The rain washes the temple

Every year is the same, just before and after Hung Vuong’s death anniversary (March 10 in lunar calendar), Phu Tho rain and fall. They call them clean, cool, and clean rains.
Usually around March 7 to March 9, rain washed the temple to welcome visitors to offer incense to Hung Kings on the main festival day. After the festival, there will be rain again on March 11 to March 13, cleaning the environment to return the sacred beauty to Hung Temple. My grandmother said that the rain to wash the temple was associated with the ritual of “carpentry” in ancient worship beliefs. That is to bathe the statues, the worshiping objects, and the spirit of the temple before conducting the rituals during the festival season. For the purpose of making the space of worship pure and solemn. I don’t know how spoiled what she told me, but the people of My Ancestral land always consider the rain to wash the temple as a blessing and a sacred thing.

Therefore, from the time I was a child, I kept the habit of waiting with her for the March rain as a mysterious interesting thing of nature. Rain can be big, maybe small. Maybe it will rain rain no matter how hot or hot the weather was in the early summer before. The children exclaimed in delight as the rain rained down on the roof, overflowing the yard, soaked in the lush green trees. My grandmother sat on the front porch and sat on the porch to tell us stories. I lay my head on her feet, limping to hear her sound mixed in the rain. Ha Temple gradually appeared in my mind, about the place where Au Co’s mother was born, wrapped in a hundred eggs, and hatched a hundred children. Trung Temple is the place where the Hung Kings, the Lac servants and the Lac generals travel to admire the natural scenery, meet to discuss water. Thuong Temple is located on the top of Hung Mountain, looks like a dragon head facing the south. Dragon body meanders into Van mountain, Tran mountain, together with Hung mountain to form three peaks “forbidden three mountains”. Through her story, every tree, pine, brown parashorea, persimmon … that grows naturally in the national forest of Hung Temple has its soul. Since they were seeds, they have been cherished by many historical strata and are witnesses of many ups and downs of the nation. Her eyes looked far away in the rain, her mouth humming: “Newly built this year / The girl who often sings this period sing / March to the temple / Remember the anniversary of the death of the four thousand years of this year / Walk around the scenery of the sky and clouds / Lot, Da, Tam Dao also turned around. … “ Lac and Hong descendants during Hung Vuong’s death anniversary – Hung Temple Festival 2019. Photo: Phu Tho Newspaper. My grandmother passed away for a long time. For years I have waited for the rain to wash the temple as if waiting for the memories of her to wake up. She often opened the lid of the big jars placed in the corner of the yard to catch rain and ask for fortune. That rainwater she brought to make tea for him to drink. Because the rain to wash the temple is usually showers, the water is clear and sweet. Combining with spring tea buds that are both bold and fragrant can afternoon the enjoyment of his tea. Moreover to her every drop of rain to wash the temple is precious. Because it is associated with a sacred and mysterious spiritual phenomenon. She used to say: “Rain makes your face cool. The rain permeates the field ”. She laughed dryly, including a lifetime of serenity. During the last trip of her life, a rain of washing the temple sent her off to the afterlife. I sat back with betel and betel still smelled of new lime, but I missed her so hard. Now every month of the third lunar month I have the opportunity to visit my house, and I often stand on the porch for a long time to remember the old years. Before my eyes appeared the image of her sitting watching the rain, chewing betel and eating her mouth carefully with a knife: “Everywhere, descendants of three times / People who pray for blessings, those who go to pray for fortune / Do prayers like anyone / Please remember the tenth of March”.