The custom of worshipping the village tutelary deity of Dong Ngan

Within the cultural space of a Northern Delta village, where the communal house roof and temples have become sacred landmarks in community life, Dong Ngan Village preserves a distinctive custom of tutelary deity worship: the veneration of three Great Kings, associated with the three Upper, Middle, and Lower temples and the village communal house. Every year, on the full moon of the second lunar month, local people gather to perform sacrifices, carry the spirit tablets in procession, and commemorate the merits of the deities worshipped. Over many generations, this ritual has not only expressed reverence for the ancestors but has also provided an occasion for the community to continue the stream of tradition, nurture love for the homeland, and raise awareness of preserving the heritage of their forebears.

According to accounts by village elders, the custom of worshipping the three Great Kings in Dong Ngan dates back to around the Tran dynasty. The three worshipped figures are Bao Khang Great King, Minh Khiet Great King, and Quoc Lang Great King. Each is associated with a separate story in the legends, together converging in the people's sacred memory of figures who helped the country, fought invaders, and protected the peaceful life of the community.

According to the legends still handed down, Bao Khang Great King is the foremost of the three deities worshipped; he belonged to the Hung lineage and was born at the noon hour on the 15th day of the second month in the Giap Thin year. From his youth, he was renowned for his handsome appearance, strong body, and extraordinary health. At the age of 20, when the country faced incursions by the Yin army along its borders, he gathered retainers from Ai Chau, went to the capital to meet King Hung Huy Vuong, and asked to contribute his strength to repel the invaders.

By the king's order, he was given additional troops and stationed them in four villages—Long Tuu, Bac Cau, and Dong Ngan commune—divided into two command quarters to organize defense and combat. After the Yin invaders were defeated, he was conferred the title Bao Khang Great King. The image of the deity, linked to the Hung lineage and to the cause of fighting invaders, thus became a symbol of patriotism and the will to protect the nation in folk consciousness.

Joining forces in that campaign to quell the rebellion were two deities from Dong Ngan: Tran Khiet Cong, honored as Minh Khiet Great King, and Pham Nhi Lang Cong, honored as Quoc Lang Great King. According to the legends, both were born in the Binh Than year and had extraordinary appearance. When they heard that Bao Khang Great King had received the royal decree to fight the invaders, they rose together to lend their support. Once the country was at peace, they were conferred titles and became deities worshipped by the villagers for many generations.

The three Great Kings—one linked to the Hung lineage and two from Dong Ngan itself—appear together in a story of great duty to the nation. Although the deeds handed down through legends belong to the layer of folk religious memory, what remains deeply in community life is respect for those who rendered service to the country and the people, and the belief that the homeland is sheltered by the good values entrusted to it by earlier generations.

This reverence is also reflected in the system of royal edicts from various dynasties. According to extant materials, 11 edicts are preserved for Bao Khang Great King, dating from the late Le dynasty to the Nguyen dynasty; Minh Khiet Great King has 5 edicts, including one from the Tu Duc era; Quoc Lang Great King has 2 edicts from the Khai Dinh era. These edicts not only record the deities' status in religious life but are also historical traces that help clarify the maintenance and development of the tutelary deity cult in Dong Ngan.

The distinctive feature of the tutelary deity worship custom in Dong Ngan Village is also shown in the connection between the three Upper, Middle, and Lower temples and the village communal house. Each structure is a place of worship, and together they form a unified cultural and spiritual whole in which the memory of the Great Kings is preserved and transmitted.

If the temples are where villagers offer incense and worship the deities, the communal house becomes the gathering point on occasions of common sacrifice. On festival days, ritual objects, incense tables, and palanquins are prepared solemnly; hamlets participate in performing the rituals according to tasks maintained over many generations. Amid the rhythm of drums, the sound of gongs, and the chants of the sacrifice, the space of the communal house and temples seems to connect past and present, so that each villager today can continue the customs of their forebears through their own presence and sincerity.

In particular, the procession of incense bowls from the three temples to the village communal house, together with the organization of processions for the deities' thrones and spirit tablets according to the assignment of each hamlet, shows the important role of the community in maintaining the custom. This is not only the work of the monument management sub-board or those directly performing the rites, but a shared responsibility voluntarily undertaken by the villagers. From elders preserving the rituals and young men joining the palanquin processions to those preparing offerings, everyone contributes a part so that the festival takes place solemnly and completely.

The sacrifice to the tutelary deity of Dong Ngan Village is held on the 15th day of the second lunar month every year. In the past, the village festival lasted five days; today it is held over three days, with the main rituals still preserved according to traditional custom.

Preparation begins on the 13th day of the second lunar month. The monument management sub-board and young men of the village clean the ritual objects; villagers join hands to clean the monument area and prepare a clean, solemn worship space. These seemingly ordinary tasks clearly express community awareness: to welcome the sacred festival day, each person first contributes to caring for the village's place of worship.

On the 14th day of the second lunar month, offerings such as a pig's head, white glutinous rice, fruit, fresh flowers, betel and areca, and ceremonial water are carefully prepared. Hamlets organize processions of incense bowls from the three Upper, Middle, and Lower temples to the village communal house; the procession of the deities' thrones and spirit tablets is assigned to individual hamlets. The procession includes more than one hundred participants and uses eight-pole palanquins or ceremonial palanquins according to local custom. Through the coordinated efforts of the participants, the procession ritual not only brings ritual objects to the place of worship but also expresses the unity and reverence of the whole community toward the tutelary deities.

On the afternoon of the same day, the admission sacrifice takes place, performed by a ritual team of 14 people, with one chief officiant, two assistant officiants, two eastern and western chanters, and nine ritual officials. The ritual lasts about 60 minutes and follows the traditional order: drums and gongs sound, ritual music begins, offerings are inspected, the officials adjust their scarves and robes, wash their hands, offer incense, offer wine and water into the sanctuary, read the secret prayer, and complete the rites.

Each step of the sacrifice has its own rules and requires sincerity, care, and close coordination. From the opening drumbeat to the chants in the ritual, everything creates a solemn space where gratitude is expressed not only through offerings but also through attitude, gestures, and adherence to rules handed down. In the evening, mass cultural performances continue the village festival atmosphere, bringing a cheerful and familiar nuance to the traditional festival.

On the morning of the 15th day of the second lunar month, the main festival day, the rituals are carried out according to the scheduled times. At about 7:30 a.m., the two senior elders are welcomed from designated locations to the communal house. At 8 a.m., the head of the organizing committee opens the festival and introduces the origins and merits of the tutelary deities and the significance of the Dong Ngan communal house–temple complex.

From 9 a.m. to about 10:30 a.m., the main sacrifice takes place. According to the traditional order, the ritual begins with drums, gongs, and ritual music, followed by inspection of offerings, hand washing, offering incense into the sanctuary, the first wine offering, reading the address, the second and third wine offerings, burning the address, the chief officiant receiving blessings, and the conclusion of the rite. This sequence is performed carefully, showing respect for the deities and for the conventions that have become the village's order.

After the solemn rituals of the main festival day, the afternoon features the concluding rite. Hamlets organize processions of incense bowls, returning the deities to their respective temples. When the ritual ends, the village space returns to a cheerful rhythm of daily life through folk games such as blindfolded pot hitting, cockfighting, and Chinese chess. In the evening, a cultural performance program continues to enrich the spiritual life of the people during the festival days.

In this flow, the ritual and festival parts are not separate but complement each other. The ritual part conveys reverence and gratitude; the festival part creates opportunities for meeting, interaction, and strengthening neighborhood ties. Therefore, the tutelary deity festival is not only an annual religious event but also an occasion for the community to recognize shared values, preserve identity together, and renew bonds between generations.

To sustain the tutelary deity worship custom, besides the system of monuments and sacrificial rituals, there is also the role of those who directly preserve, practice, and teach the customs. The selection of ritual participants also reflects traditional notions of purity, order, and family virtue. People in mourning do not participate in the rituals; the chief officiant and temple keeper are chosen from among those with both husband and wife alive, obedient children and grandchildren, and a well-ordered family. These conventions are tied not only to the religious views of the past but also show the role of family morality and personal character in the communal life of the village.

Notably, worship and participation in the festival are not based on a separate mandatory written regulation but are mainly maintained through the people's self-awareness, consensus, and responsibility. This custom was also recorded in the village convention before 1945. It is precisely the natural bond between religion and community lifestyle that has helped the custom continue, not merely as a ritual to be performed but as part of the cultural core of the people of Dong Ngan.

The rituals are transmitted mainly orally, through practice sessions for the sacrifice, through the guidance of knowledgeable people, and especially through directly witnessing and participating in the festival. Those who came before pass on to those who come after not only the order of rituals, how to offer incense and wine, or the chants of the sacrifice, but also an attitude of reverence, care, and a sense of responsibility toward the shared heritage. In this process, each generation both receives what their forebears left behind and contributes to maintaining the vitality of the custom under today's living conditions.

The custom of worshipping the tutelary deity of Dong Ngan Village is the crystallization of many layers of value: folk memory of deities who rendered service to the country; a system of monuments tied to spiritual life; sacrificial and procession rituals practiced in traditional order; and community conventions preserved through village covenants and the people's self-awareness.

What gives the custom its vitality lies not only in the edicts, legends, or rituals performed on the full moon of the second lunar month, but also in the perseverance of ordinary people who day by day preserve the village way. They are the elders who know every ritual rule, those who take charge of cleaning ritual objects, the young men who contribute to the procession, those who prepare offerings, and the families who voluntarily join the festival. Through each task, tradition is present in life through concrete, familiar, and meaningful actions.

In the consciousness of the people of Dong Ngan, worshipping the three Great Kings is first of all an expression of gratitude to those honored for their merits to the people and the country; at the same time, it conveys wishes for a peaceful life, a warm family, and a united community. From the communal house roof to the temples, from solemn sacrificial rites to laughter during folk games, the custom connects spiritual belief with love for the homeland and connects the memory of earlier generations with the responsibility of people today.

Amid the changes of modern life, preserving the tutelary deity worship custom of Dong Ngan Village is therefore not merely about keeping an ancient ritual. It is also about preserving the values that make up community identity: gratitude, a spirit of turning toward origins, bonds between generations, and awareness of joining together to protect the homeland's heritage. When the drumbeat of the sacrifice resounds again each full moon of the second lunar month, and when processions from the three temples return to the village communal house, the Dong Ngan tradition is awakened again in the community's reverence—quiet yet enduring, simple yet sacred, like a cultural stream still flowing silently through generations of local people./.