Temple of natural scenery - Worship of the Mother Goddess of the Three Palaces and Four Palaces

Summary: The worship of the Mother Goddesses of the Three Palaces and Four Palaces is the worship of both female and male deities who have contributed to the country and the nation. They have been holy, assisted the king in fighting the enemy, built dikes, cleared land for cultivation, taught people to establish villages, etc. With the worship of the Mother Goddesses, the female goddesses are taken as representatives of the entire religion to express the worship and respect for women.

Existing for a long time in provinces such as Thanh Hoa, Nam Dinh... this belief has been present in almost all regions of Vietnam. In the South, this type of belief appeared quite early, possibly since the French colonial period due to the migration of people from the North to the South, going through many war events and regional characteristics, so the belief in worshiping the Mother Goddess of Tam Tu Phu has somewhat changed. To clarify this issue, the author would like to introduce Thien Nhien Canh Temple - a belief in worshiping the Mother Goddess of Tam Phu, Tu Phu in Ho Chi Minh City. During the research process, due to the relatively new field of research and limited documents, the article may not have gone into depth in comparing the belief in worshiping the Mother Goddess of Tam, Tu Phu in different temples in Ho Chi Minh City, so it is difficult to avoid shortcomings. We hope that readers will forgive us.

The origin of the Mother Goddess worship is very little recorded in documents, however, many temples believe that: This belief has existed since ancient times, since ancient times, with the matriarchal system, people have known about the worship of goddesses, the worship of goddesses continued until the Le dynasty, there is a story recorded, when the Holy Mother Lieu Hanh was born three times in the later Le dynasty and the Holy Mother of the Upper Realm helped the king defeat the enemy, the system of the three and four palaces was rearranged and developed, from then until now with the Holy Mother Lieu Hanh as the main deity of the belief, creating an internal and unique belief that only exists in Vietnam without any foreign influence in this belief. Mother Goddess worship according to the Tam - Tu Phu belief is the respect and gratitude of the Vietnamese people for women, promoting the virtue of endurance, hard work, and the protection and nurturing of one's children. Through that, it expresses the wish for favorable weather, no disasters or for the forest to be free of wolves and wild animals.

1. Some features of the worship of the Mother Goddesses of the Three Palaces and Four Palaces in Ho Chi Minh City

The Mother Goddess Temples in Ho Chi Minh City are mostly the result of migration from the North, before the French colonial period, around 1900 to 1915, and the largest was the "Song Son Lao Tu" association, from which the "Song Son Vong Tu" Mother Goddess Temple was established in District 3. In addition, there were a number of temples established around the same time: the Mother Goddess Temple of Cuu Trung in District 4, Thien Nhien Canh Temple, Quan Giam Sat Temple, Quan Lon De Tam Temple, Tranh Giang Vong Tu Temple... and from the roots of the incense burners and disciples from the above temples, many new temples and shrines were born. And most of the above temples and shrines have been worshiped for 3-4 generations, so the above temples can be considered the origin of the development of the Mother Goddess worship of Tam Tu Phu in the South.

It can be said that there are many temples belonging to the Tam Tu Phu belief system established by disciples, incense, Thanh Dong Dao Quan, most districts have temples or shrines, even in the provinces located in the suburbs, but the most concentrated is probably in District 4, especially Ton Dan Street: Mau Cuu Trung Thien Temple, Mau Thoai Temple, Duc Thanh Tran Temple but also worships Cong Dong Tam Tu Phu, on Doan Van Bo Street there are also 2 temples worshiping Mau Tu Phu which are also very sacred: Chau Luc Temple, and 1 temple is Van Huong Temple (worshiping Mau Lieu Hanh), and there are many private Mau temples.

2. Thien Nhien Canh Temple - a unique feature of the Zoo

* Some features of Thien Nhien Canh Temple

Located in the grounds of the District 1 Zoo, Ho Chi Minh City, apart from the Hung King Temple and the Ho Chi Minh City History Museum, very few people know about this temple, but history has proven that this place is very special because the temple was established by a Dong in the early 20th century, by the people of Northern Vietnam who migrated to settle down, nearly a hundred years ago. The temple has been passed down for three generations and the third generation is a female incense keeper who still serves the Saint. Originally, the temple worshiped "Co Tu", people said that "Co Tu" was originally a woman who was captured, raped and killed by the French colonialists, when she died, she was very sacred, often appearing to help people. Later, the incense and disciples contributed money to worship Quan The Am and then worshiped the Tam - Tu Phu Cong Dong. After a period of change and rearrangement, there was a worship system that brought Chua Son Trang to the main worship of the temple.

* The arrangement of the shrine's worship location

The temple is quite modest, including: the main worship room, the guest room which is also the place for the ladies' and gentlemen's floors and the ancestral altar, the kitchen, the warehouse and an outdoor place to worship the Mother of Nine-fold and the Lady of Four, and the furnace. Because it is the main temple of the Lady of Son Trang, the Lord's palace is the largest. The Lord's palace is made in the shape of a rectangular block, covered with wood with a glass front, the surface above the glass is a layer of wood inlaid with a pair of long dragons flowing down to cover the entire palace, inside is the Lord's golden body, dressed in a very delicately sewn green robe, above is a turban covered with a green scarf draped behind the body. Every year the Lord's clothes are changed by the temple's servants, on the Lord's palace there are 3 green hats, symbolizing the Lady, in front of the Lord's palace are a pair of gold-plated fans to lean on the palace and a bronze trio, and in the front is a bronze incense burner to worship "Holy Lord".

On the right side of the Lord's palace is the Mother's palace, where the "God of the Mother" of the Mother worshiping religion is worshiped, which is the Three Holy Mothers' Palace. The Mother's palace is somewhat similar to the Lord's palace but is shorter in height and longer in width. Inside is the Three Holy Mothers' Palace, in the middle is the First Mother of Heaven, on the left is the Second Mother of Heaven, on the right is the Third Mother of Water Palace, and there is also a bronze censer inside. There is something special that in front of the Mother's palace is a set of worshiping bowls and there is also a small fence in front of the palace. This small fence symbolizes that the Mother's palace wants to separate from other palaces because most temples worship the Three Holy Mothers in the forbidden palace, but here because the temple lacks space, permission is asked to do so. In front of the palace is also a yellow incense burner for worship.

Next to the Mother's Palace is the Buddha's Palace, which is higher than the Mother's Palace. There are many Buddhas worshiped here, but the largest is the statue of Bo Quan The Am, dressed in yellow. The Lord's Palace is the place to worship the Prince, including 3 gentlemen: Prince Bo, Prince Bay, Prince Muoi, also placed in a rectangular block, but more modest and simpler than the Lady's Palace. In the palace, there is also a blue-green wine pot, in front of which is a yellow incense bowl. Next to the Prince is the Tran Dynasty altar, where the main Saint Tran is worshiped along with two accompanying Saints with an incense bowl placed in front.

In addition, the temple also worships some saints originating from the South, such as Quan Thanh De Quan, located on the right of the Buddha altar, next to him is the place to place the incense bowls of the disciples at the temple. The second worshiping altar is the Five Ladies of the Five Elements, placed on the stairs when going up to the main altar. Outside the guest room is the Lau Co and Lau Cau altars, with the worshiping style being Lau Co on the left and Lau Cau on the right. On the Lau Co altar, there are four golden bodies: Co Doi, Co Bo, Co Chin, and Co Be Thuong Ngan, corresponding to the four colors of their clothes: Blue, White, Pink, and Black. Co Doi and Co Be are offered floral scarves by the servants, while Co Bo and Co Chin are wrapped in turbans by the servants, giving the four ladies a lovely yet luxurious look. Lau Co has two incense bowls, a large bowl in front, cast in bronze, and a smaller bowl located inside right next to Co Be.

Under the Co Tower is the Tiger altar to protect the house and prevent evil spirits from entering the temple. On the right is the Cau Tower, where the Holy Boy is worshiped, with a main incense bowl and four golden bodies of the Holy Boy along with toys because the Boy is considered the youngest saint of the Four Palaces, and has a childlike personality, so there are often toys for the Boy, some places even have a unicorn head for the Boy.

Below the palace of Quan Thanh De Quan is the place to worship the Five Tiger Generals: Worshiping the 5 Tigers of the temple, next to the worship of the God of Wealth and the local God of the Land. Above the temple, in addition to the hat of the Lord, there are 2 green snakes and white snakes winding around the temple, as if they are protecting the purity and guarding this temple. In addition, there is a large hat, called the communal hat, representing the gods of the Mother Goddess Worship of Tam Tu Phu, in front of the hat cave are the hats of 5 great officials representing 5 great officials.

* Temple of various gods

Inside the temple, there are many gods, which are symbols of the Mother Goddess worship from ancient times and have been maintained to this day. The main temple is the Lady of Son Trang. The story goes that the Mother Goddess of the Upper Realm appeared in King Le Thai To's dream to lead the enemy to Ai Chi Lang, from then on the king remembered the girl in his dream and granted her the title of Le Mai Dai Vuong, with the title Viet Bach Anh Chuong Quan Son Lam Princess. Since then, the Lady of Son Trang has become the Mother Goddess of the Upper Realm, second in the Three Holy Mothers. Thus, the worship of the Four Palaces at Thien Nhien Canh Temple is considered a harmonious combination of the worship of Mother Goddess Lieu Hanh and the worship of Son Trang. The worship of Son Trang is an ancient worship of the Vietnamese people; it originated from the Au Lac period; about 2000 years ago. The worship of the Four Palaces probably only became popular when the Holy Mother Lieu Hanh appeared more than 600 years ago.

The Mother Goddess worships the Three Holy Mothers including: The First Mother of Heaven with the management of the sky, the Mother Goddess of Heaven in the folk concept of the Four Dharmas includes: Dharma Cloud, Dharma Rain, Dharma Electricity, Dharma Thunder. Including 4 goddesses who create Clouds - Rain - Thunder - Lightning, who have a great impact on the agricultural culture of rice, the main festival of the Mother Goddess is on the 3rd day of the 3rd lunar month. The Second Mother Goddess of the Upper Realm with the management of the mountainous region, it can be said that the Mother Goddess of the Upper Realm is closely associated with nature, people, plants, birds and animals, the main festival of the Mother Goddess of the Upper Realm is on the 2nd day of the 2nd lunar month and the 20th day of the 9th lunar month. The Third Mother Goddess of the Water Palace governs the water region, the Mother Goddess is closely associated with the aquatic life of the Vietnamese people since ancient times, directly related to the Ancestor of the Vietnamese people in the early days of nation building, the main festival of the Mother Goddess of the Upper Realm is on the 10th day of the 6th lunar month.

The Buddhist temple worships many Buddhas, but the largest is the statue of Quan The Am. In Mahayana Buddhism, Quan The Am Bodhisattva is often called by another name, Buddha Quan The Am Bodhisattva - a person with virtue and supernatural power second only to Buddha Shakyamuni. He is a Bodhisattva who can see clearly all the misfortunes, sufferings, and grievances in the world, and is always ready to help sentient beings. Perhaps because of this virtue, the temple pays attention to him.

Next to the Lord's Palace is the place to worship the Princes, including: Prince Bo often holds the Phuc Duyen festival, blesses the people, helps businessmen and students to pass their exams. Second, Prince Bay is the son of King Bat Hai Dong Dinh. Following his father's orders, he descended to earth at the end of the Le Dynasty, becoming the 7th son of the Nguyen family. When the Northern invaders flooded into our country and invaded the Quy Hoa district (now Yen Bai and Lao Cai provinces), the situation in the country was also very chaotic. The seventh famous general of the Nguyen family was sent by the king to fight the enemy. In a battle, he was captured and brutally interrogated by the enemy. General Nguyen Hoang Bay refused to submit to the enemy, as a result he was murdered and his body thrown into the river. The people buried him and built a temple to commemorate his merits. He was given the title "God of National Defense" by the dynasties and the people.

Finally, Ong Hoang Muoi is a legendary character, who was born to help people. The people of Nghe An also pass down legends about the origin, life, and career of Ong Hoang Muoi with real characters in Vietnamese history. According to legend, Ong Hoang Muoi is the 10th son of King Bat Hai Dong Dinh. Following orders, he came to earth to help people, not only because he was the 10th son but also because he was a talented and virtuous person, both literary and martial, not only a general who fought on the battlefield, he was also a very elegant and gallant person, good at poetry and literature. With the legend of the "talented and virtuous" general. The Four Palaces of Ong Hoang: From left to right, the order is Ong Hoang Bo, Ong Hoang Bay, Ong Hoang Muoi

The temple also worships Saint Tran, the patron saint of the cause of fighting foreign invaders, protecting the country and helping people to eliminate evil spirits and cure diseases. This belief began when the Chinese migrated to South Vietnam, they brought the belief of worshiping Quan Thanh and the Vietnamese people also worshiped Quan Thanh De Quan from there. In families, the male head of the household often worships him as a guardian deity, calling him "the guardian deity".

The worship of the Five Elements includes: The First Lady Kim Tinh Goddess, the Second Lady Moc Tinh Goddess, the Third Lady Thuy Tinh Goddess, the Fourth Lady Hoa Phong Goddess, the Fifth Lady Tho Duc Goddess. The order symbolizes the elements: Kim, Moc, Thuy, Hoa, Tho (metal, tree, water, fire, earth). With selective acceptance and blending with pre-existing folk beliefs, the ancient Vietnamese people brought the Five Elements theory into worship with the representative image of the Lady Ngu Hanh or the Five Mothers of the Five Elements. From there, the custom of worshiping Ngu Hanh Nuong Nuong was formed.

The Five Tiger Generals are five Tiger gods who govern the five directions and five elements in the worship of the Mother Goddess of the Four Palaces. They are mountain gods symbolizing sacred power, subordinates of the Mother Goddess, who play the role of gatekeepers for temples, destroying evil spirits, and bringing balance to the five directions of heaven and earth. They guard the five directions according to the law of the five elements: the Yellow Tiger (yellow - earth element) in the center position corresponding to the central main hall, the Green Tiger (green - wood element) corresponding to the East, the White Tiger (white - metal element) corresponding to the West, the Red Tiger (red - fire element) corresponding to the South, and the Black Tiger (dark gray - water element) corresponding to the North. The image of the Five Tigers not only symbolizes the five elements with the relationship of mutual generation and mutual inhibition in the universe but also to demonstrate the authority of each god in the sacred house's law. The Five Tiger Generals combine with the Green Snake and the White Snake (representing the water area) to guard the temple.

God of Wealth, God of the Land: God of Wealth is the god who will help bring a lot of fortune and luck in life, God of the Land prays for peace, happiness, warmth and is the god who governs this temple land.

Lau Cau is one of the four holy boys, who were born as princes in heaven and were sent by the King to earth to help people settle down, fight enemies and save the country, and return to heaven when they were still teenagers. Besides, Lau Co is one of the four holy girls, a beautiful feature in the Vietnamese Mother Goddess worship.

It can be said that the worship of a variety of gods is the beauty of Thien Nhien Canh Temple, the inheritance and promotion of the tradition of worshiping the Mother Goddesses of the three and four palaces of Vietnamese culture, most typically in the Northern and Central regions. In which there is an exchange and combination with the elements of Mother Goddess worship in the South, creating the diversity and uniqueness of the temple. The worship of many gods, the combination of many types of Mother Goddess worship shows that the simple aspirations for a simple life of the residents here are nurtured and inherited with the nature of promotion, enlivening the cultural identity of Vietnam.

Through the arrangement of the ceremony and the rituals at the Thien Nhien Canh Temple, we can feel the respect of the Vietnamese people for the Gods as well as for the majestic nature of our country. An indispensable element is the symbolization of historical figures who have contributed to protecting the Fatherland, demonstrating a great national solidarity because not only the Gods of Kinh origin are worshiped, there are also many Saints of Muong, Man, Hoa... and Thanh Dong can also be of different ethnicities and religions but all follow in the footsteps of serving the Holy Mother. Today, to continue to preserve and promote that tradition, it is necessary for people who understand the customary law and beliefs of worshiping the Mother of Tam Tu Phu, but also Co Dong and Thanh Dong to join hands to protect and prevent bad people from taking advantage of and distorting those intangible assets.

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