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This ritual, which had been lost for over a century, was restored for the first time and became a central part of the organization of the Tran Temple Seal Opening Ceremony in the Spring of the Year of the Horse 2014.
A procession carrying offerings travels from Con Son Pagoda to the Nguyen Trai temple. Photo: VNA.
Starting at 7 o'clock, rituals such as reading prayers and offering incense were performed by the elders at Co Trach Temple, followed by a procession carrying the palanquin to the ancient well to perform the water-fetching ceremony.
The procession consisted of 230 people, with flags and banners leading the way, followed by dragon and lion dance troupes; gongs and drums, a traditional music band, a palanquin carrying water, a palanquin carrying fish, a fishing team with complete equipment such as nets, traps, and baskets; a sacred palanquin with canopies on both sides, a male ritual team, and a female ritual team.
After fetching water, the procession organized a fishing trip in the fish pond next to the ancient well. The fish caught included snakehead fish and carp weighing 1.5-2kg each, placed in red lacquered baskets to be transported to the dragon palanquin.
Dragon dance at the main festival day of Tran Temple (Nam Dinh) in 2013. Photo: VNA
From 8:30 AM, the procession begins carrying water and fish to Thien Truong Temple, performing the ritual of offering water and sacrificing fish. Next, the fish are released into the Red River, at the Huu Bi ferry area (in My Trung commune, My Loc district), with one carp and one snakehead fish released simultaneously until all are released. In the afternoon, from 2 PM to 4 PM, the ritual of offering sacrifices to female officials will take place at Co Trach Temple.
The ritual of carrying water and offering fish is present in many festivals in the Northern Delta region. This is a ritual to promote agriculture and fishing, and to pray for favorable weather conditions for the rice-farming communities.
It is known that the opening ceremony of the Tran Temple in Nam Dinh will take place on the 14th (early morning of the 15th) of the first lunar month. Besides the water procession and fish offering rituals, from the 12th to the 16th of the first lunar month, the Tran Temple complex will also host many other traditional festival activities such as lion dance, dragon dance, lion dance, Cheo singing, Chau Van singing, human chess competition, wrestling, and martial arts performances outside the Five Gates.
