Festival Hue 2006 in Thua Thien-Hue province June 3-11, will feature for the first time a night of cultural atmosphere in royal palaces of the Nguyen Dynasty, the last feudal regime that ruled Vietnam from 1802 to 1945.

Court music will be among the highlights during the Imperial Nights program, which features not only the Hue court music, known as nha nhac , but also Korean and Japanese court music - Aak and Gagaku respectively.

UNESCO recognized Hue court music as a masterpiece of oral and intangible heritage of humanity in its second proclamation in 2003.

Le Quy Duong, who directs the Imperial Nights program said, “The royal palaces and the Nguyen Dynasty are closely connected to Hue and are gradually falling into oblivion, so they should be preserved and introduced to the public appropriately.”

The program will include two parts, namely Dong (motion) and Tinh (calm).

The first part will demonstrate the patrol of imperial guards, and parades of women and men from royal families with parasols and lanterns.

The second part, which takes place at the three different areas, will recall the lives and activities of royal members, mandarins, eunuchs, and palace maids.

It will also reflect royal cultural and art activities and entertainment held especially for nobility like court dances, ca hue (Hue folk music), Hue classical drama, composing poems, and writing calligraphy.

Visitors will also have a chance to discover culinary delights of the royal court, enjoy tea, Hue typical cakes, and a night banquet.

Truyen Lo ceremony

One of highlighted events at Festival Hue 2006 is the demonstration of rituals performed at Truyen Lo , a royal ceremony held solemnly every three years to call names of new winners of court examinations.

The ceremony takes place in the morning, mandarins, soldiers, ceremonial music troupes, new court examination winners and judges, usually high-ranking mandarins, line up to wait for the procession of the King and the Golden Board.

On the board are written the names of the winners, and the procession continues to the Ngo Mon (Noon Gate) – the main gate of the forbidden citadel in Hue.

The Truyen Lo ceremony begins on the Ngo Mon floor after everybody has taken their correct positions, with people arranging themselves by rank.

The judging mandarin present the results of court exams while another mandarin leads the winners to kowtow in front of the Noon Gate then back to the queue, after which they must stand on the left.

The mandarin from the Ministry of Rites asks for the King’s permission to read the royal decree to confer titled to the winners of court exams.

Whenever hearing his name, each bestowed person must go in front of the King and expresses his gratitude.

After the truyen lo rituals conclude, the King and his entourage go back the palace while the others join a parade from Ngo Mon to Phu Van Lau, a place by the Huong (Perfume) river, to post up the Golden Board.

After that the procession continues to move to Duyet Thi Duong, the royal theater, where another ceremony, Vinh Quy Bai To , is held to recall the images of the newly-bestowed persons to return their native villages to pay thanks to their ancestors.

The Vinh Quy Bai To ceremony will be organized under the form of a folk festival and the participants will parade from Hien Nhon gate to the communal house of Duong No village in Phu Vang district.

It is expected that a total of 267 professional and amateur artists will attend the ceremony, which aims to honor the country’s talented and outstanding persons.

This year’s Festival Hue will also feature the Nam Giao procession, the re-enactment of the march honoring heaven and earth since the monarchy fell in 1945.

The event will comprise three parts: Le Xuat Cung, Le Te Giao and Ngu Dao Hoi Cung.

The previous festival in 2004 featured only the Ngu Dao Hoi Cung, the final leg of Le Te Nam Giao - the Heaven and Earth prayer rituals that were conducted by Nguyen kings for hundreds of years.

Tay Nguyen gong culture

The culture of gong, or cong chieng , of the ethnic minority groups in the Central Highlands (Tay Nguyen), will also take the center stage on the romantic hill of Thien An during Festival Hue 2006.

The gong culture was recognized by UNESCO as a masterpiece of oral and intangible cultural heritage earlier this year.

Visitors to the festival can enjoy deep, subtle and boisterous sounds of the gong orchestra in combination with the traditional dances of nearly 40 veteran artists of the M’nong and E De groups from the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak.

Source : Thanhnien News