In any land, especially in scenic spots, we all encounter spiritual places dedicated to worshiping and promoting the merits of the Holy Mother.
Right in the first days of January, pilgrims flocked to the "roof of the Southeast region" which is Ba Den Mountain (Binh Minh ward, Tay Ninh province) to attend the Ba Den Mountain Spring Festival. The owner of this sacred mountain is Linh Son Thanh Mau, also known as Ba Den because of her tanned skin.
This is a character that only exists in folk legends, originally a young lady from a mandarin family who chose death to preserve her virtue during a Buddhist pilgrimage to the mountain. From then on, Ba Den appeared, and later became Linh Son Thanh Mau, and the mountain began to be called Ba Den Mountain.
Ba Den is considered a guardian goddess for the people and this land, praised as a symbol of loyalty and integrity. After hundreds of years, the belief in worshiping Ba Den - Linh Son Thanh Mau has become a heritage in the minds of the Southern people.
This indigenous belief not only carries spiritual values but also expresses the deep humanistic spirit of the people when they always remember the merits of the goddess protecting the country, always bringing peace and health to the people. Ba Den Festival takes place from the 4th to the 6th day of the first lunar month and is one of the largest spiritual festivals in the South.
Millions of visitors have attended the Ba Den festival not only to enjoy spring sights or pray for a good new year, but also to come to Ba to see protection and peace. For the people, Ba Den Mountain is not only a spiritual pillar but also a sacred land in the minds of many generations.
More than 300km from Ba Den Mountain is another sacred mountain, Sam Mountain (Nui Sam ward, Chau Doc city, An Giang province). This is the place of manifestation of Ba Chua Xu, a figure in the Holy Mother system of Vietnam. She is one of the 6 immortal goddesses along with Ba Chua Bau, Ba Chua Lieu, Ba Chua To, Ba Chua Kho, Ba Chua Ngoc.
Like Ba Den - the goddess protecting the land of Tay Ninh - Ba Chua Xu is the goddess protecting the An Giang region, sheltering the people from natural disasters, enemies, and diseases, and is revered by the people of Bay Nui (That Son) region as the mother of the land for all 3 ethnic communities including Kinh, Khmer, and Hoa people.
However, the merits and sacredness of Ba Chua Xu are extremely resounding, and the Via Ba Chua Xu Nui Sam festival, usually held in April of the lunar calendar, has become a unique traditional folk festival, one of the largest in the Southwest region, with full of religious practices such as rituals, festivals, folk performances...
These rituals, customs and practicing skills are passed down in families and communities through oral tradition. This connection has contributed to promoting cultural exchange, community cohesion and national harmony, while affirming the important role of women in society.
Therefore, the Via Ba Chua Xu Nui Sam festival has been included by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in the list of national intangible cultural heritage in 2014, and listed by UNESCO in the list of representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity in 2024.
In the South Central region, we meet another mother from another land, Thien Y Ana Thanh Mau (Cham people call her Po Inu Nagar), which is Ba Chua Ngoc in the system of 6 immortal goddesses. The mother from this land was originally Cham, however, when Vietnamese people came here to open land, seeing that the goddess was close to their Mother Goddess worship belief, they assimilated her into Thanh Mau.
Thien Y Ana Thanh Mau is worshiped throughout the Central region, from behind Hai Van Pass to the Central South. However, the most sacred and famous place of worship is the Ponagar Tower National Relic Complex located on the banks of the Cai River, on Cu Lao hill, Vinh Phuoc ward, Nha Trang city, Khanh Hoa province.
Thiên Y Ana Thánh Mẫu has the merit of teaching people how to do business, especially the agarwood making profession because the legend twice transformed into her agarwood block (kỳ nam), and at the same time drove away evil troops when they massacred good people in the area. Although she is called Ba Chua Ngoc, she is considered by agarwood workers and seafarers as the most sacred guardian goddess of her life.
Therefore, she is highly respected by both Cham, Vietnamese and Chinese people living in this region. The Ponagar Tower Festival, held from March 21 to 23 of the lunar calendar, is respectfully attended by both Cham and Vietnamese people to thank the mother of the land.
The festival has many rituals such as: changing clothes ceremony, requiem ceremony and releasing lanterns on the Cai River, national peace and prosperity ceremony, traditional worship ceremony, incense offering ceremony for Mother Goddess. Besides religious rituals, there are cultural activities such as Tuong performances, Cham dances, ceramic making performances, weaving... honoring the values of Saint Mother in the spiritual life of ethnic minorities in the South Central region.
Returning to the Red River Delta region, where Spring is considered the biggest festival to honor the goddesses, sacred women and mothers in the Tam Phu and Tu Phu belief systems. Each sacred mother is worshiped in one place or many places, creating a diverse festival system.
However, the most famous is still the Phu Giay festival, one of the 5 largest traditional religious festivals in the country, to worship Saint Mother Lieu Hanh, one of the "four immortals" of Vietnamese temple gods, and also one of the 6 immortal goddesses mentioned above (Ba Chua Lieu).
People in Nam Dinh (Ninh Binh province) still have a saying: "August is father's death anniversary, March is mother's death anniversary". It means that in August of the lunar calendar, Hung Dao Dai Vuong Tran Quoc Tuan's death anniversary is held, and in March, Mother Lieu Hanh's death anniversary, who is considered the mother of millions of people thanks to her merits in protecting national peace and prosperity, is widely spread throughout the mountains and plains, from the North to the South.
Therefore, the Phu Giay festival is held from the 1st to the 10th day of March. The most typical activity in the Phu Giay festival is the procession ceremony of the Holy Mother from Phu Chinh to Goi Pagoda on the 6th and the calligraphy pulling festival on the 7th.
But the most lively and unique are the performances of hat van and hau dong, taking place not only during the 10 festival days but throughout from January to the end of March, turning Phu Giay festival into the most famous spring festival in the Northern Delta region.
