The Ritual of Tossing the Palanquins in the Cờn Shrine Festival

The Cờn Shrine is located by the Hoàng Mai River, Nghệ An Province. The shrine is where the worship of the Four Hallow Ladies of Đại Càn originates. Nowadays, the Cờn Shrine festival lasts from the 15^th to the 21^st of the lunisolar First month, in which the primary rites fall on the 20^th and 21^st.

The most highlighted part of the Cờn Shrine festival is the palanquin tossing ritual.

The procession is divided into two teams, the water procession and the land procession. The water procession consists of large boats carrying the throne and decrees on the sea. The land procession carries the palanquins along the river bank.

The palanquin carriers consisted of 80 young, healthy men carrying 4 large palanquins running along the bank. They run while shouting chants and folk songs. In the procession, there are also people carrying umbrellas, fans, sacred weapons and flags, etc. Every 20-30 m, the group once again tosses the palanquins up high. At that time, all attendees will cheer out loud. Many devotees try to crawl under the palanquins believing it would bring them good lucks.