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Quan Lan Communal House Festival
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Quan Lan Communal House Festival is the village-wide celebration for the inhabitants of the island community of Quan Lan in the central area of the ancient Van Don commercial port in northern Quang Ninh province.
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The festivities are organized yearly on the 18th day of the sixth
lunar month, but the celebration lasts from the 10th to the 20th
day of month, which fall from July 5-15 this year.
The 10th day of the sixth lunar month features the ritual of "closing
the village": the inhabitants cannot leave, but those who have moved
away and other guests from any corner of the country are welcome.
Among the highlights of the festival is a boat race with the participation
of local villagers.
The participants, divided into two groups, establish their particular
training grounds on the 13th day of the month in order to prepare
themselves.
The boats used for the competition are ordinary 5 to 6-ton fishing
boats, with lowered sails and dragon - heads carved on the fronts.
The 16th day is reserved for receiving the genies. There is a procession
for the funeral tablets of Tran Khanh Du from the temple to the
village's communal house.
On the 18th day at about 3pm (every year at this time the tide
reaches the temple's wharf), the boats start.
The "soldiers" on one side wear a white jacket and blue pants,
while the other group wears gray or black clothing.
When the opposing generals meet each other at the communal house,
the "soldiers" and spectators shout resoundingly; the noise echoes
throughout the region.
The two generals make sword - tracings in the air, and the two
troops meet each other three times: symbolizing the three victories
during the Tran Dynasty. Following the third meeting, they assemble
before the shrine and the rowing contest begins.
Quan Lan Communal House Festival bears characteristics of traditional
village festivals, but is particularly grandiose, expressing the
military spirit of the Vietnamese in the struggle against foreign
invaders.
Source: www.vietnamtourism.com
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