Communal houses along the Vam Co Dong River

Long Thanh Communal House (Hoa Thanh)

The Vam Co Dong River is a tributary of the Vam Co River, part of the Dong Nai River system, originating from the Kingdom of Cambodia, flowing into Vietnam through Tay Ninh province, to Long An where it joins the Vam Co Tay River and flows into the East Sea. As the “main artery” in the river system in Tay Ninh, the river flows through Tan Bien, Chau Thanh, Hoa Thanh, Ben Cau, Go Dau and Trang Bang, leaving many cultural imprints on these lands, including the communal houses along the Vam Co Dong River.

An Hoa Communal House, formerly Ong Temple, was built at the head of Trang Bang Canal (also known as Vam Trang Canal), the section facing the Dong Vam Co River, opposite Ba Thuy Long Temple.

According to the records of An Hoa communal house, Trinh Van Dong (alias Thien) was originally from Thanh Hoa, born in 1821 in Lo Mo hamlet (An Hoa), followed Truong Cong Dinh to fight the French, and was tasked with setting up two anti-French forts on the edge of the Vam Co Dong river and in the middle of Trang Bang canal. While stationed at the edge of the Vam Co Dong river, he saw an ancient temple, not knowing when it was built, not knowing who it worshiped, only calling it "Ong temple".

In 1863, Mr. Trinh Van Dong moved Ong temple from the edge of Vam Co Dong river to its current location, in An Phu quarter, An Hoa ward, Trang Bang town; initially it was still a temple, later it developed into An Hoa village communal house to worship the local tutelary god. The current communal house is the center of the ward, facing the South, in front is a low-lying rice field and 300m away is Vam Trang canal. Every year, An Hoa communal house organizes the Ky Yen ceremony on the 11th and 12th of February of the lunar calendar, following the rituals of the Southern communal house festival.

According to the “Dang The Clan Genealogy”, Dang Van Chau, whose family name was Dang The Chau, was the son of Mr. Dang Van Truoc. He was a predecessor who had the merit of reclaiming the land of Go Dau and had many contributions to the cause of protecting the homeland. Dang Van Chau recruited insurgents, together with the people, established a base against the French colonialists during the reign of King Tu Duc in Xoai Don hamlet, causing many losses to the French army. During a battle, he was captured by the French and exiled to Con Dao. Released, he returned to continue to re-establish the base against the French and reclaim more land, storing food for a long-term fight. When he died, the people built a temple to worship him next to the bank of the Vam Co Dong River, where he died. To show their respect, the villagers honored him as the tutelary god of Thanh Phuoc village, developed the temple into a communal house, named “Thanh Phuoc communal house”.

Due to the long years, the communal house collapsed so it was relocated to build on a high mound of land, with many ancient oil trees, covering an area of 10,000m2, currently located in Go Dau town; the main facade of the communal house faces the West, overlooking the Dong Vam Co River. Every year, Thanh Phuoc communal house organizes the Ky Yen ceremony from the 16th to the 18th of February in the lunar calendar.

Phuoc Trach Communal House is currently located in Phuoc Trach Commune, Go Dau District. The communal house was established by the locals to worship the local tutelary god. The communal house was built facing the Vam Co Dong River. The communal house's Ky Yen ceremony takes place on the 16th and 17th of February every year. The rituals at the communal house are similar to many communal houses in the South. During years of economic prosperity, the locals and the communal house association invite a folk opera troupe to perform at the communal house.

Truong Dong and Truong Tay Communal Houses are located in Hoa Thanh town. These are two communal houses located next to the riverbank, the front of the communal house faces the Vam Co Dong River, established by the locals to worship the local tutelary god. Although both communal houses are small, they have many architectural and artistic values.

In particular, during the Ky Yen festival at Truong Dong communal house on January 16 every year, there is a ritual of sending off the warm weather at exactly 12 noon. The boat is designed with banana tree trunks, bamboo as the frame and covered with colorful paper. On the boat, there are rice, salt, food, incense, lamps and many other items, in addition to a little bit of change called "travel money".

At that time, gongs and drums sounded, dragons and lions danced in front of the communal house yard, and the dignitaries in the communal house carried the boat carrying the ghost to the middle of the river to release it. The boat carrying the ghost was released following the ebb tide to drift downstream. People believed that the boat carrying the ghost carried away all bad luck, including natural disasters and epidemics, so that the villagers would have favorable weather and wind, contributing to the country's peace and prosperity.

Long Thanh (Hoa Thanh town) together with Long Giang, Long Khanh, Long Thuan, Long Chu (Ben Cau district) form the land of "Ngu Long". These are ancient villages where residents settled early on the Vam Co Dong river basin. These lands are associated with the merits of Mr. Tran Van Thien and his father, Mr. Tran Van Que, who led dozens of people upstream of the Vam Co Dong river to Tay Ninh to reclaim land since 1844. For 40 years, Mr. Tran Van Thien and the people expanded the new land along the Vam Co Dong river. After Mr. Tran Van Thien passed away, he was honored by the people as the village's tutelary god and a temple was built to worship him.

To show gratitude to the ancestor Tran Van Thien, in 1883, Long Thanh communal house was built to worship him. The front of Long Thanh communal house faces the South, overlooking the Vam Co Dong River, similar to the architectural style of many other communal houses in the province. Every year, on the 17th and 18th of March of the lunar calendar, the communal house organizes the Ky Yen ceremony. During the festival, many local people, people from Ngu Long area, Cu Chi, Ho Chi Minh City and many neighboring areas in and outside the province come to attend the ceremony.

Communal houses in Ben Cau district such as Long Thuan, Long Khanh, and Long Giang were all established to worship the local tutelary god from the time of land reclamation along the Vam Co Dong River. The people here respect the contributions of Mr. Tran Van Thien to the land of Ngu Long, so they honor him as a predecessor worshiped at the communal house or some communal houses honor him as the tutelary god of the village.

Trung Long Khanh Communal House (located in Long Chau Hamlet, Long Khanh Commune, on the altar are placed 5 tablets written in Chinese characters to worship the local tutelary gods of 5 communes: Linh Than Long Giang Commune, Linh Than Long Thuan Commune, Linh Than Long Khanh Commune, Linh Than Long Vinh Commune, Linh Than Long Chu Commune). The Ky Yen ceremony at the communal house takes place on the 15th and 16th of December of the lunar calendar. On this day, merchants trading on the Vam Co Dong River near the communal house also stop by to offer incense and pray for favorable business.

Long Giang Communal House (Bao Hamlet, Long Giang Commune) was built right in a densely populated residential area, next to Vam Bao Canal overlooking the Vam Co Dong River. The communal house worships the local tutelary god and the ancestors such as Mr. Tran Van Thien, Lanh Binh Ket - who had contributed to the land reclamation, fighting foreign invaders to protect the land and the western border of the Vam Co Dong River. This is one of the oldest communal houses in Ngu Long land and is also the only communal house in Ben Cau district with a royal decree. Due to the devastation of war, the communal house collapsed, the royal decree was lost, so after 1975, the royal decree procession no longer exists.

In the past, road traffic was not yet developed, so traveling by water was the main method, which also influenced the architecture of communal houses in Tay Ninh with frontage facing rivers and canals. The communal houses along the Vam Co Dong River have witnessed the bustling scene of boats trading in Tay Ninh in the past and present. The Vam Co Dong River plays an important role in the spiritual and material life of residents, contributing to promoting economic and social development, creating a unique and typical feature of the river culture in Tay Ninh.

Thanh Phat Fee

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