A procession at the Bà Chiêm Sơn Festival, one of the Mother Goddess worship festivals in central Việt Nam, in Duy Xuyên Commune of Đà Nẵng City. — Photo courtesy of Đà Nẵng City's Tourism Promotion Centre

ĐÀ NẴNG — The ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has listed the Bà Chiêm Sơn Festival, one of the Mother Goddess worship festivals in central Việt Nam, as a piece of National Intangible Cultural Heritage.

City authorities said the recognition, which was given at Duy Xuyên Commune in the former Quảng Nam Province, aims to promote the festival and honour its service in protecting and blessing the people of Chiêm Sơn and the surrounding areas along the Thu Bồn River.

They said the legendary festival is held annually at the Chiêm Sơn relic site in the rural commune, now located in Đà Nẵng City, and is considered as a spiritual activity for local communities and a major cultural event.

For generations, local residents have held the belief that the Mother Goddess helps maintain peace, bumper harvests and a good quality of life. Many traditional cultural features of the practice have been preserved and inherited from ancestors.

A report from Đà Nẵng’s Culture, Sports and Tourism department, which has been merged with that of the former Quảng Nam Province, shows that 565 area relics have been preserved through the ages, including seven listed as national special heritage and four UNESCO-recognised world heritage sites.

Young women display offerings during the Bà Chiêm Sơn Festival, one of the Mother Goddess worship festivals in central Việt Nam. — Photo courtesy of Đà Nẵng City's Tourism Promotion Centre

The Chăm Sculpture Museum of Đà Nẵng houses a wide variety of national treasures, including the Trà Kiệu Pedestal, the Mỹ Sơn E1 Pedestal, the statue of Tara or Avalokiteshvara, the Đồng Dương Pedestal and two sandstone statues: Ganesha, one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon, and Gajasimha, a mythical hybrid animal in Hindu mythology.

It also houses thousands of artefacts and sandstone statues found near the area's many Chăm towers and excavation sites from the Sa Huỳnh Culture (between 2,500 and 3,000 years old) in the central region. — VNS