Hung Kings’ Death Anniversary: convergence of Vietnamese cultural values

They include the Hung Kings’ worship belief, the national custom of wrapping square sticky rice cake and pounding round sticky rice cake, which serve as the offerings to the ancestors, and Xoan singing.

The Hung Kings’ Death Anniversary which falls on the 10th day of the third lunar month is an opportunity for Vietnamese people to commemorate 18 generations of the Hung Kings, Vietnam’s national founders. Worship of the Hung Kings’ holds special significance in the spiritual realm of the Vietnamese people both at home and abroad and takes place nationwide.

Nguyen Tien Khoi, Chairman of the Phu Tho Historical Science Association, said the belief originated from the gratitude of the Vietnamese people to the Hung Kings. That’s why the Vietnamese have worshiped the Hung Kings for many generations.

“Temples were built on Nghia Linh Mountain in Hy Cuong Commune, Viet Tri City, for descendants to worship. That demonstrates a moral principle “When drinking water – remember the source”. “When eating fruit, think of the person who planted the tree”. UNESCO, after honoring the Hung Kings’ worship belief as an Intangible Heritage of Humanity, recommended other nations to be conscious of worshiping their ancestors,” said Khoi.

Worshiping the Hung Kings is widely practiced in Vietnam and among Vietnamese communities abroad as a way to maintain, inherit, and promote their traditional cultural identity.

Associate Professor, Dr. Bui Hoai Son, a member of the National Assembly Committee for Culture and Education, said, “One thing never changes is that the belief to worship the Hung Kings is always in the hearts of every Vietnamese. It has created the strength of solidarity and patriotism at home and abroad.”

Son took the global Hung Kings Commemoration Day as an example. “The day celebrated in different places around the world is to direct the faith and spirituality of Vietnamese people worldwide to their ancestral land,” Son noted.

During the Hung Kings’ Temple Festival, a tradition of wrapping and cooking Chung Cake and pounding powder to make Giay Cake is held.

Chung and Giay Cakes, two types of cakes made mainly from rice and beans, symbolize Heaven and Earth. The square Chung Cake is considered a symbol of the Earth. The round Giay Cake symbolizes the sky.

The Vietnamese people have adopted the custom of wrapping and cooking Chung Cake and pounding Giay Cake to offer to their ancestors.

Pham Thi Hoang Oanh, Deputy Director of the Hung Kings’ Temple Historical Relic Site in Phu Tho Province, said the annual tradition of cooking and wrapping Chung Cake and pounding Giay Cake on the Hung Kings Commemoration Day demonstrates the Vietnamese tradition of ‘Drink water – remember the source”.

“The ceremony recreates a cultural activity dating back to the time when the Hung Kings founded the nation. Square Chung Cake and round Giay Cake represent all Vietnamese people’s desire for integrity and national development,” according to Oanh.

Performances of Xoan singing, a 2,000-year-old art form, by artisans of ancient Xoan guilds are organized at cultural spaces across Phu Tho Province – places such as Lai Len Temple, Thét communal house, and Hung Lo ancient communal house in Hung Lo Commune, and An Thai Communal house in Phuong Lau Commune, Viet Tri City.

Recognized as a unique cultural heritage of the Phu Tho people, Xoan singing takes place at the communal house. Legend has it that Xoan singing has been a spiritual worship ritual since the time of Hung Kings.

Many special programs will be held including an exhibit of documents and artifacts on the intangible culture of Xoan singing and Hung Kings worship belief as well as the Xoan singing performances heard in ancient villages associated with cultural heritage destinations.

The cultural values demonstrated on the Hung King’s death anniversary are an identity of the Vietnamese nation and help position Vietnam’s cultural values around the world.