Hung Kings’ death anniversary commemorated overseas

Ambassador Le Thi Tuyet Mai, head of the Permanent Mission of Vietnam to the United Nations (UN), the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and other international organisations in Geneva, speaks at the event. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – A ceremony commemorating the death anniversary of Hung Kings, the legendary founders of Vietnam, was held on April 29 by the Permanent Mission of Vietnam to the United Nations (UN), the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and other international organisations in Geneva.

The event saw Ambassador Le Thi Tuyet Mai, head of the mission; Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court Nguyen Hoa Binh, who is on a working trip to the Swiss Federal Supreme Court and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), Vietnamese Ambassador to Switzerland Phung The Long, representatives of the Vietnamese Association and overseas Vietnamese in Switzerland.

Addressing the ceremony, Ambassador Mai said the death anniversary of the Hung Kings is an opportunity for Vietnamese people around the world to pay tribute to the Hung Kings, ancestors and forerunners who fought evaders and defended the country.
She highlighted that the Party and State's guidelines and policies consider the overseas Vietnamese community an integral part of the nation, and appreciate the people's dedication to the homeland.

The Vietnamese communities in Laos, Thailand and Russia have held ceremonies to commemorate the death anniversary of Hung Kings with traditional rituals.

Legend has it that Lac Long Quan (real name Sung Lam, son of Kinh Duong Vuong and Than Long Nu) married Au Co (the fairy daughter of De Lai). Au Co then gave birth to a pouch filled with 100 eggs, which hatched into a hundred sons. However, soon thereafter, Lac Long Quan and Au Co separated. Lac Long Quan went to the coast with 50 of the children, while Au Co went to the highlands with the rest.

Their eldest son was made king, who named the country Van Lang and set up the capital in Phong Chau (modern-day Viet Tri city in Phu Tho province), beginning the 18 reigns of the Hung Kings.

The kings chose Nghia Linh Mountain, the highest in the region, to perform rituals devoted to rice and sun deities to pray for bumper crops.

To honour their great contributions, a complex of temples dedicated to them was built on Nghia Linh Mountain, and the 10th day of the third lunar month serves as the national commemorative anniversary for the kings.

The worship of the Hung Kings, closely related to the ancestral worship traditions of most Vietnamese families, was recognised as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2012./.