Ngo Communal House

The Ngo village communal house was built on a high, spacious plot at the edge of the village, facing southeast, while Ngo shrine was built on a plot in the shape of the character “đinh,” facing northwest. The communal house and shrine of Ngo village are closely linked through the worship of historical figures and the festival, namely: Linh Lang, La Lang, Queen Phuong Dung, and Princess Can Hanh.

According to folk legend and the relic’s genealogical record, during the reign of Ly Thai Tong, Trinh Vinh invaders (Song invaders) came from the north to invade Dai Viet. Faced with the enemy’s strength, the king called on the people to temporarily leave Thang Long to preserve their forces. The queen and princess disguised themselves and went to Ngo camp (the current shrine worships the two) to open a shop, which also served as a secret contact point. Linh Lang and La Lang were two generals serving the Ly dynasty. In a decisive battle with the Song invaders at the Cau River defense line, La Lang was wounded and had to be taken to the rear base for treatment. On the way past the shop, he received enthusiastic help from the queen and princess. After recovering from his wounds, on the way to the battlefield, Linh Lang and La Lang again passed through Ngo camp and met the queen and princess. The queen told the two generals: “This time, when you fight the enemy, I will pray to heaven and earth; you will certainly defeat the enemy.” Indeed, the two men went into battle and defeated the enemy, after which they returned to Ngo camp to thank the queen and princess. When they arrived at Ngo camp, the people told them that the queen and princess had died. The people of Ngo village, grateful to the two shop owners for helping and praying to heaven and earth for the two generals to defeat the enemy, reported this to the court. King Ly issued a decree conferring on the two women the titles: Can Tiet Phuong Dung Queen and Can Hanh Princess, and had the people build a solid shrine for worship. When Linh Lang and La Lang died, the king ordered temples to be built and bestowed on the two men the titles: Linh Lang Dai Vuong Thuong dang than and La Lang Thuong dang than.

During the resistance war against the French colonialists, Ngo village communal house was also the site of many important historical events: it was a secret operating base where local cadres regularly met to discuss and exchange plans to counter the enemy. Here, on the 1st day of the 3rd lunar month (1951), the enemy forced the people to the communal house for roll-call checks; they scoured the hamlets and found a secret tunnel in Dong hamlet, where soldiers and guerrillas killed themselves in the tunnel rather than be captured. The enemy continued to search, captured comrade Nguyen Van Truong, and brought him to the communal house yard to torture him along with a number of young men in the village to intimidate the people’s spirit. They used brutal methods, tying comrade Truong to a sau tree in the communal house yard and then shooting him dead. The enemy’s barbaric actions could not shake the spirit of the people of Ngo village.

During the years of resistance against the United States for national salvation, the communal house was also the stationing place of Unit 205 of the General Department of Logistics - Ministry of National Defense. In 1967-1972, the communal house was a warehouse for military supplies, weapons, ammunition, and food to supply the southern battlefield. In 1973-1975, a sapper unit used it as a barracks for study and training to reinforce the southern battlefield. Therefore, Ngo village communal house also has significance as a revolutionary resistance relic.

The architecture of Ngo village communal house is in the shape of the character “đỉnh” and includes: the communal house gate, the Main Hall, and the Rear Hall.

The Ngo village shrine was originally built of thatch and bamboo. In 1990, villagers rebuilt it on the old foundation in the shape of the character “đinh,” facing northwest, with an old-style tiled roof and surrounding walls. Ngo village shrine is located 25 m from the Red River dike. The shrine’s structure includes a three-bay Dai Bai (main worship hall) and a one-bay Rear Hall, with trusses structured as “kèo cầu quá giang trốn trụ.” In the Rear Hall are placed the altars and two statues of Queen Phuong Dung and Princess Can Hanh.

Among the relics still preserved at Ngo village communal house and shrine, the first to mention is the genealogical record “Linh Lang Dai Vuong,” along with palanquins, incense tables, and long dinh (ceremonial palanquin houses). There are also horizontal lacquered boards and couplets... painted and gilded, carved elaborately and meticulously.

Ngo village communal house and shrine were ranked as a historical and architectural-artistic relic by the Ministry of Culture and Information in 1995./.

According to Hanoi Scenic Spots and Relics, Volume 02