Ich Vinh Communal House

Location: The communal house is located in Ich Vinh Hamlet, Lien Minh Commune.

Worshipped Figure: The house primarily worships Quy Minh Dai Vuong (one of the three Tan Vien Son Thanh deities), and also jointly worships two subordinate generals, the Wood God and the Water God.

Formation process: The communal house was first built in the early 19th century. After many restorations and repairs, its current architecture strongly reflects the artistic style of the Nguyen dynasty (20th century).

2. Distinctive features of architecture, art, and relics

Space and Architecture: The communal house was built on land chosen according to the ancient feng shui theory of tang phong dac thuy (retaining wind and retaining water) to gather energy and pray for blessings, fortune, and peace for the villagers. The layout from outside to inside includes: the ceremonial gate, the communal well, the Tien Te house (five bays with two wings), the central hall, and the rear shrine (three bays).

Carving art: The wooden frame and the system of relics of the communal house feature clear, gentle carvings. Decorative themes are mainly traditional sacred creatures and flowers and plants, conveying a timeless wish for enduring fertility and abundance.

Precious artifacts: The communal house currently preserves a very valuable collection of relics, notably 6 imperial edicts from the Nguyen kings (the earliest from the 6th year of Thieu Tri - 1846), along with a system of Bat Cong palanquins, dragon thrones, ancestral tablets, horizontal plaques, and couplets.

3. Distinctive traditional festival

Time and rituals: The Ich Vinh Communal House Festival is held on the occasion of xuan thu nhi ky (spring and autumn festivals). The highlight of the main festival day is the palanquin procession from the communal house to the shrine, with the participation of a procession of flags and fans, the eight treasures, an eight-music ensemble, and a sinh tien dance troupe.

Unique offerings to the Saint:

Main festival day: Offerings include pork, glutinous rice, and com xoay (rice filled into a bowl and then rotated).

The Saint's birthday (the 6th day of the first lunar month): Villagers offer banh cuon with sweet bean filling (made from yellow-flower glutinous rice, white bean filling, molasses, and wrapped in green banana leaves).

The day of transformation (the 6th day of the eleventh lunar month): The offering is a round glutinous rice cake shaped like an ox tongue (made from yellow-flower glutinous rice and mung bean filling).

Meaning: Through performance rituals and offerings, the festival is a place where the ancient beliefs of agricultural residents converge, praying for favorable rain and wind, bountiful harvests, and a prosperous people and abundant goods.

4. Relic ranking With the fine values it preserves, Ich Vinh Communal House was ranked by the People's Committee of Ha Tay Province (former) as a Historical and Cultural Relic on August 25, 2005.