Hoi Lim Is Divided Into Two Parts

Hội Lim (Lim Festival) is regarded as the unique combination of Kinh Bac culture area.
When
the spring is coming, people become excited to join Hoi Lim and enjoy the cultural space of
Quan Ho folk songs. Hoi Lim is organized by the villages around Lim Mountain and the riverside
of Tiêu Tương River. This festival expresses the spiritual belief and art culture of Kinh Bac
villagers specifically.
Annually held on round 12 and 13 of the first lunar month of the year in Lien Bao (Liên Bảo)
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Commune, Noi Due (Nội Duệ) Commune and Lim Town in Tien Du (Tiên Du) District, Bac Ninh
Province, Lim Festival takes place with the purpose of enhancing and promoting the tradition of
Quan Ho singing. Since 2019, this festival has become one of the UNESCO’s Intangible
Cultural Heritage.
*Hoi Lim is divided into two parts:
In the ritual part, the parade consists of the local people wearing colorful ancient garments.
Many rituals and folk traditional games are held in the festival, while the “hát thờ” custom (a
ceremony to honor people who rendered the services to the region and country) is virtually
unique. To carry out the “hát thờ” ceremony, men and women attending to sing Quan ho folk
songs have to stand in two lines in front of Hong Van tombs. During the “hát thờ” ceremony,
they sing in an accentuated voice to honor the merits of the God Nguyen Dinh Dien. Besides,
other ceremonies take place dramatically on the main festival day. Typically, the ritual of the
village gods, heroines is held in Cổ Lũng temple and Hồng Vân tomb. Furthermore, villagers in
Dinh Ca commune make ancestors’ offerings in ancestral temples of the Do family or Nguyen
family.
Moreover, other traditional activities such as chess competitions and rice cooking contests
are held in sheer joy and are welcomed by the local people and tourists. Remarkably, “Quan họ”
singing part is the most attractive section of the Lim festival. Groups of women and men gather
to join singing performances such as singing “mời trầu”, singing “gọi đò” to “con sáo sang sông”,
“con nhện giăng mùng”. The singing contest often occurs near noon and is organized on boats.
At the small lake next to the field of Lim village, the illustrated dragon boat is moving and
bringing soft traditional melodies. On one side of the boat is the group of women in graceful
garments and opposite to these women are children in four-panel traditional dresses, while the
group of men will stand or sit near the end of the boat. The “Quan họ” singing contest takes
place in the evening of the 12th. Each village will set up a tent in the large yard of Lim hill.
Building the tent is regarded as the most interesting part of the festival.
13 day of Lunar New Year is the main day of the festival. On the 13 day, the locals go in a
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procession up to Lim Hill which is the center of Lim Festival. At Lim Pagoda on Lim Hill, the
representative of each village joins in an incense-offering liturgy to express respect and
gratitude to Mr. Nguyen Dinh Dien (Nguyễn Đình Diễn). Nguyen Dinh Dien who was born in Noi
Due Village lived in the 18 century. He made many great contributions to his hometown. He
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was the one who founded the Lim Festival.
Furthermore, there are some competitions during the day the festivals taking place. For
example, tourists can have a great opportunity to play traditional games such as wrestling,
martial arts, cooking, chess, cockfighting, blindman’s buff, pot beating, tugging war, and
teetering. Moreover, you can learn more about the Vietnamese culture of people living in the
Red River Delta region when taking part in the competition of weaving.
*Origin of Lim Festival
Legendarily, Hoi Lim was originally from the myth of Truong Chi’s singing voice. Truong Chi was
born in a poor family but has a beautiful voice and flutes so absorbingly. He fell in love with My
Nuong, the daughter of a mandarin. Sadly, due to his ugly appearance and poverty, My Nuong
refused Truong Chi’s love. He got sick and died of lovesickness, yet his singing voice still
resounded far away as the plaintive cry, complaint to My Nuong. After that, the region of Kinh
Bac emerged with melodies of folk songs which were attractive to both men and women.
With over 300 years of existence, Lim Festival has become a pride of Vietnamese people and played an
important role in maintaining and protecting Vietnamese culture.

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Hội Lim (Lim Festival) is regarded as the unique combination of Kinh Bac culture area.

*Hoi Lim is divided into two parts:

was the one who founded the Lim Festival.

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