Lim Festival

The annual Lim Festival of folk songs was opened on February 9 (the 12th day of the first lunar month) in Tien Du District, northern Bac Ninh Province.

The opening date of the festival is related to a legend, which says that a native woman of the eastern hamlet of Noi Due Commune, named Ba Mu, became a Buddhist monk at the Lim Pagoda and, thereafter, reached enlightenment. When a severe drought hit the village, the locals came to the pagoda and asked her for assistance. With the monk's help, the drought ended.

The villagers of Lung Giang, alias Lim Village, thereafter worshipped her as their Village Spirit Protector and took the date of her enlightenment as the opening day of their festival.

Folk song lovers can enjoy quan ho folk songs through artists' plain tones, unaccompanied by instruments - a new feature of festival in 2006.

Quan ho folk songs were traditionally performed on hills, in communal houses and pagodas, on boats and at master artists' houses.

Lasting until the 13th day of the first lunar month, the festival also includes traditional games such as water puppetry, human chess, lion dances, swinging, wrestling, and cock-fighting.

These performances and games reflect the cultural identity of the Kinh Bac (capital of the north) land - the cradle of the prestigious Ly Dynasty (1010-1225) and Vietnamese Buddhism.

(Source: VNA)