Ba Chua Xu Festival (hoi Ba Chua Xu). Temple festival from the 24th- 26th of the 4th lunar month in Chau Doc Town (An Giang Province) and held in a temple located at the foot of Mt. Sam, the ceremony being dedicated to the presiding goddess of the region and involving the lustration of the statue at midnight of the 24th when the villagers compete for the holy water used, as well as pieces of the statue’s discarded clothes, which bring good luck.
Ba Chua Xu Temple at night in Chau Doc, An Giang province, Vietnam.
Women skilled in fortune telling are in attendance to cast horoscopes for festival participants, and are given amulets in return. A procession parading the royal edict granted to the goddess is held at 4 pm on the 25th, accompanied by unicorn dances; and at midnight on the same day, there is another ceremony with theatrical performances (tuong opera, hat boi).
Ba Chua Xu statue in the middle of the temple.
The principal ceremony takes place at 4 pm on the 26th, with prayers, martial arts performances, and theatre.
