VOV.VN - La Phu Village in Hoai Duc District, Hanoi, held a pig procession festival on February 10, the 13th day of the first lunar month, to honor its tutelary deity Tam Lang, attracting great interest from locals and visitors alike.
The annual festival takes place on the 13th day of the first lunar month.
The festival is held to commemorate General Tam Lang who lived during the eighth Hung Due Vuong, or the 18th Hung King, period. He struggled to bring peace to the Vietnamese nation and local people worship him as a deity of the village.
Whenever an enemy threatened the area, the villagers prepared a feast of steamed sticky rice and pork as offerings to the general and his troops before their battles.
The festival normally begins at 6 p.m.
Offerings include a pig, steamed sticky rice, and flowers and fruits displayed on separate palanquins. Most notably, the pig is raised throughout the year and normally weighs between 200kg and 300kg.
The pig procession takes a total of two hours.
The palanquin of the pig is carried by selected young men from the village.
At midnight, the village elders begin a ritual that lasts until 2 a.m. the next day. After the ceremony, the pork is then divided among the families of the village for good luck.
Diverse activities also get underway during the occasion, including a lion dance.
A drum beating performance attracts both locals and visitors.