The Thay Thim Temple Festival is among the five outstanding culture festivals selected by the south-central province of Binh Thuan to spur local tourism.
A “Nghinh Than” (Gods welcoming) ceremony was held at the Thay Thim Temple Relic Site in Tan Tien commune, La Gi town on October 28, opening up the 2023 Thay Thim Culture-Tourism Festival.
National intangible cultural heritage
Last year, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism included the Thay Thim Temple Festival on the list of national intangible cultural heritages. This is a milestone that will help boost local tourism and socioeconomic development, raise public awareness of cultural preservation, and diversify Vietnam’s cultural heritage.
Located about 12 kilometres to the northwest of La Gi town centre, the Thay Thim Temple was recognised by the Ministry of Culture and Information (now the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) as a national historical and cultural relic site on September 27, 1997.
The festival, held in the town’s Tan Tien commune, is closely linked with local culture and traditional customs and has been upheld for more than 130 years.
“Thay Thim” (literally translated as Uncle and Aunt) is the way locals respectfully refer to a hermit and his wife, who were talented and kind-hearted people.
The legend of Thay (Chi Duc tien sinh [Mr Chi Duc]) and Thim (Chi Duc nuong nuong Ton Than [Mrs Chi Duc]) is deeply imbued with educational values that promote humanity, morality, and a noble personality. It has been passed down from generation to generation. For residents, the couple symbolizes kindness and compassion.
To pay tribute to Thay Thim, locals built a temple dedicated to them in the Bau Cai Forest, where they passed away, and chose the 15th day of the 9th lunar month to hold their commemoration.
The festival is held on two occasions each year – “Tao Mo” (Tomb Sweeping) on the fifth day of the first lunar month, and “Te Thu” (Rites held in Autumn) which takes place from the 14th to the 16th day of the 9th lunar month annually.
It is a cultural and historical event that commemorates the merit and virtue of Thay Thim, who undertook noble deeds such as helping with shipbuilding, giving medications to ill persons, and taming wild animals, winning the hearts of locals.
The event features many traditional rituals, including “Nghinh Than” (Gods Welcoming) which invites Thay Thim’s spirits from their tombs about 7km away to come to the temple. Other rituals include “Thinh sac”, “Tinh sanh”, “Tuc yet”, and “Tien hien hau hien”.
Apart from solemn rituals, there are also many folk art performances like “Cheo”, “Tuong”, “Ho”, and “Ve” singing, along with folk games.
The legend of Thay Thim is also retold through a play, while the sites associated with this legend are introduced in different forms at the festival.
From a small event, the Thay Thim Temple Festival has become a major occurrence across the entire region, attracting participants from far and wide.
It has long been viewed not only as a unique traditional festival of the community but also as a common cultural heritage of many neighbouring localities in the southern region.
It is a lively environment that preserves and promotes traditional culture, shows national cultural traits, and contributes to the diverse cultural heritage of Vietnam.
The festival space also helps to strengthen solidarity among the community, raises awareness of national roots, morality, personality, and the spirit of harmony.
2023 Thay Thim Temple Festival
This year’s Thay Thim Temple Festival took place from October 28-30 in a typical cultural space with many unique activities. Apart from rituals and folk games, the festival also featured cultural exchanges, art performances, and an exhibition on the legend of Thay Thim.
The festival, which was held in response to the 2023 National Tourism Year, attracted crowds of visitors both in and outside the province. Themed “Binh Thuan – Green convergence”, the National Tourism Year features more than 200 events, including an international culinary festival, a rowing and canoeing competition, the national golf tournament, and the Binh Thuan golden tourism week.
Organisers noted that competent forces were deployed to ensure security and safety for the Thay Thim Temple Festival.
According to the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Thay Thim Temple Festival has become an attractive tourist draw. People come here not only on the occasion of the festival but also all year round. In recent years, the number of visitors to the temple has been on the rise, to about 600,000 each year.
Statistics showed that Binh Thuan welcomed 4.46 million tourist arrivals in the first six months of this year, up 86% year-on-year, according to Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Lan Ngoc. Of the total, the number of foreign visitors was 133,000, a five-fold increase compared to that of the same period last year. Revenue from tourism activities reached 11.34 trillion VND (480.4 million USD), up 2.5 times.
The host of the Visit Vietnam Year 2023 is making efforts to fulfil its targets of serving 6.7 million tourists, including 220,000 foreigners, and earning 15.9 trillion VND from tourism services this year.
To that end, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Minh requested the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to speed up promotion activities in various forms and on different channels to develop new tourism markets.
He asked the People’s Committees of districts and cities to step up the dissemination of information about the province’s tourism environment, and intensify management to ensure security and order and environmental sanitation.
Attention should be paid to attracting strategic and competent investors to create new and attractive products.
Binh Thuan is implementing a project on ensuring security and safety in tourism activities, with the aim of making the south-central province a safe, friendly and quality destination.
Accordingly, Binh Thuan is striving to improve the efficiency of state management of safeguarding national security, safety, and order in tourism development during the Visit Vietnam Year 2023 themed “Binh Thuan – Green Convergence”.
With 192km of coastline, Binh Thuan province is home to islands, islets, coves, bays, and white sand beaches with clear blue water, which form famous tourist attractions. Currently, it has nearly 900 accommodation establishments with over 17,000 rooms, including 45 hotels and resorts from three to five stars with nearly 5,000 rooms. The province has 13 travel agencies, including eight international travel agencies.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2019, Binh Thuan welcomed over 6.4 million visitors who spent 15.2 trillion VND (646.8 million USD). The province’s tourism contribution to the GRDP accounted for 10-12%.
In 2022, the province welcomed over 5 million visitors with a revenue of 12.8 trillion VND. It aims to attract about 6.5 million visitors, including more than 200,000 foreigners, this year.
According to a report by the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Binh Thuan welcomed some 4.5 million tourists in the first half of this year, up 86% year-on-year. Of the total, there were more than 135,000 foreigners, a 4.4-fold increase compared to that of the same period last year. Revenue from tourism was estimated at 11.3 trillion VND, a 1.5-fold rise against the same period last year./.