LookAtVietnam – A ceremony held every five years in Hanoi’s Xuan Dinh village is held in honour of a local woman who brought prosperity to the locality in the 17th century.

Que Phu temple in Hanoi’s Xuan Dinh village by West Lake was originally built as a royal residence for Vu Thi Ngoc Xuyen, the wife of Lord Trinh Tac, who ruled the north of Vietnam (despite the Le Dynasty actually holding the throne) from 1654 until his death in 1682. For most of the 17th century, the Viet kingdom was in the midst of a protracted civil war between the Nguyen and Trinh lords.

When Trinh Tac assumed control, the Trinh lords were reeling from a series of defeats but Trinh Tac managed to turn things around for his family, driving the Nguyen armies back south and in 1667, he also defeated the Mac dynasty and drove them out of Cao Bang Province, where they had ruled under the protection of the Chinese Ming dynasty since the end of the 16th century.

Essentially, under Trinh Tac’s rule peace was restored and the country became more prosperous. Many moons before he became a successful general, Trinh Tac lived in Thang Long citadel where one day he came across the young Xuyen while she was cutting the grass. Trinh Tac was instantly besotted and soon the couple married.

Xuyen was born in Xuan Dinh village and after her husband died she returned there with her daughter, Trinh Thi Ngoc Cang. Seeing how the locals lived in poverty, Xuyen requested that the royal court provide land for the locals to cultivate rice. She even used her own funds to buy thousands of acres for the construction of local temples, pagodas and roads as well as to provide land for local farmers.

Xuyen and Cang were known for their generosity and piety. They often collected money to help the local community and prayed to the Heavens and Buddha for good health, happiness and prosperity for all. When Trinh Tac passed away, Xuyen asked the royal court to upgrade a shrine, which was dedicated to Saint Giong, one of Vietnam’s four immortal gods.

When Xuyen passed away in 1686, she was interred in the locality, and her and her daughter’s tomb is still in good condition, an indication that this village has never forgotten them. During the war against French colonial forces, Que Phu was where the Vietnam Revolutionary League (known as the Viet Minh) hid or stored weapons.

The Lien Viet Front, which aimed to unite people from all walks of life to fight the French occupation, was also established in Que Phu. Today Que Phu is a temple dedicated to the honour of Xuyen and her daughter. At the Que Phu festival, which takes place every five years from the 10th to 13th day of the first lunar month, locals will come to pay their respects.

Preparations for the festival begin months in advance. There are numerous traditional games such as human chess or catching swimming ducks in a large pond of water. But the most sacred event is the queen’s flying palanquin. For the ceremony a village elder will kneel before the altar inside the temple and pray for prosperity and happiness for all villagers.

Then he will ask Lady Xuyen’s permission to carry her throne out to the palanquin. A parade of traditional singing and dancing begins. Songs will extol the merits of the queen as drums roll and a dragon dance ensues. Palanquin carriers are called trai kieu (male carrier) and gai kieu (female carrier), though interestingly it is the gai kieu who take the palanquin on their shoulders, while trai kieu follow in support. It is a great honour to be chosen. The carriers must be good-mannered, healthy and lead “unblemished lives”.

At first the parade is solemn and respectful. But then the palanquin-carriers start to run around the yard and into the nearby pagoda. The crowd will also run around, making room for the dance of the palanquin. The village elders pray. Babes-in-arms wail. Young boys jump from walls as the palanquin rushes towards them. “The queen is now joyful because she has not come out for five years,” explains an old woman.

“Her soul joins the palanquin and controls the carriers’ footsteps.” The ceremony can be intoxicating and intense. Observers cannot believe that a 300kg palanquin can appear to be as light as a feather. People say that at times it appears to be truly flying as though it was levitating above the carriers’ shoulders. A throng of people will chase the palanquin as it races through the streets towards the tombs of Xuyen and her daughter.

Eventually the palanquin returns to Que Phu and after some prayers, Lady Xuyen will allow the carriers to place the palanquin down. It is believed that the flying of the palanquin means the village will have much prosperity and good health during the year. Afterwards the carriers are still buzzing with excitement.

“I cannot explain how I felt when carrying the palanquin,” says one young woman who had the honour of carrying the palanquin this year. “It felt light and I didn’t feel tired even though I had run for nearly three kilometres at least.”

VietNamNet/Time-out