Offering to Ba Tra Cot temple.
When mentioning Tra Vong, almost everyone in Tay Ninh knows. That is because the districts and cities in the North of the province have their own beliefs worshiping the great Quan Tra Vong. In addition, those who study history also know that there used to be a Tra Vong base of the revolutionary forces of Tay Ninh province since 1948 during the resistance war against the French.
What about Tra Cot? Few people know. Because nowadays people often only mention the name Binh Luong, the name of a hamlet in Dong Khoi commune, Chau Thanh district. Dong Khoi is also a memorable name, because it embraces a historical relic.
That relic is Tua Hai, where the first armed attack on a stronghold of the Saigon army regiment took place on January 25-26, 1960. Tua Hai is considered the opening battle of a new period - armed combat of the Southern revolution throughout the South.
At that time, Tua Hai was still part of Thai Binh commune. It was not until 1998 that it was separated into a separate commune, named Dong Khoi, and Binh Luong was a hamlet in the new commune. Binh Luong is an old name. The evidence is that at the end of the 19th century, the commune only had 4 hamlets named: Thai Thuan, Thai Hoa, Binh Trung and Binh Luong (Revolutionary tradition of Thai Binh commune, 2010).
During the process of shifting administrative boundaries, this place name has now “drifted” to other villages and communes. For example, Binh Trung drifted to Binh Minh commune of Tay Ninh city; Thai Thuan now belongs to Thanh Thuan hamlet, Thanh Dien commune.
However, although the authorities at all levels of government at all times recorded Binh Luong, the local and neighboring people still called it Tra Cot. I wonder if Tra Cot and Tra Vong - a famous place quite close to the North - have any "relatives" with each other? Both of these names appeared very early in the area of the ancient Thai Binh commune.
In the book Cochinchina and the inhabitants of the Eastern provinces by Dr. JC Baurac, published in 1899 ( Ho Chi Minh City General Publishing House, 2022), it is also often mentioned. As in the general section (issues) about Tay Ninh (page 375), he said: "From Rung to Tay Ninh via Presla, Bau-Dia, Suoi-Ky, Tra-Von and Tra-Cot".
On page 434, he describes more clearly: “From Rung to Tay Ninh, you can take a different route than the one we took from Ke-dol… From there to Suoi-Ky takes less than 3 hours by ox-cart/ After 4 hours through the forest, we will reach Tra-Von village/ From Tra-Von to Tra-Cot takes 3 hours and finally, from Tra-Cot to Tay Ninh (the capital) takes at least 4 hours…”.
Rung, according to a map of Tay Ninh province printed in 1919, is located in what is now Thanh Tay commune, Tan Bien district. Strangely, this map has not been updated (or does not have) the road that is now National Highway 22B. However, there is still a printed rural road running from Rung to Tra Vong, Tra Cot.
Nowadays, thanks to the national highway, the road to Tra Cot - Binh Luong is very easy. Just ride a motorbike, go up to the Vinh intersection, then continue straight on the national highway for more than 2 kilometers, meet the road turning right, turn to go another kilometer to reach the center of Binh Luong hamlet. It only takes about 20 minutes to drive from Tay Ninh city. Yet at the end of the 19th century, the first-class colonial doctor JC Baurac had to travel 4 hours on an ox cart.
In the middle of the residential area, there are about 150 houses, there is a temple to worship the Lady of the Land, called Tra Cot temple. On the 9th and 10th of the 3rd lunar month (April 28 - 29, 2023), the temple has a very solemn and sumptuous festival to celebrate her death anniversary.
People from inside and outside Thai Binh and Dong Khoi communes flocked to the temple. They offered fresh offerings including fruits, cakes, and other vegetarian dishes to the altars in the palace. Unlike many other temples of the Lady, the highlight of the offerings was a “cotton tree” with a small, fresh banana tree.
Around the banana tree trunk are 5 small vases of bright yellow chrysanthemums. In addition, there are small bamboo branches tied with pieces of gold-plated paper or red paper with Vietnamese or Chinese characters written with wishes to offer to the Lady. Next to the cotton tree and fruit, there is also a beautiful "golden tray".
Dinh Ba Tra Cot is now a large, beautiful, and spacious shrine. The main shrine is 7.20m wide and 9.60m deep, divided into two spaces. The front shrine has the main shrine and two altars on the left and right. The back shrine has the altar of the nine generations of ancestors, the past and present.
The walls are built and the pillars are cast high to support two layers of tiled roofs. Under the roof of this large and beautiful shrine, the elders still remember the old shrine with only wooden pillars and a simple tiled roof. The old shrine was located in the middle of Tra Cot forest, more than 1km from the current location. Fierce war had spread here since the early days of the resistance against the French.
The book Tradition of Thai Binh commune also said that the first battle between the army and people of the commune against the French was in December 1945 on Tra Cot land. The old temple was destroyed by bombs and bullets. The new temple was only restored nearly 30 years ago, since 1996, and was originally just a small, narrow building.
Only in recent years has the palace been renovated and decorated with a three-door gate... Is that why since the palace was rebuilt, the number of visitors has been very large, except for a few years when there was an epidemic. Especially in 2023, the festive atmosphere of the past years has returned. There are also ladies dancing with gold trays. There is also traditional music and opera. And the most solemn and lavish ceremony is the ceremony to worship the Lady, which takes place on the afternoon of the 9th.
The story of the connection between Tra Cot and Tra Vong in the past is still unclear. But today, Tra Cot and Tra Vong are connected by a bloodline of the land. That is the TN17 canal that carries water from the West Canal from Suoi Ong Dinh hamlet of Tra Vong to the hamlets and fields of Tra Cot. Thanks to that canal, the entire Binh Luong hamlet area has become a land full of fresh green products.
Anyone traveling on Highway 22B from Tay Ninh City, passing the Vinh intersection for more than 2km and looking to the right, will see vast fields, sometimes lush green, sometimes bright yellow with ripe rice. Deep inside Tra Cot hamlet, on both sides of the canal are sparkling white lakes with ducks swimming and fish splashing.
Some places have deep green rubber plantations rising high like walls. Other places are filled with cassava, corn, and various crops. Tra Cot today is clearly a "good land" both figuratively and literally. Birds chirp around the high-rise bird houses, reflecting right on the water's edge. Life is peaceful, beliefs are harmonious. As the ancients said, this is a countryside with favorable weather, favorable terrain, and favorable people.
Tran Vu
Source link
Comment (0)