Five Ladies' Shrine at Tram Well

According to the village elders, the Five Ladies' Shrine was built and maintained for worship by the local authorities and people through many generations. The five ladies are Princess Ngoc Hoa, Princess Dieu Hoa, Princess Xuan Hoa, Princess Mai Hoa, and Princess Tham Hoa. There are currently no written records of their origins and deeds. However, in the people's consciousness, the five ladies have always been credited with unseen protection and support for the country and shelter for the people, and have many times shown clear miraculous power.

Every year on the 25th day of the fourth lunar month, five fairies appear to bathe in the Well, then stroll up to the village Communal House and Pagoda. But if people quietly watch and observe their image, they remain; if people make noise or speak, the fairies disappear. Therefore, the villagers built a shrine to worship the fairies, also to pray that the deities would protect the people of Tram village, keeping them safe from epidemics, in good health, and living peacefully and harmoniously...

In the past, the shrine worshipping the five ladies had a traditional scale and architectural form. Over time, the old structure no longer remained, with only stone bases left. The current structure was repaired recently, from 2010 to 2022.

Amid the atmosphere of Tram village's traditional festival, alongside the ritual ceremonies and festivities maintained at the village communal house, there are also related activities at the Five Ladies' Shrine. According to the village elders, because the Well area formerly belonged to the communal house's 'xôi' land, the locality still maintains a ceremony at the shrine and a water procession. On this day, offerings to the Ladies include a five-fruit tray, flowers, incense, lamps, and so on.

In particular, within the grounds of the Five Ladies' Shrine there is also a water well, which local people call Cai Well, which supplied water for daily life in the past. The image of 'banyan tree, water well, communal house yard' has been associated with the cultural and spiritual religious life of the people of Tram village for generations.

Tram Well stands as historical evidence of the resistance wars in Tram village. In the early 19th century, secret bunkers around the well sheltered our insurgents. When the Nguyen court sent troops to tightly besiege them at Nha, the insurgents secretly moved to temporary shelter around Cai Well. During the resistance war against the French, Cai Well supplied water for cooking and drinking to guerrillas and soldiers. In particular, around the well bank were secret bunkers that sheltered and hid guerrillas; in some fierce periods, the people of Tram village were driven from the village by the enemy to ensure security for the Gia Lam Military Airfield. Yet the guerrilla unit here still held its position to monitor enemy movements, destroy soldiers on sweep operations, and harass and attack Gia Lam airport. These were also secret bunkers, protected and guarded by the sacred deities, and so they remained safe until the resistance won. It was especially sacred when, later, the US imperialists escalated bombing and destructive attacks in northern Vietnam: once again around the Well and Shrine, bunkers appeared for the people to take shelter from US bombs. In some instances in 1967, US bombs were dropped on Tram village, but thanks to divine protection the bombs did not explode immediately (that is, they were delayed-action bombs). After that, the people were evacuated to safety, so everyone had even more faith in the protection of the deities at Tram Communal House and in the sacred power of the Five Ladies' Shrine beside Tram Well...

Tram village well has existed for a very long time, with a very clear and cool water source from the Red River. The people of Tram village have long used this well water for cooking and daily life. Most notably, on New Year's Eve every year, people go to the well to carry a load of water home, called 'asking for fortune,' so that their business and work in the coming year will be cool and favorable.

According to the stories told by the village elders, the locality has a custom of 'carrying water at the beginning of spring' around the time right after New Year's Eve during the Lunar New Year festival. Thanks to this custom, many young men and women were matched as husband and wife.

Usually on the first and fifteenth days of each month, and sometimes on other occasions, people also come to offer ceremonies at the Well Shrine. A village custom preserved to this day is that whenever someone in the village passes away, when they are taken to their final resting place at the local cemetery, the procession must pass along the main road beside the Well today and stop for about 20 minutes to look back and bid farewell to the village Well (the village Well Shrine); the family burns incense at the Shrine, and then the procession continues to the cemetery for burial. This custom is still maintained today.

Tram village well, with the ups and downs of time, has become a witness to history. The well not only supplied water for daily life in the past and was associated with the belief of 'praying for fortune' at the beginning of spring, but was also a sheltering place for our military forces during the resistance.

Currently, the relic is carefully looked after and protected by the authorities and the people. The village has established a Relic Management Subcommittee responsible for regularly caring for and preserving the relic and maintaining cultural, religious, and spiritual activities related to the relic.