Voi Communal House

Voi Communal House belongs to Thach That Commune

Voi Communal House worships three village tutelary deities surnamed Chu Tuan, Chu Hung, and Chu Liet, who were people from Ba Trung (China). They lived during the reign of Emperor Xian of Han and were sent to serve as protectorate governors in Nam Viet. These three deities opened schools to teach Chinese characters, practiced medicine, fought against Meng Huo's army, and died in Nam Viet, so people in many places on the left bank of the Tich River built temples and communal houses to worship them.

Located on the right bank of the Tich River dike, the overall Voi Communal House relic site is a large-scale architectural work. In front of the communal house gate is a wide lotus pond, and in the middle of the pond rises a mound of earth resembling a pearl. There stands an ancient stone stele that tells of the communal house's restoration and records the names of benefactors who contributed their hearts and property to renovating the relic.

From the dike down to the relic site, a laterite wall surrounds it. The Nghi Mon gate is wide, with two bronze pillars rising 4.5 m high on both sides, decorated with many layers and tiers of relief patterns. Atop the pillars is a symbol of four phoenix birds with their beaks facing four directions, their small bodies pressed together to form a stylized floral cluster.

Beyond the wide communal house yard, on both gable ends are the Left Corridor House and Right Corridor House, parallel to each other and sharing the same architectural style: gable walls closed at the top, wooden frames with truss and crossbeam structures.

The main communal house is in the Nhi character architectural style, consisting of the Dai Bai hall in front and the Hau Cung sanctuary behind. According to the content of the stone stele and the inscription on it, the opening line indicates that Voi Communal House was built during the Le dynasty in the 6th Chinh Hoa era (1685), and during the Nguyen dynasty in the 6th Thanh Thai era (1894) it was extensively restored and additionally renovated with the outer Left and Right Vu structures.

The Dai Bai hall is an ancient architectural work with four roof leaves and four corners forming curved dragon-nose blades; below the communal house's blades are ceramic ornaments made of ash-gray terracotta with stylized tails, created during the Later Le dynasty. Its floor plan consists of five main bays and two side bays, and its roof frame has four main trusses and two corner trusses in the side bays.

Each truss has six rows of columns; the main columns are 4.3 m high and 0.55 m in diameter, with square capitals at the top. The column shafts have holes carved in the past to support the floor, and at the column bases are dressed stone blocks in square and round shapes. Notably, horizontal beams project from the columns to support elephant statue platforms, with wooden elephants standing on square capitals.

The interior of Dai Bai is arranged with many horizontal plaques and scroll boards on the beams and columns. In the central bay is a large, wide curtain door, an artistic carving of dragons and phoenixes in the Nguyen dynasty style. Below it is a wooden incense table carved and decorated with dragon, phoenix, and chrysanthemum patterns over many layers and tiers, brilliantly lacquered in red and gilded.

The Hau Cung sanctuary is built parallel to Dai Bai, in the Nhat character house style, with four curved roof blades, consisting of one main bay and two side bays. Its interior is arranged with an altar bearing three statues of the village tutelary deities, all seated with legs crossed. The central statue wears a binh thien hat, while the two side statues wear canh chuon hats and are smaller than the central one, in the round-statue artistic style of the Nguyen dynasty. Voi Communal House also preserves a Han-character jade genealogy compiled by Hanlin Academy Dong Cac Grand Scholar Nguyen Binh in the first year of Hong Duc (1572), along with 23 royal edicts, the earliest from the Le dynasty in the first year of Canh Tri (1663).

Every year, the villagers hold a traditional festival from the 14th to the 15th day of the first lunar month. The festival includes palanquin processions, ceremonies at the communal house, and many folk games such as wrestling, cockfighting, and chess...