Proposal to recognize Bau Ong Da cultural and historical relic

Stone Statue in Tien Thuan.

Recently, Bau Ong Da (Tien Thuan commune, Ben Cau district) has attracted a large number of people to come and worship, causing disorder. After the press reported, Ben Cau district People's Committee directed Tien Thuan commune People's Committee to rectify and restore order.

Accordingly, Tien Thuan Commune People's Committee established a team to inventory heritage, relics, and old trees in Bau Ong Da and a team to propagate security, order, and environment. Mr. Nguyen Thanh Trung - Vice Chairman of Tien Thuan Commune People's Committee said that up to now, the situation in this area has stabilized.

Mr. Dao Thai Son - member of the Vietnam Folk Arts Association, Vice President of the Folk Arts Association, Tay Ninh Literature and Arts Association, who has written many articles related to Bau Ong Da, said that Tien Thuan is an ancient village of Tay Ninh, with many valuable archaeological sites, such as Ben Dinh temple, Thay Luong pagoda mound, Bau Ong area... but Bau Ong area in Bau Tep hamlet is known to more people.

Bau Ong is a forest with an area of over one hectare located in the middle of the rice fields. In the middle of the forest is a pond that people call Bau Ong. The area where the pond worships Ong Da is called Bau Ong Da. Ong Da is a lotus carved from red-gray sandstone, which was found by people on the western bank of the pond in the past.

According to research by the Tay Ninh Museum, the stone lotus has a diameter of 0.8m, a height of 0.9m, a round hole with a diameter of about 15cm is drilled in the middle of the lotus, and a cylindrical stone resembling a Linga is placed. This may be a stylized symbol of Linga-Yoni, but there are also opinions that this stone lotus statue is associated with the meaning of creating the world in ancient Brahman culture.

People worship at Ong Da temple.

Brahmanical culture holds that Brahma was born from a lotus flower growing from the navel of Vishnu, while Vishnu was lying in meditation on the back of a sacred snake floating on the surface of the cosmic ocean. Ancient Indians believed that Brahma was the creator, Vishnu was the preserver, and Siva was the destroyer. These three are collectively called the trinity.

The lotus flower symbolizes reincarnation: the blooming petals symbolize the past, the lotus pod represents the present, and the lotus seeds represent the future. In addition, the lotus is a flower with many seeds, so it also symbolizes fertility, giving birth to many children, fullness, prosperity, happiness, and longevity.

From the above meaning, Brahman culture considers the lotus flower as a symbol representing the harmony of yin and yang; 8 lotus petals symbolize eight directions of development; the lotus image is incorporated into temple architecture, used as a symbol of worship.

Bau Ong is a rectangular lake, the East-West axis is 73m long, the North-South axis is 57m wide, and the depth is about 1.3m - 1.5m. The winding Vam Co Dong River out there is no different from the Ananta snake that the god Vishnu rested his head on during his thousand-year sleep.

The stone lotus flower symbolizes the lotus flower growing from his navel and the stone pillar attached to the convex part of the lotus flower symbolizes the god Brahma being born to create the world. All of these symbolize the ancient people's desire and regeneration of a happy and prosperous life.

The stone lotus flower today in Bau Ong Da is a completely different belief. It no longer has the mark of ancient Brahmanism, but has gradually transformed into the Khmer stone worship and finally Vietnamized into a "Stone God".

The temple worshiping Ong Da today was built quite solidly by the people, hidden in a cool, fresh and mysterious green forest. The people here believe that Ong Da has the power to bless health, peace, good luck in business...

Ocean

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