Viet Reader.

VR.

Premier Newspaper for Vietnamese Worldwide

The death anniversary of King Mai Hac De

HA TINH – The 1,298 anniversary of Mai Hac De’s death anniversary was held on the evening of February 23, at King Mai Temple in Mai Lam village, Mai Phu commune, Loc Ha district.

Mai Hac De Temple was built in 2010 on an area of ​​5,000 m2 in Mai Lam village, Mai Phu commune, Loc Ha district. The work is ranked Provincial Historical – Cultural Relic in 2011.

On the occasion of Mai Hac De’s death anniversary or public holidays, Tet, people and tourists from all over the world often come here to attend the ceremony, offering incense to commemorate him.

Mai Hac De, whose real name is Mai Thuc Loan, was originally from Mai Phu commune, Loc Ha district (Ha Tinh). Orphaned from a young age, Mai Thuc Loan grew more intelligent, healthy, and is a famous wrestler in Sa Nam (Nam Dan district, Nghe An) today.

Seeing the miserable people under the yoke of the Tang Dynasty, he rekindled the idea of ​​chasing away foreign invaders. The Hoan Chau uprising led by Mai Thuc Loan took place in 713, liberating a vast land in Nghe An. After this event, he was enthroned as emperor. In 722, the Tang army returned to suppress the uprising, was besieged, Mai Hac De escaped into the forest and died there in 723.

On the photo is the Mai Hac De statue cast in monolithic bronze 10.8 m high, reinforced concrete base covered with green stone, decorated with natural stone incense burner in front. The statue is located at Mai Hac De Square, bordering Thinh Loc commune and Loc Ha town (Loc Ha district), built in 2016.

From February 22 (January 11), people in Mai Phu commune pack cooked rice cakes to Mai Hac De.

In previous years, all villages in Mai Phu commune organized a concentrated banh chung package with the number of nearly 2,000 pieces. This year, due to the influence of Covid-19, the government restricted crowds, only sent Mai Lam village to pack 120 cakes to worship.

The banh chung was cooked at the reception house of Le Khoi Temple on the evening of April 22, one kilometer from Mai Hac De Temple.

“Banh Chung cooked for 5 hours is ripe. The funding for wrapping the cake is supported by the people”, said Le Van Quang, 52 years old, living in Mai Lam village, Mai Phu commune.

Finished cooked banh chung is labeled by Mai Phu commune on the main side, inscribed with the year of the anniversary of the death anniversary to provide progress.

The death anniversary ceremony was jointly organized by the People’s Committee of Mai Phu Commune and the Ceremony of King Mai Temple. An offering tray including banh chung, pork, rice, boiled chicken … was brought to the main shrine from the early afternoon of February 23.

Early in the evening, the elderly in Mai Phu commune help each other to dress. The number of members of the ritual committee participating in the ceremony is about 20 people.

The person in the Sacrifice must wash their hands in the water basin located in front of the shrine before entering. This is called the “disinfecting” ceremony, the purpose is that when entering the king’s worship, all must be clean.

The death anniversary has many rituals such as offering incense, advancing, reading the text of the letter, burning the lamp, giving the text. Those who perform are called the Priest, the Priest, the Sacrifice …

This year, the priest is Mr. Nguyen Xuan Bac (who is kneeling). Mr. Bac is the Chairman of the People’s Committee of Mai Phu commune.

The ceremony has one offering of incense and three weeks of wine. The organizing committee of the ceremony does a progressive death ceremony. A wooden tray containing betel and betel palm and a cup of wine was given to the Priest. This man took a cup of wine prostrated and then drank. Drinking this wine is called “moist blessing”, which means that this is to enjoy the king’s fortune. The celebrant is the host and should be given first drink.

After finishing the rituals, the Sacrifice, the Sacrifice bring a wooden table containing the will, votive … go to the right of the temple. According to folklore, the ritual of burning the will is a memorial service to commemorate the deceased.

At the end of the death anniversary, local people and delegates are allowed to enter the shrine to offer incense.

Activities this year take place from February 22 to 24. This morning, the Organizing Committee continued to worship for more than an hour, with the same rituals as the night before. The gifts will then be distributed to the people to enjoy the fortune.

Follow vnexpress

About author
You should write because you love the shape of stories and sentences and the creation of different words on a page.
View all posts
More on this story