Tien Cong Festival – Quang Ninh’s Unique Procession of the Elderly

1An overview of the Tien Cong Festival

1.1 When is the Tien Cong Festival held?

The Tien Cong Festival, also known as the “Procession of the Elderly,” is a unique festival that local residents have maintained and organized on a fairly large scale in Quang Yen Ward. The festival takes place from the 5th to the 7th day of the first lunar month to commemorate the Tien Cong figures who explored, reclaimed, and established the prosperous Ha Nam island, formerly part of Quang Yen Town.

1.2 The legend of the Tien Cong Festival

According to a legend passed down orally by local residents, the Ha Nam island area was reclaimed by several groups of Tien Cong figures and residents who came down from the imperial capital of Thang Long. Together, they built dikes and reclaimed land from the sea to create the island. Then, whenever spring arrived, the Tien Cong elders—the first people to explore and create the Ha Nam island area—would recall the lively and grand festival atmosphere of the imperial capital. Therefore, they invited the oldest and most respected elders in the villages and communes to secretly dress in clothing resembling that of the king, then sit in red hammocks and dragon palanquins to carry out the ritual procession to the communal temple. They also prepared offerings exactly like those used at festivals in the imperial capital. These activities were modeled after the royal court, complete with parasols, bát âm orchestras, singing, and performances, forming the unique “Procession of the Elderly” festival of the island region.

Another source of information, based on historical records, states that during the Ly and Tran dynasties, some fishermen came to live in what is now Quang Yen. They chose to settle near high mounds exposed at low tide, where they could dry their fishing nets. Around the early 15th century, between 1434 and 1500, six groups of Tien Cong figures and local residents built dikes and reclaimed land from the sea, beginning the process of cultivating wasteland to grow rice and establish villages, gradually forming the Ha Nam island area. Among them were 17 Tien Cong figures from Kim Hoa Ward (now Kim Lien Ward), in Tho Xuong District, Hoai Duc Prefecture, south of Thang Long Citadel. Later generations, in remembrance of the contributions of these Tien Cong figures, built the Thap That shrine in Cam La Village to worship those who had created this land.

1.3 Where is the Tien Cong Festival held?

Today, the Tien Cong Festival is held at the Thap Cuu Tien Cong Temple in Cam La Commune. Local residents also know it by several other names, such as the Tien Cong Shrine Festival, La Shrine Festival, or Thap Cuu Tien Cong Festival. Nowadays, people in Quang Yen commonly call it the Tien Cong Festival, which has also become its official name. At present, the festival is jointly organized by four communes: Cam La, Trung Ban, Phong Coc, and Yen Dong. Therefore, if you hear the name Tien Cong Festival of the Four Communes, it also refers to the Tien Cong Festival. The festival continues to be held annually to preserve the traditions of their ancestors while creating an appealing highlight for spiritual tourism in Quang Ninh.

2Interesting rituals held as part of the Tien Cong Festival

2.1 Preparatory steps

The festival is held on the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th days of the first lunar month, but preparations begin in the twelfth month of the previous lunar year. Men and women approaching the ages of 80 or 90 inform their relatives and invite them to attend the longevity celebration held during the festival. On the evening of the 3rd day of the first lunar month, the heads of the family clans gather to offer a ceremonial announcement to their ancestors, presenting the list of men and women who are approaching an advanced longevity milestone.

2.2 The rituals held during the festival

The Tien Cong Festival begins with the “Clan Feast Departure” ceremony, also known as the “Ancestor Worship Ceremony,” held by the descendants of the Tien Cong family clans on the 4th day. This is the largest ritual and takes place at the ancestral shrine. On this day, families with elderly men and women reaching an advanced longevity milestone prepare offerings to respectfully report to the Tien Cong figures and their ancestors, who have blessed the elders to reach this age. At the same time, the ceremony informs the clan council which elders have reached advanced longevity that year and invites relatives to attend the longevity celebration. 

On the 5th day of the first lunar month, the descendants of families with relatives reaching advanced longevity decorate their homes according to traditional longevity-celebration customs. Most importantly, they prepare outfits for the elderly men and women, including brocade robes, scarves embroidered with the character for longevity, and walking sticks for their parents. They also prepare tables, chairs, and food to welcome guests, creating the atmosphere of a family reunion.

On the 6th day of the first lunar month, households that do not organize a procession to carry their elderly relatives to the Tien Cong Temple for the ancestral ceremony will instead form a ceremonial group to escort them there. Better-off families will join their entire clan and neighbors in holding a grand procession, carrying the elderly in red hammocks to the Tien Cong Temple for the ancestral ceremony. This is known as the “Longevity Procession” and the “Procession of the Elderly.”

The Tien Cong Festival is liveliest and most crowded on the main festival day, the 7th day, with the unique “Procession of the Elderly” ritual found only in Quang Ninh. The ritual expresses respect and honors the Tien Cong figures, reflecting the culture of worshipping elderly people blessed with virtue, whom heaven and earth are believed to protect so that they may live long and healthy lives.

In addition to its unique rituals, the festival also features many cultural and recreational activities, including folk games such as swing riding, cockfighting, human chess, to tom diem, duet singing, wrestling, and dike building. Two of these games are also rituals that open the festival: the elderly dike-building ceremony and wrestling. 

In the past, after the elders completed the Tien Cong ceremony, the entire commune would invite two healthy elders to represent the community in performing the dike-building ritual. Villagers prepared a small symbolic dike and square, neatly molded blocks of earth for the two elders to pile up into a dike. Only after this ritual could the villages dig large irrigation channels and reinforce the dikes in preparation for the plowing and cultivation season. According to the old custom, families that unfortunately had someone die during the Tet holiday also had to wait until the village had completed this groundbreaking ceremony before holding the funeral and digging the grave. If a family deliberately violated the custom and something unfortunate happened in the commune that year, the district authorities would impose a penalty, believing that the family had brought bad luck to the entire village.

After the groundbreaking ceremony, the elderly men continued with the wrestling ritual. Although it is called a wrestling ceremony, the elders actually performed only a few gentle movements and walked around several times. The one who was stronger would lift the other elder off the ground, thereby winning and completing the ritual. Both the dike-building and wrestling ceremonies serve as reminders and lessons for descendants that they must maintain their health and continually build dikes and irrigation systems in order to achieve bountiful harvests, withstand storms, and protect the people, villages, and ancestral shrines. At noon on the 7th day, the main festival day, the ceremonial delegation representing the Four Communes holds the “Farewell Ceremony” and declares the festival closed.

When visiting Quang Ninh, you will have the opportunity to take part in festivals featuring a wide range of rituals rich in national cultural identity. In addition to the Tien Cong Festival, you can also consider festivals such as the Bach Dang Festival, Long Tien Pagoda Festival, and Cua Ong Temple Festival. Wishing you a journey filled with many fascinating experiences.