The Traditional Elephant Procession Festival at Dao Xa Communal House in 2025

On the morning of February 25 (the 28th day of the first lunar month, Year of the Snake), Dao Xa Commune (Thanh Thuy District) held the Traditional Elephant Procession Festival at Dao Xa Communal House to honor and pay tribute to the revered ancestors who contributed to the nation’s founding and defense. Despite the cold and rainy weather, the festival attracted a large number of locals and visitors from across the country.

This year’s festival featured both the ceremonial and festive segments. The ceremony preserved and upheld traditional rituals such as the elephant procession, incense offering, the palanquin procession, ancestral tablets, and the worshiping of the village deity. Meanwhile, the festival segment included various folk games such as tug-of-war, chicken snatching, water fetching, rice pounding, and fire-making contests for cooking.

Recognized for its historical and cultural significance, Dao Xa Communal House was designated as a National Historical and Cultural Relic by the Ministry of Culture and Sports (now the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism) in 1990. In November 2016, the Traditional Festival of Dao Xa Communal House was officially recognized as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Thuy Trang - Hong Phuong