Bắc Giang preserves and promotes the value of Yên Thế Festival

At the seminar in Bắc Giang Province. — Photo of Bắc Giang Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism

BẮC GIANG — The Bắc Giang Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in collaboration with the People’s Committee of Yên Thế district, recently organised a scientific conference on ‘Preserving, Exploiting, and Promoting the Value of Yên Thế Festival’.

Yên Thế Festival was included in the national intangible cultural heritage list in 2012, classified as a traditional festival.

Initially, Yên Thế Festival was Phồn Xương Festival, a long-standing event originating from the harvest festival of local people, held annually in the autumn at Phồn Xương communal house and temple, Phồn Xương commune (now Phồn Xương town), Yên Thế District.

From 1884, when the Yên Thế peasant uprising broke out, during the period when Hoàng Hoa Thám was the leader, he adjusted the organisation of Phồn Xương Festival to mid-January. The festival was expanded in scale with numerous ceremonies, cultural, artistic and traditional sports activities imbued with spirit and national cultural identity, attracting a large number of people from neighbouring regions.

In addition to the traditional festival activities, Hoàng Hoa Thám also organised ceremonies to pray for the souls of the fallen Yên Thế insurgents and local people, as well as fish and bird release ceremonies, reflecting the patriotic spirit, love for peace, and desire for freedom of the insurgents and the Vietnamese people. During this period, Phồn Xương Festival became a cultural festival with profound spiritual significance, enriching the spiritual life of the insurgents and the Yên Thế community.

After 1913, when the Yên Thế Uprising failed, Phồn Xương Festival was no longer organised on a large scale. Instead, the people of Phồn Xương organised the festival on the fifth day of the first lunar month (the death anniversary of Hoàng Hoa Thám) to commemorate the talented leader of the Yên Thế insurgents.

The conference drew significant interest from scientists, researchers and cultural managers at both central and local levels.

Eighteen presentations and lively discussions explored the history and development of Yên Thế Festival, assessed its current management and promotion and proposed strategies to exploit its cultural heritage.

These efforts aim to preserve the special national historical relic ‘Yên Thế Uprising Sites’ and support socio-economic and tourism development in Yên Thế district and Bắc Giang province.

Nguyễn Sĩ Cầm, Deputy Director of the Bắc Giang Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the presentations would be used to exploit the intangible cultural heritage value of Yên Thế Festival in association with the preservation and promotion of the special national historical relic, serving the socio-economic and tourism development of Yên Thế district and Bắc Giang province.

The department will develop a project to organise Yên Thế Festival from 2025 to 2035, aiming to maximise the historical and cultural values, while meeting increasing demands of the public and the community.

The conference report affirmed that Yên Thế Festival holds profound historical and cultural value, honouring and preserving unique traditional cultural values closely associated with the Yên Thế Uprising led by Hoàng Hoa Thám against French colonial invaders (from the late 19th century to the early 20th century).

The organisation of Yên Thế Festival also aims to reaffirm the patriotic tradition and indomitable spirit of the Vietnamese people in resisting invaders, thereby motivating and encouraging the people to uphold the spirit of unity in the construction and defence of the nation today. — VNS