VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam’s first-ever festival featuring Mau Thuong Ngan (Mother Goddess of Forest) worship will bring folk artists from across the nation to Yen Bai Province on May 20 and 21. 

A performance of hau dong, one of the main rituals of mother goddesses worshipping practice. The first festival featuring Mau Thuong Ngan (Mother Goddess of forest) worshipping practice will be held in the northern province of Yen Bai in May 20 and 21 with the participation of folk artists nationwide.

In Viet Nam’s Mother Goddess worshipping practice, Mau Thuong Ngan (Mother Goddess of Forest) rules Nhac Phu (Forest), one of the Four Palaces besides Thien Phu (Heaven), Thuy Phu (Water) and Dia Phu (Earth). 

The Four Palaces are where deities of indigenous Vietnamese religion reside.

The festival will be held in Dong Cuong Temple in Ben Den Village, an important historical and cultural relic of Yen Bai. 

The temple is believed to be the founding site of Mother Goddess worshipping practice, according to Deputy Chairman of Viet Nam Folk Arts Tran Huu Son.

The festival will feature a carnival, an opening ceremony, a trance performance, exhibitions as well as rituals of different ethnic minorities in the region. 

Festival goers also have chance to learn about Four Palaces, costumes of Mother Goddesses in Four Palaces.

According to Nguyen Anh Tien, head of Van Yen District’s Culture and Information Office, this is the first time a festival featuring Forest Mother Goddess Worshipping Practice has been held in Yen Bai and also in Viet Nam.

“Preparation work of Van Yen District has finished and we are ready for the festival, ensuring the respect to cultural values that have been continued for generations and recognised by the world,” said Tien.

The event is co-organised by Yen Bai Province’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the provincial Arts and Literature Association, the provincial Department of Industry and Trade, and the Viet Nam Religion Preservation and Research Centre. 

With the participation of artist troupes, the event is expected to help promote unique indigenous culture and practice.

The Vietnamese beliefs in the Mother Goddesses has four central tenets, all of which are associated with the community, according to director of Viet Nam Belief Culture Research and Preservation Centre in Ha Noi, vice chairman of the Asian Folklore Council, Ngo Duc Thinh.

First, it considers nature as the mother and worships her. Second, it brings to people living in this world three things: happiness, prosperity and longevity. These are the eternal wishes of humans.

Third, it clearly reflects patriotism, which has become the people’s spirit and belief. 

This is shown by the fact that almost 50 genies worshipped by the Mother Goddesses beliefs are historical celebrities who have rendered great services to the nation, such as Tran Hung Dao worshipped as Saint Tran.

Of these 50 genies, over ten are from ethnic minorities, showing that from the early time the Vietnamese people were aware of cultural integration, according to Thinh.

Viet Nam’s tradition of worshipping Mother Goddesses was recognised as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the UN cultural agency UNESCO in December last year. 

VNS