Legendary ancestors commemorated in Phu Tho province

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

Every year, activities worshipping them take place ahead of the commemoration of the Hung Kings, believed to be the very first founders of Vietnam, 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 Pham Quang Hieu, who is also Chairman of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs, offered incence to the Hung Kings.

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

 Legend has it that Lac Long Quan (real name Sung Lam, son of Kinh Duong Vuong and Than Long Nu) married Au Co (the fairy daughter of De Lai). Au Co then went on to give birth to a pouch filled with one hundred eggs, which hatched into a hundred sons. However, soon thereafter, Lac Long Quan and Au Co separated. Lac Long Quan went to the coast with 50 of the children, while Au Co went to the highlands with the rest.

Their eldest son was made king, who named the country Van Lang and set up the capital in Phong Chau (modern-day Viet Tri city in Phu Tho province), beginning the 18 reigns of the Hung Kings.

The kings chose Nghia Linh 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 Nghia Linh Mountain, and the 10th day of the third lunar month serves as the national commemorative anniversary for the kings.

The worship of the Hung 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.

(Source: VNA)