In order to prepare carefully for the sacrifice of the Holy Spirit, the host must raise the “pigs” with a special regime, the food must be clean and safe.
The “pig” procession festival in La Phu commune (Hoai Duc, Hanoi) is an opportunity for the villagers to remember the merits of Tinh Quoc Tam Lang under the 6th Hung Due Vuong who had merit in fighting the enemy to maintain the country. From the early morning of February 3 (ie, January 13 of the lunar calendar), people in La Phu commune were excited to organize sacrifices and processions of “the pig”.
To prepare for the “Mr Pig” festival, at the beginning of the year, each hamlet chooses a family whose members are virtuous and talented, the children in the family must have enough girls and boys, no mourning, no economic income. wealthy enough to raise pigs for the procession.
There have been 3 years of raising “pig” to serve the procession, Mr. Nguyen Duy Ngoc (66 years old, Tien Phong 1 village, La Phu commune, Hoai Duc, Hanoi) said, the time to choose pigs is in February every year. The hamlets will choose pigs, pig standards must be balanced, beautiful and weighing about 30 kg. After choosing a pet, the villagers call him “man pig”, the cost of raising the whole village is covered.
“The pigs are raised on a special diet such as eggs, glutinous rice porridge, fresh vegetables. The bran must be rice bran mixed with milled corn or cooked glutinous rice, when feeding vegetables must also be washed, the food bowl and cage are always sprayed. “Mr. pig” is bathed daily, is hooked up to mosquito nets, and installed a cool fan when it’s hot. In the winter, we shower less (with warm water), on days when it’s too cold, we have to burn coals for heating,” Mr. Ngoc shared.
According to Mr. Ngoc, if any “pig” stops eating or falls ill, the chosen family must bring the ceremony to the village communal house to pray for the “pig” to get well. Especially before the festival, “the pig” will eat vegetarian porridge to ensure purity. Usually at the time of sacrifice, each “pig” weighs about 270 kg.
At about 2pm, each villager contributed to the decoration, from trimming flowers, applying lipstick, making eyes and ears to peeling off the fat leaves to cover the pig, each person had a job and everyone was happy. . Each hamlet is decorated in a different way, but the “pig” must be the most majestic and beautiful to win the village’s prize.
Right from the early afternoon, many people and visitors from all over the world come to La Phu temple to burn incense and worship.
About 7 hours before the festival begins, many lion dance groups from villages in La Phu commune come out to perform, and people come to see it, making the street bustling.
At this time, security forces are often on duty, guiding vehicles participating in traffic to avoid congestion.
Ms. Nguyen Thanh Binh, Vice Chairman of La Phu Commune People’s Committee (Hoai Duc District, Hanoi City) said that the “Mr Pig” procession festival is an activity to maintain the beauty of traditional culture. Before the festival activities, the Commune People’s Committee asked the Hoai Duc District People’s Committee for the organization’s policy, on the other hand, also developed a plan to ensure safety and civilization during the festival.