Tho Khoi Communal House

Tho Khoi was one of the four villages of Cu Khoi Commune in the past. Under the Nguyen dynasty, Tho Khoi was a commune in Cu Linh Canton, Gia Lam District, Thuan An Prefecture, Kinh Bac Region. Tho Khoi and Xuan Do were merged into a new commune named Cu Khoi in Gia Lam District, Bac Ninh Province. From 1961, Gia Lam District was incorporated into the outskirts of Hanoi. Currently, Tho Khoi Communal House belongs to Tho Khoi 1 Residential Group, Long Bien Ward, Hanoi City.

According to the people of Tho Khoi, during the Le dynasty (15th-18th centuries), Mr. Dao Duy Chinh (Trinh), a native of Tong Son District, Thanh Hoa Prefecture (Thanh Hoa), came to this alluvial area to make a living. From then on, people came to reclaim this alluvial land and established Van Tho Hamlet. Later, the population grew increasingly dense and it became Tho Khoi Village. When the Dao family member died, the villagers of Tho Khoi, remembering his merit in founding the hamlet, worshipped him as the village tutelary god in the communal house.

Another legend says that he was a native of Tho Khoi Village, Tong Son District, Thanh Hoa Prefecture (Thanh Hoa), who came to this alluvial area to make a living. He had the merit of helping King Le escape danger, and later the royal court allowed him to control boats passing through this area... After he died, the villagers worshipped him as the tutelary god and he was granted a royal title by the court.

Yet another legend says that during his lifetime he was a virtuous man who made a living as a fisherman by boat. One night, a deity appeared to him in a dream and told him that early the next morning he should take his boat out onto the river to welcome the king. He obeyed, and indeed, when he rowed his boat to the middle of the river, he met the king fleeing from turmoil. He ferried the king safely across the river. Later, when he died, he was honored as the village tutelary god. The king also repaid the favor by exempting the people of Tho Khoi from paying ferry fees when crossing the Red River from Bat Trang to Dau ferry landing.

Currently, Tho Khoi Communal House still preserves 6 thrones and ancestral tablets dating from the 18th century, a stele bearing the 46th Canh Hung era (1785), the oldest royal edict bearing the 2nd Vinh Khanh era (1730), and especially on the architecture of the side wing of the Trung Duong building, there remain a few architectural corbels of Giong Temple (Phu Dong) and Tran Tao Communal House (Phu Thi) in the artistic style of the 18th century. Thus, Tho Khoi Village Communal House may also have been built at least from the 18th century.

The stele dating from the 46th Canh Hung era (1785), currently placed on the left side of the Trung Duong building, shows that the communal house was repaired in that year. Thus, in the 18th century, Tho Khoi Village was already a stable rural village in the social context of the time.

At the beginning of the 18th century, Tho Khoi Communal House already worshipped 6 deities, but originally the village only worshipped the Dao-family tutelary god, while other deities were only worshipped alongside. From this we can believe that the Dao-family tutelary god must have existed before the 18th century, which also corresponds to the historical timeline of the formation of Tho Khoi Village. In addition to the Dao-family tutelary god, Tho Khoi Village Communal House also worships 5 beneficent deities. The tablets of the 6 deities worshipped in the communal house bear the inscriptions:

- Dao Thanh Hoang Phu Huu Chinh Phuc Hien Hue Chieu Duc Phu Hoa Quang Van Dai Vuong.

- Bo Cai Hoanh Liet Hien Ung Duong Vu Tro Thuan Quang Khanh Hong Trach Dai Vuong.

- Cao Son Thong Ung Pho Te Chuong Hop Phu Huu Dan Duc Van Dai Vuong.

Linh Lang Pho Trach Than Dieu Chieu Cam Phu Ung Hien Huu Doc Khanh Dai Vuong.

- Bach Da Hien Hoa Xung Mac Pho Thong Hoanh Hop Doc Huu Phu Hue Dai Vuong.

- Di Me (Ly Me) Hien Ung Hoang Hue Quang Van Dieu Cam Duc Thien Bat Chinh Dai Vuong.

The communal house today is an architectural complex including: Tien Te (Front Hall), Dai Dinh (Great Hall), outer sanctuary, and forbidden sanctuary, which are rows of buildings parallel to one another and connected by tube corridors and thieu huong (incense-burning passages). Tien Te has 7 bays, Dai Dinh has 5 bays and 2 side wings, the outer sanctuary has 3 bays, and the forbidden sanctuary has 3 bays. The decorations on the architecture and artifacts in the communal house are very rich; in particular, the communal house still preserves 79 royal edicts from the Le and Nguyen dynasties, of which 76 have been recognized as rare and precious archival documents.

Tho Khoi Village Festival is held from the 8th to the 10th day of the second lunar month (the main festival day is the 9th).

Tho Khoi Communal House was ranked as a historical and architectural art relic by the Ministry of Culture and Information in 1990./.