Hoa Xa Communal House Festival - Minh Ngu Lau

Every January 14th of the year of the Dragon, the People's Committee of Ta Thanh Oai commune organizes the opening ceremony of Hoa Xa - Minh Ngu Lau Communal House Festival to commemorate and show gratitude to the merits of the two respected Thanh Hoang, an opportunity to increase the spirit of solidarity and strive to build the homeland to be more and more prosperous and civilized.

Reviewing the history associated with the relic with the people, Chairman of the People's Committee of Ta Thanh Oai Commune Vu Hoai Son said that Hoa Xa Hamlet, Ta Thanh Oai is a land with a long history. Hoa Xa Communal House and Minh Ngu Lau are two cultural and architectural works closely related to each other, both associated with the two village tutelary gods; that is King Le Dai Hanh - the former emperor of the Tien Le Dynasty and Ba Chua Hen - a girl from To village who helped King Le defeat the invading Song army.

Hoa Xa Communal House is located on the Nhue River, which is red with alluvium all year round, with boats passing by day and night. This place has recorded the traces of King Le Dai Hanh's warships when he went to fight the enemy. The river, the wharf, and the ferry there witnessed the romantic love story of the King of the Early Le Dynasty with a girl from To village. No one knows the girl's name, but the villagers only know that she is called Miss Hen.

Legend has it that when she was young, her family was poor. Hen spent her early mornings catching mussels and crabs along the Nhue River, and at night she went along the road to collect firewood. In 981, the Song invaders invaded our country. King Le Dai Hanh and his generals marched through the Nhue River. Many people from the regions helped the king fight the invaders. One time, the king passed through Hoa Xa hamlet, temporarily stopping his troops to get provisions. At noon, he saw a girl carrying rice among the militia. She wore a conical hat and a coarse cloth shirt, bright eyes, clear eyebrows, a face as fresh as jade, and a smile like a flower. While resting, she went down to the river to scoop up water to wash her hands, and a five-colored cloud covered her head. The king thought that the girl was not ordinary, and paid attention to that matter. When the army went to battle, the king assigned her to look after provisions, she had the initiative to make banh chung and banh day, work in the fields, and take care of provisions for the soldiers.

Not long after, the enemy was defeated at Do Lo River, the world was at peace, the soldiers sang songs of victory to welcome the king back to the capital Hoa Lu. The court held a banquet, rewarded those who had contributed, the king chose an auspicious day, went on a royal tour to the North, and returned to Hoa Xa hamlet. The king invited the girl from the past, gave her brocade clothes, and welcomed her back to the capital. The king conferred on the girl from Hoa Xa hamlet the title of "Do Ho Quy Phi", and gave her 185 acres of rice fields for the villagers to cultivate. She, together with the king, took care of the pacification of the Champa and the Song, leaving behind her achievements throughout the country. Therefore, the girl from To village - Ba Chua Hen on the Nhue river has been solemnly recorded in poems and literature, in parallel sentences and aphorisms, placed on the same level as King Le Dai Hanh in the sacred positions in the temples of the villages along the Nhue river.

When she passed away, the villagers of To village held an annual memorial service and built the “Minh Ngu Lau” at her old residence. In memory of her, the villagers held a festival on the 15th of January every year, following the concept that “Tet all year round is not as good as the full moon of January”. In folklore, there are many legends about this love story, and when telling the story, everyone begins with the following poem: “A love story struck by the river. The king fell in love with Miss Hen from my village…” Hoa Xa Communal House faces south, located on a large plot of land, with a beautiful feng shui position. The communal house well follows the ancient concept of water gathering.

Through three steps to the Ngo Mon gate, there are four high pillars, two main pillars up to 5m high, the top of the pillars are embossed with two unicorns facing each other. Going down three steps, you will see the outer courtyard with a corridor and a long landscape area leading to the main gate. The main gate is built solidly, the two main pillars are built square, the top of the pillars are embossed with two unicorns, and the four sacred animals are decorated below. From the main gate to the inner yard, there are two stone horses standing to welcome you with full saddles and music. The communal house still preserves a pair of worshiping cranes, a statue of Ba Do Ho, a stone horse from the Le Dynasty, a stone stele, a genealogy, a royal decree... which are works of historical and artistic value. The relic was ranked as a historical and architectural relic in 1994. The Hoa Xa - Minh Ngu Lau Communal House Festival consists of two parts: the ceremony and the festival. The ceremony includes the following rituals: the holy ceremony, the procession of the Long throne on the palanquin, the procession of the Long throne to Minh Ngu Lau, the water procession, the pastoral ceremony at Minh Ngu Lau, the procession of the palanquin back to the palace...

The festival includes traditional games and cultural exchanges between units in the commune and neighboring communes. In addition, the festival also has the meaning of praying for favorable weather, healthy villagers, lush vegetation, bountiful crops, etc. The annual festival shows the efforts and attempts in preserving the national cultural identity of the government and people of Ta Thanh Oai commune, Thanh Tri district, Hanoi, Vietnam.

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