The worship of Hung Kings, the founders of the Vietnamese nation,
generates a source of strength for their offspring to overcome any
difficulties and challenges in national building, State President Truong
Tan Sang has said.
He made the remarks at a grand ceremony in
the northern midland province of Phu Tho on April 13 to
receive a UNESCO certificate of Intangible Cultural Heritage of
Humanity bestowed to the worship of Hung Kings.
The event
coincided with the opening ceremony of the Hung Kings Temple Festival
(or the fourth day of the third lunar month) which aims to honour the
country’s founders.
It was attended by Party,
government and provincial officials along with representatives of
UNESCO’s Secretariat, 25 countries in the UNESCO Intergovernmental
Committee on implementing the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of
the Intangible Cultural Heritage, among others.
Addressing the event, President Sang spoke highly the Phu Tho
people’s great contributions to preserving and promoting the values of
the ritual.
He said as a spiritual ritual to
pray for peace and prosperity for the country, the practice of
worshipping Hung Kings also reminds the Vietnamese of constantly
consolidating their unity and protecting and helping one another in
different circumstances.
The ritual has become a cultural
identity and a traditional moral standard of the Vietnamese. It shows
gratitude the offspring have owed to the founders in the national
construction and development course, Sang said.
After the certificate presence, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism
Hoang Anh Tuan called for join cooperation among relevant ministries and
agencies to raise people’s awareness on further preserving and
promoting the values of the worshipping ritual as well as relic sites at
the Hung Kings temple.
Phu Tho province alone has
181 relic sites dedicated to worshipping Hung Kings, the kings’ family
relatives and their commanders, while the figure is 1,471 nationwide.
The province has worked out a concrete plan to step up
measures to conserve and uphold the precious values of the heritage.
Vietnamese legends recount the rule of the 18 Hung
King dynasties during the first period of Vietnamese history, between
2879-258 BC.
The worshipping rituals are closely related to the
worship of ancestors that is a tradition of most Vietnamese families and
an important part of the people’s spiritual lives.
The Worship of Hung Kings was recognised as an intangible cultural
heritage of humanity at the seventh session of the UNESCO committee in
Paris on December 6, 2012.
On April 14, an incense offering to Hung Kings was held at Kinh Thien palace, Hung Kings temple complex.-VNA