The festival is held for 3 days with many rituals.

The “Thak Con” festival, also known as Thac Con, is held annually at Mahasal Thatmon Pagoda. This is also considered the only place to hold this festival in Soc Trang. The festival is like a prayer ceremony for peace, favorable weather, favorable business, and is usually held at the beginning of the rainy season by local people after the harvest of the previous year. Mr. Danh Pung, Head of the Management Board of Mahasal Thatmon Pagoda, said that the Thac Con festival has existed for over a hundred years, associated with the legend of the golden gong of the ancient An Trach village.

Legend has it that, long ago, a mound of earth suddenly appeared in this land shaped like a gong. When someone stepped on it, the sound was like the sound of metal. This phenomenon gradually became smaller and then disappeared. The Khmer people believed that it was sacred, so they built a temple to worship it. In Khmer, "Thak Con" means "pedaling the gong", recalling the story of the gong sound resounding from the ground following people's footsteps.

According to local elders, in the past, there were years of drought when only coconuts had water. Coconuts saved people from thirst, so people worshiped coconuts and every year on the full moon day of the third lunar month, people decorated coconuts beautifully to make offerings. The offerings in the festival are flower vases made from fresh coconuts with two sides cut, then inserted into them are flower plants made from green betel leaves and decorative flowers, creating an offering symbolizing purity and cleanliness. In addition to fresh coconuts, offerings include fruits, betel and areca nuts, lotus flowers symbolizing purity and sacredness. People attending the ceremony also put vegetable seeds, bottles of essential oils, and red threads on the altar with the wish for health and peace in life.

Ms. Thach Ha (60 years old, in Chau Thanh district) said: “The flower tree is made of green betel leaves and flowers; the flower stand is made of coconut, a fruit with pure, sweet water, present in most ceremonies, meaning praying for blessings and peace. On the unique stand, flowers, leaves, incense and candles are neatly arranged. These days, children from the hamlets and communes who work far away also take the opportunity to return to participate in the festival, praying for good luck in the new year.”

After placing the offerings on the altar, the worshiper begins to light incense and pray. The content of the prayer expresses the wish for peace and happiness, praying for favorable weather, good crops, a peaceful and happy life for everyone, helping people remember their roots, ancestors, and grandparents to live in harmony and love each other more.

From a local festival, the coconut offering ceremony has now been elevated to a regional festival as more and more visitors from the provinces and cities of the Mekong Delta and Ho Chi Minh City come to attend. During the 3 days of the festival, the main rituals are similar to the peace-praying ceremony, including offering rice to monks, inviting monks to chant sutras for the dead, doing good deeds to pray for peace for the people, and finally giving sermons to Buddhists about Buddhist teachings.

During the festival, there are cultural activities, arts, entertainment, singing, etc. The final ritual is to bring offerings from the temple to worship the land, the rice spirit, and the gods who protect the fields. The festival ends with a farewell ceremony, in which offerings such as salt, rice, etc. are placed on a banana-leaf boat and released into the river.

Article and photos: NGUYEN TRINH

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/doc-dao-le-hoi-cung-dua-o-mien-tay-a186040.html