Am Chua Festival 2023 held at relatively larger scale

Am Chua Festival 2023 opened at Am Chua national monument (Dien Dien Commune, Dien Khanh District) on April 20 (lunar March 1). Present at the opening ceremony were Nguyen Khac Toan, Permanent Deputy Secretary of Khanh Hoa Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Council; Nguyen Van Ghi, Head of the Provincial Party Committee's Inspection Committee; Pham Thi Xuan Trang - Deputy Chairman of the Provincial People's Council; Dinh Van Thieu - Deputy Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; leaderships of the provincial departments and sectors and Dien Khanh District.

Nguyen Khac Toan offers incense to Thien Y Ana Holy Mother

Nguyen Van Ghi thurifying

Pham Thi Xuan Trang and Dinh Van Thieu offering incense to the Holy Mother

This year's festival takes place from April 20 to 22, serving as an opportunity for people and tourists from many localities to express their gratitude to Thien Y Ana Holy Mother and pray for good things. “My family and I always arrange schedule to take part in every Am Chua Festival. We offer offerings made by ourselves to the Holy Mother and pray to the Holy Mother wishing for luck and peace to myself, my family and all the people,” said Hoang Thi Mai, a pilgrim from Thua Thien Hue Province.

As informed by Luong Duy Hinh, head of management board of Am Chua Monument, this year’s festival has seen an increase of 10 groups of pilgrims compared to last year’s. The 2023 Am Chua Festival had been well prepared and is organized at a relatively larger scale than the previous festivals.

At the opening ceremony, the leader of Dien Khanh District gave a speech reviewing the traditional cultural values and belief of the Mother Goddess worship of Vietnamese people in general and people in Dien Khanh - Khanh Hoa in particular. Am Chua Festival was restored by Khanh Hoa people in 1987. Over the past 36 years, Am Chua Festival has become a big traditional festival of Dien Khanh District, attracting a large number of attendees from many localities over the country. In 1999, Am Chua Monument was ranked as a national monument. The monument’s quality becomes better and better over years thanks to contributions from local authorities and people.

Reportedly, 100 groups of nearly 3,000 pilgrims have registered to perform ritual acts at Am Chua Festival 2023. Besides, nearly 10,000 people in and outside Khanh Hoa are expected to visit the monument during the festival. The preparation for the festival was carefully carried out one month ago.

Am Chua festival is one of the festivals that still preserves many traditional ritual acts of Vietnamese people in Khanh Hoa and the beauty of Mother Goddess worship. According to the legend, Dai An Mountain is the place where Goddess Thien Y A Na descended on earth and taught the locals to do field works, weave fabric, etc., created rituals, and united local people to fight against foreign invaders, bringing a peaceful and comfortable life to the locals. Local people built Am Chua Monument to commemorate her merits. Many royal documents of the Nguyen Dynasty are being preserved at Am Chua Monument. The legend of Thien Y Ana Holy Mother reflects the interchange between Vietnamese and Cham cultures which honor the role of the Holy Mother in the creation of all beings. Mother Goddess worship is a unique folk belief of Vietnamese people. The worship of Lieu Hanh Goddess and Ba Chua Kho Goddess in the north, Thien Y Ana Holy Mother in the central region and Ba Chua Xu Goddess in the south are the proofs of Mother worship in Vietnam.

The following are some images of Am Chua Festival 2023.