During the Later Le Dynasty (1533 – 1789), kings would host a ritual to give fans to all the mandarins during the Doan Ngo festival in summer.
The ritual was part of various traditional cultural activities organised by the Thang Long Heritage Conservation Centre.
Phan Duy Thang, deputy director of the centre, said the programme aims to preserve traditional cultural values and educate younger generations.
Doan Ngo festival is held annually on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, which falls on June 7 this year.
As the festival falls during summer, people often hold family reunions and enjoy fresh fruits and fermented glutinous rice.
Historian Le Van Lan highly appreciated the effort of the centre in preparing costumes and offerings for the rituals.
“This is the first time such a ritual reappeared in front of the public, the central experts followed how it is described in historical books very accurately,” said Lan.
Attending the programme, visitors, particularly children, will have a chance to enjoy traditional fan-making activities, folk games and a water puppetry show.
One of the main highlights of the event includes an exhibition on the history of the Doan Ngo festival from past to present.
Through the artefacts and paintings of Henri Oger (a colonial administrator in French Indochina), the culinary art of artisan Nguyen Anh Tuyet and a unique handmade paper fan collection on Thang Long’s landscapes of artisan Lan Tuyet, visitors will understand more about the traditional celebration of Doan Ngo festival.
The exhibitions on the Doan Ngo festival and Vietnamese folk games will run through June 9 and June 30, respectively, at the Thang Long Royal Citadel.
