Doai Giap Communal House

When mentioning Duong Lam, perhaps everyone knows of this land of outstanding people and sacred spirits - a hamlet of 'Two Kings'. It is the birthplace of two national heroes, King Phung Hung and Ngo Quyen. This is an area that has preserved quite a lot of the nation's historical, cultural, and spiritual values. Its architectural works are associated with the two Kings, expressing the local people's respect and admiration for them. Among these works is Doai Giap Communal House, belonging to Duong Lam residential group and located within the national relic complex of Duong Lam Ancient Village.

The communal house worships King Phung Hung – who was honored as 'Bo Cai Dai Vuong' and made the village tutelary god. According to the village elders, Doai Giap Communal House dates back a long time. At that time, the relic was only a small shrine built by the villagers to commemorate Phung Hung's merits. Later, as Confucianism developed, the villagers upgraded the shrine into a village communal house. The communal house was built with traditional, locally characteristic materials such as laterite bricks and various types of precious wood. In 2001, the communal house was ranked by the state as a national-level historical relic.

Doai Giap Communal House is located on beautiful, open land in the center of the village, facing southwest. In front of the communal house is a large pond. On both sides of the front of the communal house are ancient wells built with laterite, a material characteristic of this area. Notably, the well water here is crystal clear and never runs dry; villagers call it the 'dragon's eye well.' There, the dragon's head faces east (Hon hamlet), the dragon's tail faces north (the inter-village road), and in the distance, villages are glimpsed amid green bamboo, evoking the peaceful beauty of the Vietnamese countryside.

Having existed for hundreds of years through many upheavals of history, time, and war, the communal house still retains the original ancient appearance of a Vietnamese communal house roof. Doai Giap Communal House is currently built in the shape of the character 'Nhi'. Behind the courtyard is the main architecture, consisting of two buildings, the rear sanctuary and the front worship hall, separated by a narrow courtyard paved with Bat Trang bricks. The two buildings are nearly equal in height, but the rear sanctuary appears deeper and wider than the front hall. The rear sanctuary of the communal house consists of three bays and uses the columns of the old communal house. The outer gable walls are built with stepped buttresses; the systems of subordinate columns, main columns, paneled doors, and entrance doors to the rear sanctuary are all made of very sturdy precious wood. On the roof ridge are square symbolic pillars topped with molded lanterns and a pair of stylized kneeling nghe creatures. The communal house still preserves many precious worship objects, most notably a bronze censer set dating back nearly two centuries, cast very meticulously and skillfully, featuring a pair of lions holding globes.

Every year, on the 8th day of the first lunar month, the people of Doai Giap village hold a festival to commemorate the merits of King Phung Hung, with solemn rituals and many festive activities such as rice-cooking contests, wrestling, and Chinese chess...