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Belief in worshiping the Thanh Hoang of the San Diu people

In addition to worshiping Buddha, ancestors, and Nong gods, the San Diu people also worship Thanh Hoang. This is a custom with high community character and strong identity in the religious life of the people.

The San Diu people in Bac Giang live in many districts: Luc Ngan, Luc Nam, Son Dong, Yen The and Lang Giang. The San Diu people often set up a communal house to worship Thanh Hoang to pray for favorable weather and good harvest. The tutelary god who is worshiped by the villages is usually the god of the earth. Depending on the place, this god is called by different names such as the god of the mountain of the god associated with the title of Great King. 

According to the concept of the people, Tho Dia is the god who protects people and livestock, manages wild animals not to let them destroy crops, always protects people’s lives. Each village in the ethnic minority set aside a large and open area to build a communal house to worship Tho Dia. This work often has simple architecture and worshiping objects, leaving the front door open. 

Belief in worshiping the Thanh Hoang of the San Diu people
Dinh Cay, Huong Son commune (Lang Giang).

Every year, on the first day of the Lunar New Year, families send a representative to ask for luck and peace at the place of worshiping Tho God. Offerings are chicken, wine, sticky rice… When the whole village is present, the elderly in the village read the offerings, praying that the villagers will be healthy, the crops will be good, and the livestock and poultry will not be harmed. disease, people are full…

After worshiping, each person in turn went up to the altar to ask for the yin and yang radio to choose the gatekeeper of the communal house. When someone asks for yin and yang, the people consider this person to be the Earth god who has chosen this person to keep the communal house door and is responsible for the village’s ceremony on the 1st and the full moon day and other important holidays. 

In Chinh village, Hong Giang commune (Luc Ngan), there is a communal house of the San Diu people, which was built a long time ago but has been ruined and is now restored. Every year, on the 4th day of Tet, the villagers hold a festival to go to the fields. On August 15, the festival is held in the field, in addition to the ceremony of Thanh Hoang, the people also organize folk games such as “left khau” – hitting the bridge. In particular, during the festival, there is a custom of singing opposites between men and women in many regions about the festival.

In Chay village, Huong Son commune (Lang Giang), there is a communal house to worship the Citadel. According to the traditional custom of the San Diu people and some other ethnic groups in the region, on the 5th day of the Lunar New Year, people worship at Chay communal house, then worship the forest god. In the worshiping ceremony, there is a symbolic act of clearing the forest to signal the opening ceremony of the New Year’s forest. 

The communal house of Muoi village, Giap Son commune (Luc Ngan) restored by the San Diu people has 3 compartments, simple architecture. The communal house worships the Chongqing Emperor Dac Thang Dai Vuong. The annual festival is held on January 5th – also known as the field festival, in addition to the customary rituals, the people organize entertainments imbued with national cultural identity, folk games, etc. time, tug-of-war, blindfolded, beat the pot….

Bac Mot village, Quy Son commune (Luc Ngan) has a three-room communal house with simple architecture built next to an old banyan tree. Every year on January 6, people hold a festival to start a new year in the fields to pray for good luck. The communal house of Chao village, Giap Son commune (Luc Ngan) of the people worships 4 Gods, namely: Giap Thanh Vuong, Le Thanh Vuong, Le Vuong Trinh General, and Giap Thi Tien Nhan Nai Nuong. 

Mr. Hoang Thach – a resident of the commune said that the communal house of Chao village has been restored for a long time, and every year on January 6, the villagers hold a ceremony to open the communal house to worship the Emperor to pray for a bountiful harvest in the new year. Autumn, healthy people.

The custom of worshiping the Emperor of the San Diu people has existed since ancient times and is still maintained to this day. It is a beautiful culture in the religious life of the people. This custom always directs people to the values ​​of truth, goodness, beauty, and good traditional education in the community.

Bac Giang Newspaper

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