Unique “Teacher’s Royal Decree Procession” Festival on Phu Quy Island

Nine villages on Phu Quy Island are celebrating the annual Teacher’s Royal Decree Procession Festival dedicated to Master Sai Nai, one of the island’s most sacred cultural traditions.

According to Nguyen Van Linh, Vice Chairman of the Phu Quy Special Zone People’s Committee, the festival is the island’s largest cultural event.

“Besides the royal decree procession ceremony, we also organize traditional hat boi performances at the temple of Princess Ban Tranh, who is believed to have helped establish the island,” he said.

Sacred Festival of the Island Community

The festival takes place at two important spiritual sites: Princess Ban Tranh Temple and Master Sai Nai Temple in An Hoa Village, one of Phu Quy’s nine ancient villages.

Traditional rituals such as incense offerings, royal decree processions, welcoming ceremonies, and sacrificial rites are held solemnly by island residents. Hundreds of participants wearing traditional costumes, accompanied by ceremonial music, colorful flags, and four-sacred-animal dances, create a vibrant and sacred atmosphere.

Princess Ban Tranh and Master Sai Nai are honored as pioneers who helped settle the island, taught farming, fishing, medicine, and protected local residents through generations.

The festival usually lasts three days. At the end of the ceremony, responsibility for worshipping Princess Ban Tranh and Master Sai Nai, along with the royal decrees, is officially handed over from one village to another.

Preserving Traditional “Hat Boi” Art

Alongside the procession festival, Phu Quy residents also organize traditional hat boi performances — a folk art form preserved on the island for generations.

Most performers are not professional artists. They are fishermen, workers, and local vendors who spend their days working before transforming into kings, generals, and princesses on stage with elaborate costumes and makeup.

Princess Ban Tranh Temple and Master Sai Nai Temple have both been recognized as national historical and cultural relic sites.

Local authorities hope to preserve and further develop the festival into a major cultural attraction for both residents and tourists, with the long-term goal of elevating it into a national-level festival.