Folk gods in a Vietnamese temple in Tay Ninh

Statue of the Jade Emperor at Phuoc Thanh Pagoda (Trang Bang).

Buddhism in the early days could not reach all circles, from the customs, activities and folk rituals in Tay Ninh were all accepted by monks "appropriate to the situation". In Tay Ninh land, Linh Son Thanh Mau is the goddess who governs the land, the country and protects the residents, has been associated with Buddhism since the early days, was honored by the ancestors as "Bodhisattva" and became the guardian deity in the pagodas in Tay Ninh region and the whole South. In addition, many gods in folk beliefs are worshiped in the pagoda, showing the cultural exchange, harmony of ethnic groups and religions in the Buddhist pagoda of the Vietnamese people in Tay Ninh.

The spirit of the three religions having the same origin was accepted and harmonized with Buddhism by monks, and brought into pagodas to propagate the Dharma and save sentient beings. The typical expression of this spirit in pagodas is shown through the objects of worship.

Almost all the old pagodas in Tay Ninh worship the Jade Emperor statue, flanked by Nam Tao and Bac Dau. In Vietnamese beliefs, there was already a supreme god who ruled the sky, called Ong Troi. Later, when Taoism was introduced to Vietnam from China, Ong Troi was identified with the Jade Emperor because of their similar function of ruling the sky and being the top god. This was even more evident in Tay Ninh with the Cao Dai religion, which worshiped the Jade Emperor as the Supreme Being.

Statue of Quan Cong at Phuoc Luu Pagoda (Trang Bang).

Currently, in Phuoc Luu, Phuoc Thanh, Tinh Ly, Tinh Thanh pagodas (Trang Bang town), Linh Son Thanh Lam, Cao Son (Go Dau district), Linh Son Tien Thach, Nhu Lai (Tay Ninh city)... there are still ancient wooden statues of the Jade Emperor. Or in Hoi Phuoc Hoa pagodas (Trang Bang town), Hiep Long, Thien Phuoc (Tay Ninh city)... there are ceramic statues of the Jade Emperor (painted terracotta statues, belonging to the Cay Mai De Ngan ceramic line - old Saigon).

From the statues, it can be seen that the worship of the Jade Emperor has existed in Buddhist temples since the early days in Tay Ninh. The statues are often placed together on the altar in the main hall, partly demonstrating the important role and supreme authority of this god in the folk consciousness. Nowadays, some temples have moved the statues to one side of the main hall, reserving the space in the middle to worship Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

In the old pagodas in Tay Ninh, there are also tablets of stars and limitations. The verse in the star worshiping ritual states: "Nhien dang bows to report to the Jade Emperor, Bac Dau, Nam Tao shine on both sides, the original spirit of the main life comes to witness, prolonging life like the southern mountains", or the sentence "De Thich, Thien Tao looks forward to witness, the incense is revealed, please come to the present time, do not change the original oath, come to the altar, together display the majestic light and think. Nam mo Pham Thien Vuong Bodhisattva". Through that, it shows that the Jade Emperor in Buddhism is also known by different names such as De Thich, Pham Thien Vuong Bodhisattva.

King Yama is the lord of hell. In folklore, there are ten of them: King Qin Guang, King Chu Jiang, King Song Di, King Ngu Quan, King Yama, King Bien Thanh, King Thai Son, King Do Thi, King Binh Dang, King Chuyen Luan, so they are often called the Ten Kings of Hell or the Ten Kings of Hell.

Currently, Phuoc Luu Pagoda (Trang Bang town) has a set of ten Yama statues made of painted terracotta, belonging to the Cay Mai pottery line, created in 1905, or at Cao Son Pagoda (Go Dau district). Linh Son Tien Thach Pagoda (Tay Ninh city) has a set of ten ancient wooden Yama statues. Many pagodas do not have enough space to worship only two statues, Yama and Chuyen Luan.

Statues of the Ten Kings of Hell at Phuoc Luu Pagoda (Trang Bang).

In the 17th century, the first Chinese immigrants (Fujian, Guangdong) who migrated to the South brought with them the Guan Gong belief. In the 18th, 19th and first half of the 20th centuries, many Chinese people came to settle down to do business and trade, and the Guan Gong belief gradually became popular. From the process of cultural exchange between Vietnam and China, in addition to the Chinese community, Vietnamese people in the South also worshiped.

In the pagodas in Tay Ninh, Quan Thanh De Quan is worshiped as the guardian deity of the old temple. The altar is usually placed on the eastern side of the main hall, opposite the altar of Quan Am Bodhisattva or Linh Son Thanh Mau. In addition, some pagodas worship Quan Thanh symmetrically with the guardian deity Vi Da on both sides of the main hall door.

The belief in worshipping goddesses has been associated with the Vietnamese people in Tay Ninh since the early days of land reclamation. Most pagodas in Tay Ninh worship Linh Son Thanh Mau and goddesses such as: Ba Chua Xu, Ngu Hanh Nuong Nuong, Dieu Tri Dia Mau. Linh Son Phuoc Trung Pagoda (Tay Ninh City) also worships Thien Hau Thanh Mau. The altars of the goddesses are often placed on the west side of the main hall or in the style of front Buddha and back saint. Later, many pagodas built separate shrines on one side in front of the pagoda yard.

Tay Ninh is a land where the Khmer people have settled for a long time. The Vietnamese worship Mr. Ta partly because they respect the land god of the old landowner, partly because they want to be blessed with a peaceful and prosperous life. In some pagodas in Tay Ninh, Mr. Ta is worshiped with a small shrine on one side of the pagoda yard. In the folk consciousness in Tay Ninh, Mr. Ta is also considered a mountain god, so the closer to Ba Den mountain and the pagodas on Ba mountain, Mr. Ta is worshiped.

The oldest pagoda in Tay Ninh that worships Ong Dia is Tinh Ly Pagoda (Trang Bang town). The pagoda still worships an ancient statue of Ong Dia carved from wood, imbued with Southern folklore.

The village guardian spirit or the village guardian spirit is the guardian spirit of the village community. The spirit also examines the merits and sins of the villagers. The good people are often blessed by the spirit; the evil and ferocious are punished.

The god is also the embodiment of the discipline, rules, and moral standards of the villagers, guiding people to do good and avoid evil. The Thanh Hoang is worshiped in pagodas mainly in the Tay Ninh city area such as Phuoc Lam pagoda (Vinh Xuan), Linh Son Phuoc Trung pagoda... the shrine is located in the temple yard (usually symmetrical with the shrine of Ong Ta or the soldier), behind the three-door gate.

Cao Son Pagoda in Go Dau District is associated with the provincial archaeological site of Cao Son Mound. In the back of the pagoda, there is a tablet worshiped called “Cao Son Linh Vi”, commonly known as Mr. Cao Son. According to researcher Nguyen Quoc Viet, this is the mountain god (mountain god). This is also very possible, because this is a mound terrain, and Cao Son god is the one who governs and protects the residents here according to folk beliefs.

Statue of Linh Son Holy Mother at Phuoc Thanh Pagoda (Trang Bang).

Some pagodas in Tay Ninh worship Tao Quan with a tablet called “Dong Tru Tu Menh Tao Phu Than Quan” or a glass painting of Tao Quan. Some pagodas set up a separate altar next to the kitchen, while others mainly worship him together with the Giam Trai Su Gia in the kitchen.

The land of Tay Ninh in the past was mostly forest, so there were many tigers living there. Folklore still tells many stories about tigers eating people, destroying villages and houses of residents... And there are also stories about tigers practicing religion, helping and repaying people.

At Phuoc Son Pagoda (Trang Bang town), there is a temple to worship Mr. Cop in front of the yard, on which there is a pair of parallel sentences: "Phuoc Son ancient temple where he resides/ Ancient temple of glory returns to the temple", showing that tigers used to come to the temple. At Nhu Lai Pagoda, also known as Ong Cop Pagoda (Tay Ninh city), on the front there is a relief of Mr. Cop and a low altar with statues of Bach Ho and Hoang Ho, next to which is an altar for wandering souls and Tieu Dien Dai Si. It is known that tigers used to come and lie right in front of Nhu Lai Pagoda to listen to the sutras.

The fact that folk worship objects are combined into Vietnamese pagodas shows that the harmonization of folk beliefs with religion has helped Buddhism get closer to the masses and is a means to bring religion into life.

Thanh Phat Fee

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