(AG Provincial E-Portal) - On the afternoon of May 29 (April 22 of the lunar calendar), the National festival of Sam Mountain Goddess took place a solemn ceremony to restore the procession of the Goddess statue from the stone pedestal on top of Sam Mountain to the Goddess’s temple in Sam Mountain ward, Chau Doc city, An Giang province.
Attending the ceremony were Member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee, Vice Chairman of An Giang Provincial People's Committee, Head of the Festival Organizing Committee Le Van Phuoc; Colonel Lam Phuoc Nguyen, Director of An Giang Public Security; Member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee, Secretary of Chau Doc City Party Committee Lam Quang Thi and leaders of Chau Doc city, elders, and thousands of tourists and people.
The ceremony of presenting the procession of the Goddess statue took place solemnly according to traditional rituals, including many unique cultural and spiritual activities. First is the Water Opening Ceremony – Coming-to-Mountain Ceremony - Inviting the Mother Goddess, followed by the incense offering ceremony at the martyrs' memorial. After that, her statue was carried from the Martyrs' Stele House to the top of Sam Mountain to perform the ceremony of presenting her clothes and crown onto the palanquin.
When completing these ceremonies, the procession of her statue from the top of the Sam Mountain Goddess Temple took place extremely solemnly. Next, on the stage set up right in the temple yard, the village elders recreated the legend of the procession of statue and the construction of the temple to worship the Goddess from the first days.
The Sam Mountain Goddess Festival is a unique festival, clearly demonstrating the cultural and religious identity of the people of the Southern river region. For a long time, this event has become a destination attracting a large number of local people, tourists to pilgrimage, worship and attend.
This year, after 10 years of being included in the list of National Intangible Cultural Heritage, the festival becomes more meaningful than ever. This not only promotes pride and raises awareness of community heritage conservation; but also contributes to enhancing the value and appeal of the festival to tourists. From there, many new cultural and tourism products based on heritage will be born and created driving force for economic and social development for Chau Doc city in particular, An Giang province in general./ .
News by Phan Huu
Translation by Thi Huynh
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