Quan ho in Bac Ninh province, Vietnamese folk music originated around the 13th century, was recognized in 2009 as a part of UNESCO’s World Intangible Cultural Heritage. It is traditionally associated with Bac Ninh’s spring festivals that follow the celebration of the Vietnamese New Year (Tet). Up on the Lim hill-top stays a temple with a worship of Hieu Trung Hau, the founder of Quan Ho folk singing. Every 13th of lunar January, Northern Vietnamese people coincidentally go to the area to join one of the biggest spring festivals in the region of the Gulf of Tonkin, the Lim Festival.

Lim Festival falls between 12th and 14th of Lunar Calendar in the District of Tien Du, Bac Ninh province. Tonkin is the land with a huge fame of folk tales, legends and antique vestiges. Consequently, Bac Ninh, a city in the middle of Tonkin, has gained a big reputation for traditional festivals.

The date of 13th would be chosen as the main time over the process of the festival. Started with a big parade, the ritual attracts thousands of people in classic traditional costumes, with shining colors forming up a long line reaching nearly a kilometer. The biggest important activity out of all the rituals would be singing an honor song. All the village elders and notables need to assemble in front of the temple to make an offer to the deity, one of which is a ritual of sing Quan Ho. During this time, male and female singers are queuing in two paralleled lines, face to face and giving out grateful and admirable music lines to offer the inventor of Quan Ho folk singing.

The second section of the festival would be all about competitions. Those belong to traditional games such as martial arts, wrestling, chess, cooking and teetering. However, the most exciting part would be singing Quan Ho in the river. A boat of red lacquer trimmed with gold leaves the bank with two groups of singers. Group of female called “liền chị” is standing in the middle of the boat wearing a type of traditional costumes called “tứ thân”, while the group of men will be sitting at the front and back of the boat. The night of 12th would be the competition among Quan Ho villages and several tents from the teams are set up on the ground of a big yard on the hill of Lim.

With all these spectacular activities and traditional festivals, Bac Ninh has become the capital city of festivals in the land of Tonkin.

To see more photos, check the open album below or go to Flickr:
Photo Album Flickr
(Please use the left/right arrows to navigate in the files of the open album)

Words by Oanh Nguyen
Photos by Chi Nguyen

The post Lim Festival in Bac Ninh Province | Travel Photoblog appeared first on Maze Vietnam.