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City Guide
Jan 09, 2019 / 05:59

Visiting the place of Tan Vien Son Saint worship

Thanh Dat

Và Temple Festival is the largest festival of the high land to the west of Hanoi and is held twice a year.

The Và Temple, also known as Đông Cung (Van Gia village, Trung Hung commune, Son Tay town, Hanoi), is one of the four palaces in the Doai Mountain worshipping the Genie of Tan Vien Mountain, a Vietnamese folk legend.


 
The temple is located on a large mound. According to legend, the Và Temple was the home of Tan Vien Son Thanh Genie. Up to now, the temple has undergone many renovations at various stages. There was a large restoration in 1884, and most recently in 2008. The temple is currently preserving 5 masterpieces of "Tan Vien Son Thanh"; 18 royal edicts, 47 pairs of parallel sentences which are carved on the wall and columns.
The temple covers 2,000 m² hidden under the canopy of lush forest. Surrounding the two sides and behind the entire temple area there is the wall of laterite. It is said that the laterite used to build in the Vong hill, Van Gia village is also known as "Serpent Ham."


 
The temple’s architecture spreads out symmetrically. In front of “nghi môn” (main gate) there is a canvas that depicts caves with natural features. Also there is a vase painted with a tiger sitting in the cave. The back of this cave is the "long cuốn thuỷ" (dragon in the water) in the form of four gods representing rain for good weather, the season and the people. From the front of the room, through a low walled courtyard there is "nghi môn" - the main gate of the temple.


 
Next to the “nghi môn” is a large courtyard, located among the chambers. Close to the two sides of the main chamber there are the bell tower and the drumstick, then two rows of left chambers and right chambers. The temple is a place for pilgrims. The main chamber is located parallel to the wall at the end of the yard. In front of the main chamber, there is a vase for burning incense.
Finally, the contiguous “tien te” house is arranged in the  hieroglyphic letter of "cong", which is also the worshipping place of Mother Goddess – “thần mẫu Thanh Tan Vien” and the “Holy Trinity” (including Thanh Tan and his two siblings Cao Son , Quy Minh).


 
Và Temple Festival is the largest festival of the high land to the west of Hanoi and is held twice a year. The Spring Festival is held on the first full moon day (from the 13th to the 15th) of the year, and every three years, the biggest celebration is held. The heart of the festival is the procession of "Duc Thanh Tan Holy Trinity" from the Temple across the Red River to Ngu Dui Temple (Vinh Linh commune, Vinh Tuong district, Vinh Phuc province) for showering back to the temple.

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