Theatrical ancestors worshipped

The royal Theatre Troupe of the Hue Monuments Conservation Centre honoured the ancestors of tuong (classical theatre) at the theatre's ancestral temple last Thursday by performing original worshipping rituals.
The rituals related to the ancestors' anniversary, which falls on the middle of the seventh lunar month, was honoured at Thanh Binh Tu Duong on Chi Lang Street, the country's biggest worship house dedicated to the ancestors of tuong theatre, according to Truong Tuan Hai, the troupe's director.
During the morning, artists in traditional royal costumes performed worship proceedings exactly as they had been done hundreds of years ago, including making offerings and reading orations to tunes played on traditional instruments.
The ancestors' anniversary had been observed every year by generations of artists at the temple, but it was the first time the rituals were restored to their original form after dozens of years of interruption due to wars.
Tuong, which is noted for its symbolism, archaic language and ancient plots praising feudal values, reached its peak under the Nguyen lords in the South and then kings of the Nguyen Dynasty during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, according to historians.
It was seen as a type of national drama and royal theatre, closely intertwined with the royal court.
The biggest ancestral temple dedicated to it in the country was built in the royal capital of Hue under the Nguyen Dynasty and has been preserved until today, September 8.