Black Lady Mountain (Ba Den Mountain) is 11km from Tay Ninh City center. This place has many legends as well as many festivals. The main god in the mountain is Black Lady. Lady is worship at Lady temple in the halfway of the mountain. The Black Lady Mountain Festival considered as the most important one held on May 4, 5 and 6 of the lunar calendar.
Everything has been prepared for many days. Midnight of the fourth Lady Bathing Ceremony occurs. At that time, the doors of the temple are closed and the lights and the candles are out. Six women in which there are nuns start Lady Bathing Ceremony. Everybody burns incense to ask Lady for bathing and getting a dress for her. Then everyone takes off the clothes that she has been wearing for during the last year. Then they use the water cooked with the fragrant leaves from forest to take a bath Lady. Finally, everybody uses clean dry towels to dry Lady and puts on new clothes. Many people believe that the water bathed cures many diseases, even the towels and the old clothes. Therefore, they ask for drinking and carry along with them.
Bathing finishes. The women burn incenses, lights, and candles again and open the doors wide to wait for and welcome visitors. Early in the morning on the fourth, Lady Mountain Festival begins. Tourists hustle in the temple to burn incenses and pray Lady. During the fourth, At Lady Temple, there are folk festival forms like dance, opera and so on. The fifth is main ceremony day. People offer Lady 10 precious offerings including incense, candle, fruit, tea, cake, wine and so on. Monks and nuns read pray book in front of the altar of Lady. The sixth Homeless Spirits Offering Ceremony happens. Monks and nuns read pray book to pray for homeless spirits wishing them to go beyond usual practices. In this day visitors still offer incenses and pray.
Black Lady Mountain Festival contains both folk belief and Buddhism that show wishes of peaceful and prosperous life.
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