The unique Nine-Chamber Temple features nine buffaloes kneeling before it.

(NLĐO) - The Nine-Chamber Temple features nine buffaloes kneeling in reverence before the temple, associated with the festival of offering buffaloes to the heavens to worship the founders of the nine villages in the Thanh-Nghe region.

Located on Pú Pỏm hill in Thanh Quân commune, Như Xuân district, Thanh Hóa province, the Nine-Room Temple is a cultural and spiritual tourism destination for the Thái ethnic group.

A panoramic view of the Nine-Compartment Temple with its unique buffalo sacrifice festival in Thanh Quan commune, Nhu Xuan district, Thanh Hoa province.

Here, at the beginning of spring, the festival of offering buffaloes to the heavens takes place. This is a religious ritual to express gratitude to those who contributed to building the village and establishing the community, and to those who served the nation; it also prays for national peace and prosperity, favorable weather, lush vegetation, abundant harvests, and a life of warmth, happiness, and well-being.

According to the elders in the area, the temple was formerly a nine-bay stilt house. During festivals, the Thai people from western Thanh Hoa and Nghe An provinces would gather here to offer sacrifices to the sky god. Inside the temple, one bay was used for keeping buffaloes, another for shamans to perform rituals, and the remaining bays were used for people to gather and socialize.

In front of the temple, nine buffaloes (six black and three white) kneel in reverence.

The temple is constructed in the style of a stilt house made of bamboo and thatched roof, built with contributions from the local people. Each chamber in the temple symbolizes a village, and the villages bring offerings to pray for wealth, prosperity, favorable weather, and a bountiful harvest.

Due to various factors, the old temple is no longer preserved intact. The festival was also not held from 1948 to 2013.

To revive this unique festival and commemorate the pioneers of this land, the Nine-Room Temple has been renovated and expanded into a spacious two-story temple on its original foundation. In front of the temple, the images of nine stone buffaloes (six black buffaloes and three white buffaloes) and nine symbolic wells have also been restored.

The temple was built on the site of the old temple on Pú Pỏm hill (Thanh Quân commune), with the Tốn stream flowing below.

The temple was newly constructed of concrete, painted to resemble wood, and has nine chambers.

The temple's architecture resembles that of temples in the Que Phong area of ​​Nghe An province.

With its distinctive architecture, the Nine-Room Temple is a typical cultural and historical landmark of Nhu Xuan district.

In front of the nine buffaloes are nine symbolic wells.

Here, every New Year, the local people organize a festival of offering buffaloes to the heavens, a religious ritual to express gratitude to those who contributed to building the village and establishing the community, and those who served the nation.

The Nine-Room Temple was formerly known as "Ten Xo Quai," which means the Temple of Offering Buffaloes.

The mystical scenery of the Nine-Chamber Temple in the mountainous district of Thanh Hoa.

Besides the buffalo bathing ceremony and procession; the buffalo sacrifice and worship of the deities, the temple also hosts many cultural and sporting activities that create a joyful and lively atmosphere, such as: the rain-praying custom of the Thai people, love songs and rhymes, bamboo pole dancing, gong and drum playing, flower dance, throwing the ball...

Source: https://nld.com.vn/doc-dao-ngoi-den-chin-gian-co-9-con-trau-quy-goi-truoc-den-196250301162458048.htm