Historical relic site of Cựu Lục Communal House, Phúc Lộc Commune

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Introduction

Historical relic site of Cựu Lục Communal House, Phúc Lộc Commune

Cựu Lục Communal House is located in Cựu Lục Village, Phúc Lộc Commune, Hà Nội City. Since ancient times, the communal house has been a place for religious and cultural activities of the Cựu Lục community, and also a space preserving the good customs, practices, and traditions of the locality. The name “Cựu Lục Communal House” has been used by local people from the past to the present and is consistently used in the scientific dossier of the relic.

Cựu Lục Communal House is an architectural relic dedicated to the village tutelary deity of the Cựu Lục community. According to preserved documents and legends, the communal house worships four tutelary deities who were four brothers: Ông Cả (Cả Lượt), Ông Hai (Hai Uy), Ông Ba (Ba Hoằng), and Ông Út (Út Tán), dating from the Hùng Vương era. These deities are worshipped by the people as people who had merit in fighting the enemy, helping the country, and protecting the peaceful life of the people.
According to the legend preserved at Ân Phú Communal House – the main place of worship of the four deities – the four brothers were born during the reign of Hùng Duệ Vương. When they grew up, they were all accomplished in both civil and military affairs, skilled in strategy, and were assigned by the king to command troops against the northern invaders. After many battles, the four men defeated the enemy, rendered service to the country, and were rewarded by the king and entrusted with important positions in the royal court. After their death, they were deified by the royal court, and the people established places of worship to remember their merits.

Cựu Lục and Ân Phú have a close relationship in worshipping the four tutelary deities. The two villages are twinned and together maintain traditional rituals related to the worship of the deities. Documents about Ân Phú Communal House also show that the four deities were honored by dynasties, granted titles, and recognized for their merits to the people and the country. This is an important basis contributing to clarifying the historical and religious values of Cựu Lục Communal House.

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Story

01FESTIVAL AND RELIGIOUS CULTURAL ACTIVITIES

The Cựu Lục Communal House festival is an important cultural and religious activity maintained by the community through many generations. According to tradition, rituals of deity worship are solemnly organized, expressing the people's reverence for the tutelary deities. The festival is also an occasion for villagers to meet, interact, strengthen community solidarity, and together preserve the traditional customs of their homeland.

The main festival of the communal house is held on the 10th, 11th, and 12th days of the first lunar month. On the 10th day, after rituals at Ân Phú Communal House, the people of Cựu Lục organize a procession of the deity palanquin around the village, through the alleys so that the tutelary deity can “visit” the villagers. The procession has the large participation of the people, with an eight-tone band and eight precious objects; families along both sides of the road prepare offerings to welcome the deity palanquin. After the palanquin returns to the communal house, an installation ceremony is held in the evening.

On the 11th day of the first lunar month is the main feast day. The people organize the opening of the festival, offer incense, and welcome agencies, units, organizations, clans, villagers, and visitors from elsewhere to make offerings. In addition to traditional sacrificial rituals, the festival includes many cultural activities and folk games such as pot-smashing, swing, stick pushing, monkey bridge crossing, Chinese chess, along with mass cultural and artistic activities. Traditional chèo singing and folk singing are also maintained, contributing to a joyful and cohesive atmosphere during the festival.

On the 12th day of the first lunar month, the people continue to offer incense and conduct festival activities; in the late afternoon and evening, they perform the closing ceremony and close the communal house. In addition to the main festival, during the year the people also organize death anniversaries of the tutelary deities: the anniversaries of the First and Second Deities on the 12th day of the third lunar month; the anniversaries of the Third and Fourth Deities on the 28th day of the ninth lunar month. Current rituals both inherit traditional customs and are adjusted appropriately to contemporary cultural life.

02ARCHITECTURE AND RELIC SPACE

Cựu Lục Communal House was built on high ground in the village's residential area, in an area that was formerly a raised bank of the Red River. According to the stories of the elders, the communal house formerly had a grand scale, with a sturdy ironwood frame system. However, during the resistance war against the French, under the scorched-earth resistance policy, the communal house was destroyed. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, local people contributed labor and funds to restore the communal house on its old foundation.

The current overall relic site includes the gate, communal courtyard, main worship hall, and rear sanctuary. The main communal house has a layout in the style of the “Đinh” character, including the main worship hall and rear sanctuary. This is a familiar layout in traditional village communal house architecture, creating a space that both serves worship and meets the needs of community religious activities.

The communal house gate is built in the four-pillar style, including two large pillars and two small pillars, decorated with traditional motifs and couplets praising the merits of the deities worshipped. Beyond the gate is the communal courtyard, which leads to the main architectural area. The main worship hall is a horizontal building 5 bays, with gable walls and two tiled roofs. Inside there is a system of trusses, columns, and architectural components restored during the renovation process. The rear sanctuary is a vertical building behind, consisting of 2 bays, forming the overall “Đinh” character architecture with the main worship hall.

In the worship space, the ritual objects are concentrated mainly in the Đại bái (main worship hall) and Hậu cung (rear sanctuary). The Đại bái has horizontal plaques, parallel couplets, a set of eight ritual weapons and a processional palanquin; in the Hậu cung are arranged a dragon throne, spirit tablets, incense bowls, offering trays, candlesticks, incense burners and other ritual objects serving the worship of the Thành hoàng (City God).

03VALUES OF THE RELIC SITE

Cựu Lục Communal House has outstanding value in history, culture, worship, and artistic architecture. The worship of four Thành hoàng deities who rendered service to the country from the time of Hùng Duệ Vương reflects the tradition of honoring those who have contributed to the people and the country. Through many historical changes, the people of Cựu Lục have maintained worship, organized festivals and traditional rituals, deeply expressing the moral principle “when drinking water, remember its source” of the nation.

In terms of artistic architecture, although the communal house today has changed much compared with the former structure due to war and restoration, the overall layout still bears the characteristics of a Nguyễn-period communal house with a 'Đinh'-shaped plan. Some stone column bases, horizontal plaques and stone steles still preserved at the relic are traces that help evidence the presence of the communal house in history.

Today, Cựu Lục Communal House continues to receive attention from local authorities and people for management, protection and promotion of its values. Maintaining worship activities, festivals and cultural activities at the communal house contributes to preserving the community's cultural identity and educating today's and future generations about tradition. At the same time, the locality is setting requirements for continued repair, embellishment and completion of the landscape and auxiliary items in order to protect the relic in the long term and better promote its value.

With outstanding values in history, culture, beliefs, festivals and artistic architecture, Cựu Lục Communal House is a site of important significance in the spiritual life of local people. The relic is not only a place of worship of the Thành hoàng but also a space preserving community memory, customs, festivals and the fine traditions of the homeland, which need to continue to be kept, preserved and promoted for future generations.

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