Proud of the origin

The Hung Kings worshiping belief is a type of heritage of social practices, beliefs and festivals registered by UNESCO as a representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity. Having an important position in the spiritual life of Vietnamese people, the belief of worshiping Hung Kings has deposited in the minds of every person the pride of the origin of dragons and fairies, throughout thousands of years of history, spreading strongly to all regions of the country, becoming the unique cultural identity of the Vietnamese people.

In the historical process of building and defending the country, Vietnamese people have formed in their minds the Hung King as the Founding Father of the country, the ancestor of the Vietnamese people.

Hung Kings worshiping is also an ancestor worshiping belief but raised to the ancestral level of the Vietnamese people. The belief of worshiping the Hung Kings of Vietnamese people in Phu Tho has been around for thousands of years and has become a cultural identity in the spiritual life of the local community with the philosophy “People have ancestors and origins”, which is the sustainable spiritual fulcrum based on the spirit of sustainability and national community cohesion. This is a rare phenomenon, if not the only one in the world, when the entire Vietnamese people have become aware of themselves as having a common origin (compatriots), the same ancestors, and the anniversary of the ancestors' death has become a national ceremony to practice rituals of worship and commemoration of Hung Kings - the common Father of the entire nation and people.

Deep in the minds of every Vietnamese person, the Hung Kings are holy men, who built the country, and gods who protected the entire community. Every time the Ancestor’s Death Anniversary comes on March 10, Vietnamese people around the world look forward to the national holiday - Hung Kings’ Death Anniversary. Over time, pride and respect for the ancestors' merits spread more and more strongly. More and more people make pilgrimages to Nghia Linh sacred mountain, especially during the annual Ancestor’s Death Anniversary. It has become a beautiful custom, for many years now, that on the day of the Ancestor’s Death Anniversary, many families in Phu Tho offer a tray of offerings to the Patriarch to show the respect of the people and descendants.

From the top of Hung Mountain - the largest practice center of Hung Kings worship in the country, with the flow of time, Hung Kings worship gradually spread to other localities. First, the lands around the foot of Nghia Linh mountain such as Co Tich village communal house (Hy Cuong commune), Tre village communal house (Hung Son town), Ca village communal house (Tien Kien)..., then spread throughout all localities in Phu Tho, Vinh Phuc, almost every district, city, and town have temples worshiping Hung Kings, his wives, children, and generals of the Hung Kings’ era, then spreading to provinces and cities nationwide, concentrated in the provinces in the Northern Delta and the Central region and deep into the South following the footsteps of the Vietnamese people.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, currently in the country there are 1,417 relics worshiping Hung Kings, his wives, children, and generals of the Hung Kings’ era. In Phu Tho province alone, there are 345 relics associated with the Hung Kings Worship, of which 249 relics are now still worshiping.

The Ancestor’s Death Anniversary is on the 10th day of the 3rd lunar month every year. Along with Phu Tho, localities that have places to worship Hung Kings such as Hanoi, Vinh Phuc, Hai Phong, Bac Ninh, Thai Nguyen, Lang Son, Nghe An, Thua Thien Hue, Lam Dong, Binh Phuoc, Khanh Hoa, Dong Nai, Ho Chi Minh City, Ben Tre, Kien Giang... all held incense offering ceremonies to commemorate the Hung Kings in a solemn, respectful manner, showing their respect and gratitude to the merits of the ancestors and to the contributions of the Hung Kings in building the country.

Hung Kings’ death anniversary has truly become a festival for people across the country with many traditional cultural programs, activities, arts, and folk cultural activities of different ethnic groups. Not only in the home country but in some countries around the world, overseas Vietnamese communities also set up temples to worship Hung Kings such as in California (USA), Canada, Australia... or worship places to place altars, tablets and statues of Hung Kings so that overseas Vietnamese can organize incense offering ceremonies to remember their ancestors on national holidays such as in Russia, Czechia, Laos, etc. “Vietnam Ancestral Global Day” is being strongly recognized by the Vietnamese community abroad, becoming a spiritual cultural fulcrum so that every Vietnamese person has the opportunity to remember and be proud of their national origin.

Nguyen Dac Thuy