HÀ NỘI — The northern province of Phú Thọ will launch a short film in Vietnamese and English to introduce and popularise the Hùng King’s Temple and traditional Vietnamese religion.

The 10-minute film entitled Đền Hùng - Linh Thiêng Nguồn Cội (Hùng King’s Temple - The Sacred Homeland) was made by Phú Thọ Province, the Hùng Temple Relic Site and Petro Việt Nam Gas Corporation.

Traditional Vietnamese religious beliefs and practices are introduced in the film, giving viewers a chance to learn more about the glorious history of the nation.

The film will air on Voice of Việt Nam Television, People Television and Việt Nam Multimedia Corporation Television in the coming Lunar New Year. It will show the custom of worshipping Hùng Kings on the occasion of the Ancestral Anniversary and Hùng Kings Festival, falling on the 10th day of the third lunar month.

Legends say Lạc Long Quân (Dragon King) and his wife Âu Cơ (Phoenix Queen) gave birth to one hundred men. Fifty sons went with their mother to live in the mountain and the father took the other sons out to sea. The eldest son followed the mother to settle at Phong Châu in today’s Phú Thọ Province and founded the country known as Văn Lang.

Văn Lang was the first nation of Vietnamese people. The Hùng Kings’ dynasty lasted 18 generations.

The custom of worshipping the Hùng Kings developed from the 12th century, being officially honoured during the reign of King Lê Thánh Tông in 1470. Since then, celebrations of the founders of the Vietnamese nation were maintained throughout the community. The practice was recognised as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2012. — VNS