Dich Dinh Communal House (Dich Vy Village)

Location: Dich Dinh Communal House is located in Dich Dinh Village, Lien Minh Commune.

Worshipped Figure: The communal house worships the village tutelary deity Linh Lang Dai Vuong (traditionally believed to be Prince Hoang Chan, son of King Ly Thai Tong or Ly Thanh Tong), who made great contributions to repelling foreign invaders and protecting the territory of Dai Viet. The communal house also jointly worships Ngoc Tri and Hoang Thach.

A unique worship custom: A rare distinctive feature of the communal house is the custom of jointly worshipping 'stone dogs' as the tutelary deity. According to legend, the younger brother named Hoang Thach was unjustly killed by his elder brother and miraculously transformed into a stone dog that drifted to a river bend in Dich Vy Village. The people retrieved it and built a shrine to worship it, honoring it as the tutelary deity and regarding him as a 'Bao Cong' who specialized in justly adjudicating grievances and helping the villagers prosper in their livelihoods.

2. Distinctive features of architecture, art, and relics

Architecture: The communal house has a layout in the shape of the character Dinh, consisting of the Dai Dinh hall (5 bays, 2 side wings) and the Rear Sanctuary, located in an open space harmonious with nature beside a lotus pond and an ancient banyan tree.

Wood carvings: This is a treasure trove of 18th-19th-century folk sculpture with extremely refined relief carving, raised carving, and openwork techniques. The decorative motifs strongly express peaceful agricultural aspirations, such as 'Dragon Rolling in Water,' 'Turtle Carrying the River Diagram,' dragons facing the sun, phoenixes, and the Four Sacred Creatures.

Collection of stone dogs: The communal house possesses a collection of 16 stone dog statues (1 large and 15 small ones with many amusing appearances) created in the 18th century. This group of statues is placed on a high platform, facing Hat Mon Temple and the mouth of the Hat River as if guarding and protecting the relic.

Precious relics: The communal house has preserved 16 royal edicts from the Nguyen dynasties, along with a system of splendidly carved dragon palanquins, a throne, and altars lacquered in red and gilded with gold.

3. Distinctive traditional festival

Time: The village festival takes place in early spring, from the 6th to the 14th day of the first lunar month annually.

Main activities: The festival includes solemn rituals such as water procession and offerings, along with a lively festive section with traditional folk games: wrestling, cockfighting, and cheo singing. The festival is organized in unity by the people of 4 villages (Dich Dinh, Dich Trong, Dich Trung, Dich Thuong).

Religious exchange: The highlight of the festival is that on the 7th day of the first lunar month, the people of Dich Vy Village bring offerings to Hat Mon Temple (where the Trung Sisters are worshipped) to present them. Tradition says that only when the 'younger people' of Dich Vy bring their offerings do the 'elder people' of Hat Mon begin the ceremony, expressing a spirit of honoring origins and the close bond among the resident communities in the region.

4. Relic ranking With its great historical, architectural, and sculptural values, Dich Dinh Communal House was ranked by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as National-level Historical, Cultural, and Artistic Relic in 1991.