
commander must live alone in a separate room at the
On March
15, the head of the leading “Giáp” and his men escort the incense burner to the
On March 25, on orders from the head of the leading “Giáp”, a number of villagers cleaned the two temples and all the cult implements and furniture therein, and repaired the roads and places where the festival will be held.
On April 2,
the Council checked on the enrollment of young men into the regular troops and
the bodyguard.
Dóng Festival |
Main festival days
The
festival starts on April 6 and lasts for several days, with ceremonies
succeeding one another until and main event which takes place on April 9.
At 3 PM of
April 6, the Water procession begins in which take part all the commanders, the
troops, the group of singers and dancers from Hội Xá Village, as well as a
large group of villagers. The procession carries two big ornamental jars from
the
At 11 am of
April 7, a procession carries vegetarian food (cooked rice and eggplants) from
the
On April 8,
the heads of the “Giáp” and the notables from the 4 villages held a review of
the female fighters who will act as the “An” invaders.
The main
festival day, April 9, is marked in the morning by a procession carrying the
flag from the
Then comes,
at 10 am the “Catching the Tiger” game played by the group of dancers and
musicians from Hội Xá. Before starting the game, the whole group including the
tiger perform a series of lively dancers while singing to the accompaniment of
drums and gongs.
In the mean
time, at the “enemy camp” near a lotus pond in Đông Viên Village, 28 female
fighters of the “Ân” invading army, surrounded by their relatives, sat on their
palanquins, ready for the battle.
At 1 PM,
reconnaissance groups report that the enemy troops have occupied an area of Đông
The troops
are proceeded by 24 adolescents clad in black and red clothes and armed with
red rattan rods who clear the way for the soldiers by shouting while marching:
“Way, please!” Then come the two advance guard detachments wearing yellow
pants, red dresses, hats with embroideries figuring dragons, holding small
drums and marching under red parasols with golden fringes. Then comes the tiger
and the group of musicians and dancers with their reed flags, marching to the
sounds of drum beats.
They are
followed by the drum commander, the gong commander, the commander of the army
headquarters and the flag commander. Just behind the latter is the cult horse
(made from wood and painted white, having a saddle pretended to be made of
brocade with embroideries figuring a dragon, and with small bronze bells on the
neck) which is put on a 4-wheel cart drawn by soldiers by means of big ropes.
While marching and pulling vigorously, the soldiers shout in unison at the command
of an officer standing behind the horse. Last in the column is a group of
soldiers carrying cult weapons such as scimitars, spears, clubs who march
solemnly to the accompaniment of the band.
Indeed, it
is a long column stretching over several kilometers, moving in a chorus of drum
and gong beats, shouts and hurrahs.
It makes a
stop at the
It is
supposed that the enemy troops are in full occupation of the Lotus pond area,
including Đồng Đầm, a small patch of land lying in between two dykes. Đồng Đầm has
been duly cleaned and smoothed out in advance, and three mats are put there. In
the middle of each mat is a sheet of paper covered by a bowl: the mat
symbolizes the plains, the bowl symbolizes mountains and the sheet of paper the
clouds.
As the
column arrives at Đồng Đầm, the white wooden horse stays on the dyke, while the
commanders come and stand at assigned places around the three mats (which were
supposed to be the battlefield). Near to the mats was the altar of Genius Dóng.
At about 2 PM,
after the troops have been arranged in order, (in religious parlance, it means
that they have been arrayed in battle positions), three rounds of drum beats
resound, followed by deep silence. Then, the commander of the army headquarters
burn a string of firecrackers in front of the “order” flag. That is the attack
signal. The advance guard also beats their small drums, signaling that they are
ready for battle.
Then the
flag commander steps forward and stands in the middle of a mat near the altar.
An attendant opens the flag bag, while the flag commander takes out the flags
and brandishes it thus releasing paper butterflies and small bits of flagrant
sandalwood which fly in the wind. His gesture is greeted with drum and gong
beats and firecrackers. The enemy also explodes its firecrackers, signaling
that the battle has begun.
A bronze carving depicting Dóng the Fighter |
The process
of the battle and its unfolding was symbolized by a number of rituals performed
by the flag commander. At first, his left arm stretches forward and brandishing
the “order” flag, his eyes focus on the top of the flag while his left swings
to the left. Then, he brandishes the flag again, but with his right arm, while
his right leg swings to the right. With his right leg, he removes the bowl
lying in the middle of the mat, thus releasing the sheet of paper which flies
away with the wind (this means that Genius Dóng is so powerful that he can
remove mountains and move the clouds). Thereafter, the flag commander stands
erect and makes two quick jumps, shouting “Hay…Hay”, then kneels down and
vigorously waves the flag from right to left and around for three times and
finally hits the man with the flag pole. As the crowds watch him in an emotion
charged atmosphere, the flag commander performs the same rituals on the
remaining two mats (this means that the battle is most violent and fierce). The
end of the third round of rituals (on the third mat) means that the battle has
been won, as by then the female military commanders turn their heads toward the
Thượng Temple with deference. The victory is greeted with drum and gong beats
and firecrackers.
Then three
rounds of drum and gong beats are sounded as the signal for troop withdrawal.
The column, in full order, returns to the
When it stops
for a few minutes at the
Hardly has
the feast begun than bad tiding come in: the enemy has counter-attacked and is
now approaching
In term of
arrangements, the battlefield in Sới Bia was similar to the one in Đồng Đầm.
Again, after three rounds of “order” drum beating, the flag commander performs
the three traditional rituals, with a slight difference: this time, he waves
the flag from left to right. The end of the third ritual is greeted by three
resounding rounds of drum and gong beats which signal complete victory over the
aggressors. Enemy commanders are taken to the
Thereafter,
the feast continues with added zest till the evening and is followed by
fireworks, theatrical plays and other games until past midnight.
Subsequent
days
April 10: a
ceremony is held to review the troops, to check up the weapons, and to offer
thanks to Genius Dóng.
April 11:
Water is carried, in a procession to the
April 12: a
flag planting procession in which our “troops” search Đồng Đầm and Sới Bia to
find whether there are any remnant “enemy” troops. After due checking, flags
are planted to show that enemy troops have been driven out and peace has been
restored.
In the
evening, a victory ceremony is held in which the news of victory is reported to
the heavens. The ceremony also marks the end of the festival.