Van Trai Temple, Van Trai Village

Van Trai Temple has existed for hundreds of years, carrying the ancient and solemn appearance of a sacred place of worship. To reach the temple, follow National Highway 1A from the city center to Thuong Tin Station, then turn right onto Road 427 for about 2 km. The temple features distinctive traditional architecture and is dedicated to the village tutelary deities, two generals from the era of the 18th Hung King: Tay Cong and Lo Cong.

Legend has it that both generals were sons of Mr. Nguyen Binh and Mrs. Chuong Thi Chuoc, who lived in Thanh Mien District, Hai Duong Province. Their parents were kind, simple, and humane. The story says that on the 10th day of the third month in the year of Nham Tuat, Mr. Binh and Mrs. Chuoc gave birth to two sons together in a single sac, and they named them as a dream had foretold. Later, when the two reached the age of 20, Hung Due Vuong bestowed titles on them and they served at the royal court.

During the years when foreign invaders threatened the southern border, Hung Due Vuong sent the two men to command troops; they won the battle and returned, and were promoted to grand generals. At that time, one brother stayed at court while the other went to govern in what was then Thuong Tin Prefecture. When governing, Loi Cong was close to the farmers, often going down to villages to instruct them, and was loved by the people. Tay Cong at court also earned many merits. When Thuc Phan seized the land of the Hung Kings, the two generals continued to fight on the battlefield. On the 13th day of the fourth month, a day of unusually fierce weather, both ascended to heaven. To express sincerity, gratitude, and respect, the people built a temple to worship them to this day, and successive dynasties conferred on them the title of Superior-grade Deity.

This temple was built to the north of Van Trai Village and faces west. The ancients built it in the traditional Dai Bai and Hau Cung architectural style. The Dai Bai area has five bays; the columns are made of precious, sturdy lim wood, resting on solid stone bases. The corbels are carved with extremely intricate and beautiful fish-dragon-playing-in-water motifs. Next is the connecting section between the Dai Bai and the Hau Cung behind it. Here, visitors will notice the raised four-sided eaves, which let in light and provide excellent ventilation. This also creates a highlight that makes the entire temple architecture especially distinctive and enlivens the landscape. Finally, the Hau Cung consists of three bays, carved with lat leaves or ngo dong leaves, a very common carved architectural motif of the Nguyen dynasty. Van Trai Temple has gone through many historical ups and downs, leaving an impressive and unique architectural and historical heritage. You can also admire relics from the Le dynasty, such as two Phong statues wearing loincloths and bare-chested, attending on both sides, or delicately carved wooden nghe creatures, from scales to curled manes. The temple has a sacred atmosphere, peaceful and beautiful scenery, and meaningful stories of historical merits; it is a place not only for the people of Van Phu Commune, Thuong Tin District, to return to but also draws countless visitors from everywhere to worship. During the festival on the 10th day of the third month, the place is thick with incense smoke, and the villagers joyfully organize the festival. From traditional martial arts and lively music with drums and gongs to palanquin processions, it is all very interesting and attractive.

You may not know that the ket cha custom, also called by local people the custom of sworn brotherhood, is an activity that has existed since ancient times in the rich Kinh Bac land. It is also regarded as a cultural cradle of the Northern Delta, where village and neighborhood ties are valued and become strength in any struggle. Today, even in modern life, the ket cha custom is still widely passed down and promoted. For Van Trai Village, also known as Van Trai, called Giai Village, in Van Phu Commune, there has been a ket cha custom with Nhan Hien Village, also called Chiec Village, in Hien Giang Commune, both in Thuong Tin District, on the outskirts of Hanoi, for hundreds of years. This deeply meaningful activity has continually developed and been continued through many generations. In addition, Van Trai Village also has deep village ties with Nguon Village in Van Tu Commune and Phung Cong Village in Hoa Binh Commune, both in Thuong Tin District.

After the village tutelary deities were established, mysterious spiritual stories often occurred; a typical example was during the Tran dynasty, when the people of Chiec Village in the area were in distress because of a great epidemic, with illness and death everywhere. In that situation, Empress A Nuong advised the villagers to come and petition for help through the sacred power of Loi Cong and Tay Cong, the two tutelary deities of Giai Village. The petition indeed proved effective, and the people of Chiec Village survived a calamity that seemed like a matter of life and death. From that time on, Chiec Village formed a ket cha bond with Giai Village to show respect and gratitude.

The hundred-year bond of mutual understanding has helped connect the two villages of Giai and Chiec. Stories of deep affection and heavy gratitude have been written, expressing the spirit of solidarity, unity, and working together as one, with the people of both villages regarding each other as brothers in one family. For this reason, customs were also created as a way to express the great value of this spirit.

Because they are brothers, there is a rule that young men and women of the two villages absolutely cannot marry each other; if there is any conflict, they must sit down to discuss and reconcile, and absolutely must not clash and violate propriety. Common affairs of both villages are also attended to, without discrimination that could cause division and loss of solidarity. It can be said that this is a rare and distinctive tradition in the long-standing culture of the Northern Delta.

With spiritual stories associated with the two tutelary deities of Giai Village, people from some villages came to worship, typically Nguon Village, also called Nguyen Hanh Village, in Van Tu Commune, who also requested a copy of the title for worship. Other villages such as Phung Cong in Hoa Binh Commune also came to petition before major events, asking the two great kings to manifest their power and pray for everything to go smoothly. An old story also records that at that time, the people of Phung Cong Village went to buy wood to repair the communal house; when the wood raft drifted past the river section where the two tutelary deities of Giai Village were worshipped, it got stuck and no matter how they tried, it could not move on. So they had to prepare offerings and ask the village elders to pray and request permission from the tutelary deities; only then could the wood raft move. Since then, whenever Giai Village holds its festival on the 10th day of the third lunar month, representatives of Phung Cong Village come to Van Trai Temple to offer thanks to the village tutelary deities.

The people of Thuong Tin in general and the people of Van Trai Village in particular have continually continued and promoted the long-standing traditional values handed down for hundreds of years, among which the ket cha custom is an indispensable activity expressing the spiritual strength of solidarity and long-lasting attachment. To this day, the ket cha custom is not only a ritual of worshipping deities but has also entered practical life, despite the increasingly modern development of industrialized and modernized life.

In modern life from the past to the present, the people of Giai Village and the three villages of Chiec, Nguon, and Phung Cong respect one another and regularly help one another in common affairs, contributing to production activities. For a long time, Giai Village has had the craft of making palm-leaf raincoats, so the people of Chiec, Nguon, and Phung Cong villages, wherever they encounter raincoats, buy them from Giai Village to support them and introduce them everywhere. Meanwhile, the people of Giai Village, wherever they go, are very fond of the handicrafts of Chiec Village, the turned wooden products of Phung Cong Village, and the household wooden items of Nguon Village. The people of the villages together support and introduce local products and continually carry on the tradition.

The villagers are proud of the broad spirit of Van Trai Village's ket cha custom with other villages, which is continued and promoted. For the elderly in the village, they always remind their children and grandchildren to preserve and continue this fine custom, and at the same time to know how to unite and help one another in daily life. For the younger generation, the connection between the youth union members of Van Trai Village and those of Chiec, Nguon, and Phung Cong villages has become closer, thereby forming charity programs and spreading love in the community.

Van Trai Temple occupies an important position in the religious life of the local people. It is also where the most solemn rituals of worshipping the village tutelary deities take place, attracting visitors, such as the village festival on the 10th day of the third lunar month. In 1991, the site was recognized as a national-level historical and cultural relic, and since then it has attracted an increasing number of visitors to sightsee and learn about it.