Tien Le Communal House

AN TRAI COMMUNAL HOUSE

This communal house belongs to An Trai village, Son Dong commune, Hanoi city. Previously, this place belonged to Van Canh commune, Tu Liem district, Quoc Oai prefecture, Son Tay trấn.

The communal house was built on a large plot at the edge of the village, facing south-southeast. The entrance is highlighted by a gate with two large ornamental pillars decorated with stylized four-phoenix and floral motifs and couplets praising the homeland; it connects to smaller pillars through a low wall adorned with images of elephants attending and war horses.

The Dai Bai (main worship hall) is a five-bay horizontal house with closed gable walls, built on a three-step foundation 0.7 m high, highlighted by Makara leaf dragons and a pair of dragons flanking the moon on the roof ridge. Inside, the roof trusses are made in the “gia chiec” style combined with “chong ruong” over four rows of columns. Based on the Chinese characters on the wooden components, the communal house is determined to have been founded in 1677 (Le dynasty) and restored in 1732, leaving carved panels of dragons and phoenixes, long ma, and tiger amulets in the central bay. In the central space hangs the horizontal plaque “Ho quoc ty dan” (Protect the country, help the people); below is an 18th-century incense table with a set of eight treasures and two side plaques.

The Hau Cung (rear sanctuary) is a later building in the closed gable wall style, comprising one large bay and two small bays, with roof trusses in the “gia chiec ke suot” style. In the central bay hang two horizontal plaques: “Thanh cung van tue” and “Thuong dang linh tu”. The most solemn area is a mezzanine sealed on three sides, inside which are placed the throne and tablet of the Thanh Hoang (village guardian deity), flanked by thrones of the Left Palace Lady and Right Empress; outside is a worship platform with kneeler and fish-scale feet in Le dynasty artistic style.

According to the ngoc pha (genealogical record), An Trai communal house worships Phan Tay Nhac - a general of the 18th Hung King, who once established a temporary palace here to rest and teach people farming, silk weaving, and study. After he passed away, the people of three villages An Trai, Hoe Thi, and Thi Cam built shrines and temples to worship him. To remember the merits of the Thanh Hoang, annually on his birthday (12th day of the 2nd lunar month) and death anniversary (1st day of the 12th lunar month), An Trai people solemnly organize a festival with traditional folk games.

An Trai communal house was ranked as an architectural and artistic relic by the Ministry of Culture and Information in 1990.