The elders of Chu Hoá Village, Việt Trì City, perform traditional rituals at the temple dedicated to Father Lạc Long Quân in the Hùng Kings Temple relic site. — VNA/VNS Photo Trung Kiên

PHÚ THỌ — A ceremony was held in the northern mid-land province of Phú Thọ on Tuesday to commemorate the legendary ancestors of Việt Nam, Dragon Father Lạc Long Quân and Fairy Mother Âu Cơ.

Traditional rituals were carried out at the temples dedicated to the ancestral couple in the Hùng Kings Temple relic site.

Every year, activities worshipping them take place ahead of the commemoration of the Hùng Kings, believed to be the very first founders of Việt Nam, on the 10th day of the third lunar month (which falls on April 29 this year).

The same day, a delegation of over 100 overseas Vietnamese from more than 20 countries worldwide led by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Phạm Quang Hiệu, who is also Chairman of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs, offered incense to the Hùng Kings.

The activity has contributed to raising their pride of national traditions, while demonstrating the Party’s and the State’s attention to and responsibility for Vietnamese abroad, Hiệu said.

Legend has it that Lạc Long Quân (real name Sùng Lãm, son of Kinh Dương Vương and Thần Long Nữ) married Âu Cơ (the fairy daughter of Đế Lai). Âu Cơ then went on to give birth to a pouch filled with one hundred eggs, which hatched into a hundred sons. However, soon thereafter, Lạc Long Quân and Âu Cơ separated. Lạc Long Quân went to the coast with 50 of the children, while Âu Cơ went to the highlands with the rest.

The procession of offerings enters the temple dedicated to Father Lạc Long Quân in the Hùng Kings Temple relic site. — VNA/VNS Photo Trung Kiên

Their eldest son was made king, who named the country Văn Lang and set up the capital in Phong Châu (modern-day Việt Trì City in Phú Thọ Province), beginning the reigns of the 18 Hùng Kings.

The kings chose Nghĩa Lĩnh Mountain, the highest in the region, to perform rituals devoted to rice and sun deities to pray for bumper crops.

To honour their great contributions, a complex of temples dedicated to them was built on Nghĩa Lĩnh Mountain, and the 10th day of the third lunar month serves as the national commemorative anniversary for the kings.

The worship of the Hùng Kings, closely related to the ancestral worship traditions of most Vietnamese families, was recognised as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2012. — VNS

Local authorities and people offer incense and pay tributes to Mother Âu Cơ at her temple in the Hùng Kings Temple relic site. — VNA/VNS Photo Trung Kiên