Hanoi (VNA) – A festival honouring the worshipof Tan Vien (the God of the Mountain), one of the Four Immortals in the Vietnameselegend, has been officially listed as one of Vietnam’s national intangiblecultural heritage.

Ba Vi district on the outskirts of Hanoi, received acertificate for the local Tan Vien festival’s new status from the Ministry ofCulture, Sports and Tourism at a ceremony on February 25 or the 10th day of thelunar year’s first month, which is part of the festival.

The festival was organised at a complex of Ha (Low), Trung(Middle) and Thuong (Upper) temples in Ba Vi from February 23-25.

The annual event featured traditional rituals, an incenseoffering ceremony, folk games, sports and musical performances, attractingthousands of visitors. It also kicked off the year for Ba Vi Tourism under thetheme of "Cultural Rendezvous".

According to the legend in the northern delta, Tan Vien,also called Son Tinh, was the God of the Mountain and governed all creatures onland. He taught people to grow crops, hunt animals, catch fish, practisemartial arts and hold festivals. Opposite Son Tinh was Thuy Tinh, the God ofthe Sea, responsible for the rising water levels that damaged crops, destroyedanimals and drowned people. Son Tinh beat Thuy Tinh in a competition to win theheart of Princess My Nuong who was the daughter of the King Hung XVIII.

Nguyen Duc Nghia, head of the Culture and Information Bureau(under the Ba Vi District People’s Committee) said Tan Vien is the god of theVietnamese people that embodies the aspiration to triumph over naturaldisasters, especially floods.

“The God of the Mountain is worshipped in many localities inthe northern region in general and in Ba Vi district in particular,” he said.

In Vietnamese folklore, Tan Vien is one of the fourimmortals, along with Chu Dong Tu, who taught the people to catch fish and growcrops; Saint Gion, who beat foreign invaders to protect his homeland; and GoddessLieu Hanh, the deity of the Mother Goddess worship.

The same day, a similar national culture intangible heritagecertificate was bestowed upon the Tro Chieng festival in the central provinceof Thanh Hoa.

The event is considered the most anticipated festival inThanh Hoa, which is being held since the rule of the Ly Dynasty. The founder ofthe festival is General Trinh Quoc Bao, who served during the reign of King LyThanh Tong (1054-1072) and defeated the Chiem Thanh (Champa) invaders.

To prepare for the fight against the invaders, who usedelephant troops, the general ordered his soldiers to build bamboo elephants topractice with. During the battle, bamboo elephants which were glued withfireworks attached to them were burned, helping to defeat the invaders’ troops.

A martial arts game with bamboo elephants was reproduced atthe festival to welcome the coming of spring in 1068 and was held by villagersof Trinh Xa village, Yen Dinh district.

Currently, the villagers hold the festival on the 10th-12thof the Lunar New Year. The festival is organised on a large scale with folkgames and cultural activities, including a paper elephant fighting competition,in which groups of men hoisting paper elephants attempt to topple each other. -VNA