To Hoang Temple

To Hoang Temple is located at To Hoang Alley, Bach Mai Ward, Hanoi City. The temple was initially built during the Nguyen dynasty in the 19th century. Through many ups and downs of history, the temple fell into disrepair. In response, in 2007 the temple was comprehensively repaired and restored with socially mobilized funds, including: the temple gate, main temple, communal house for the tutelary god, kitchen, and landscaped courtyard. In 2019, in addition to the three architectural blocks of the main temple standing adjacent to one another in a horizontal row and the scattered shrines in the courtyard area, there was also a temporary house on the left side of the temple, which is the To Hoang communal house area. Inside the gate of the relic site, close to the communal house, is Cultural House No. 7 under the People's Committee of Cau Den Ward; in front, adjacent to the enclosing wall of the temple gate, there remains an old ornamental pillar. To Hoang Communal House worships the god Linh Lang, with a five-bay main hall and a two-bay rear sanctuary built in the Dinh Hoi year (1888). After peace was restored (1954), the communal house was used for a time as a school, and later as a warehouse for the Thanh Nhan construction site (1978). In 1984, the construction site still used the rear sanctuary and the left side bay as a storage warehouse, while the remaining bays were used by the People's Committee of Cau Den Ward and as the Cau Den Ward youth club. At present, although To Hoang Communal House no longer exists, six stone steles are still preserved on the rear wall of To Hoang Temple: 'To Hoang Thon Bi Ky' erected in the 18th year of Tu Duc (1865), the 2nd year of Dong Khanh (1887), 'Hau Than Bi Ky' erected in the 5th year of Khai Dinh (1920), and 'Hau Dinh Bi Ky' erected in the 1st year of Bao Dai (1926). In addition, inside the room reserved for the communal house, an altar and some ritual objects are arranged as a place to worship the tutelary god, along with some horizontal plaques, couplets, and some components of previously preserved artifacts such as the front of the altar (leo), the palanquin poles, and some decorative pieces. This architecture has been kept unchanged to this day. To Hoang Temple is an architectural work belonging to the form of folk belief culture of Mother Goddess worship. The existence of the relic together with the system of artifacts and round statues is a valuable source of material for understanding the cultural life of the local people in particular and of Thang Long - Hanoi in general. Every year, on the occasions of the Thuong Nguyen festival, the beginning of summer, the end of summer, and the year-end ceremony (the 15th day of the 1st lunar month; the 1st day of the 4th lunar month; the 1st day of the 7th lunar month; the 15th day of the 12th lunar month), local people come to offer incense and worship the saints here.