Ngoai Communal House

Binh Da Ngoai Communal House is one of the two important communal houses of Binh Da village, in Binh Minh Commune, Thanh Oai District, Hanoi. The communal house is called “Ngoai” to distinguish it from Noi Communal House, which lies deep in the village.

This communal house is located on a plot of land with a special position, which according to legend is the position of “six dragons gathering in audience“, “two phoenixes flying together“, carrying sacred feng shui significance. The communal house is near the relic area of Noi Temple and Ca Well, a place closely associated with the worship of Lac Long Quan and Linh Lang Đại Vương by local people. The area around the communal house has a peaceful landscape with many ancient trees and natural ponds, creating a solemn worship space rich in cultural value.

Ngoai Communal House worships Linh Lang Dai Vuong, son of King Ly Thai Tong (reigned from 1028 to 1054). According to deity records and historical documents, Linh Lang was Prince Hoang Chan, an outstanding figure in both letters and martial arts. He, together with the famous general Ly Thuong Kiet and Prince Chieu Van led the Dai Viet army against the Song invasion in the 11th century. In this war, the poem “Nam quoc son ha” is said to have resounded from the temples of Truong Hong and Truong Hat as a declaration of independence of the nation.

Besides fighting the Song army, Linh Lang Dai Vuong also participated in campaigns against the Champa kingdom in the south. On the march, he and his soldiers once set up camp and rested in the Binh Da area. According to legend, before setting off for battle, the villagers came to see him off and expressed the wish that they could later establish a temple to worship him if he died. Linh Lang then stuck a bamboo staff into the ground and said that if the staff took root and grew green and well, the villagers should worship him. Indeed, the bamboo staff grew lushly after he died, becoming a sacred omen. The villagers of Binh Da built Ngoai Communal House to worship him, honoring him as Duong Canh Thanh Hoang, one of the four sacred deities of the Thanh Oai region.

Binh Da Ngoai Communal House was built in the traditional “Dinh” character layout, including the main components: Nghi Mon, Phuong Dinh, Dai Bai, and Hau Cung. The Nghi Mon is designed in the style of a pillar gate, with one main path facing the main road. On top of the pillars are decorations depicting four phoenixes paying court, along with relief motifs bearing the symbols of the four sacred creatures (dragon, qilin, turtle, phoenix). The pillar bodies bear couplets praising the landscape and the merits of Linh Lang Dai Vuong.

Phuong Dinh is a distinctive architectural work, square in structure, with two tiers and eight curved roofs. On the collar edge of Phuong Dinh, the four Han characters “Linh Lang Dai Vuong” are rendered in relief, expressing reverence for the village’s patron deity. Dai Bai is a newly built horizontal house but retains the ancient architectural style, with a system of intricately carved trusses. Behind Dai Bai is Hau Cung, where the memorial tablet and incense table for worshipping Linh Lang Dai Vuong are placed. This structure is connected directly to Dai Bai, forming the characteristic pestle-shaped layout of Vietnamese village communal houses.

The area around the communal house has many relics associated with the legend of Linh Lang, such as the square well—said to be a trace left by him, the square pond—a symbol of Linh Lang’s pair of boots, and the lotus pond in front of the square well—shaped like his winged hat.

Currently, Binh Da Ngoai Communal House still preserves many artifacts of high historical and artistic value. Most notable is the stone stele “Binh Da bi ky”, carved in the second year of Bao Dai (1927), recording the legend and merits of Linh Lang Dai Vuong. In addition, the communal house has many ancient worship objects such as a stone incense bowl, bronze candlesticks, a lacquered and gilded worship throne, and horizontal plaques and couplets praising the deity. Some carved panels on the trusses and altar screens bear the artistic style of the Nguyen period, reflecting the high aesthetic level of the craftsmen of the past.

Every year, on the 6th day of the third lunar month, the people of Binh Da organize the Ngoai Communal House festival, associated with the worship of Lac Long Quan and Linh Lang Dai Vuong. One of the important rituals of the festival is the palanquin procession from Noi Communal House to Ngoai Communal House, symbolizing the procession of the investiture edict of Lac Long Quan passed down to Linh Lang Dai Vuong.

The festival has many unique rituals, such as the procession of offerings to the deity, including the “first tray” for Noi Communal House and the “second tray” for Ngoai Communal House. In particular, all offerings to the Thanh Hoang are vegetarian trays, with 100 pieces of oan cakes, 100 bananas, 100 pieces of areca and bean, and 100 diagonal chairs, symbolizing the 100 children of Lac Long Quan gathering to attend the ceremony.

In addition, the festival also includes a ritual of carrying “bánh vía” – cakes offered to the deities, along with other offerings such as betel and areca, oản (glutinous rice cakes), and votive paper money. The procession of offerings passes by Cả Well to be presented to the Giao Long deity (regarded as Lạc Long Quân). The festival concludes with a torch procession from Đình Ngoại to Đình Nội in the evening, creating a majestic scene with five-element flags, four sacred creatures flags, dragon and lion dance troupes, and the vibrant sound of drums and gongs.

With its distinctive historical, cultural, and architectural values, Đình Ngoại Bình Đà was ranked as a national-level architectural and artistic monument in 1991 by the Ministry of Culture and Information (now the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism). It is one of the typical communal houses of the Northern Delta region, clearly reflecting the worship of the village Tutelary God and the spirit of honoring national heroes among the people of Bình Đà.