The legend of the "sacred mallet"
Early in the morning, the mist still covered the top of Cam Son. From the foot of the mountain, we hired a motorbike taxi to go up to explore the cliffs, temples, and hermitages on the paradise. Near Thuy Liem Lake, I gently tapped the shoulder of the "motorbike taxi driver" who stopped at two ancient banyan trees at the foot of Ong Buom cliff. According to the local people, these two banyan trees have existed for more than 100 years and are considered the largest on Cam Mountain. Looking up at the sky, the banyan tree canopy covers a large, cool area. Every day, tourists who climb to the top of the mountain pass by and stop to rest for a few minutes before continuing to conquer Cam Mountain. Occasionally, the motorbike taxi drivers stop under the canopy of the ancient banyan tree to enjoy the cool breeze and wait for customers.
Mr. Tuan (a mountain dweller) said that he had seen these two ancient banyan trees when he was a child. In the entire Cam Mountain area, these two banyan trees are the biggest. Many rock cliffs also have banyan trees, but they are not as big. “These two banyan trees cover the entire road. In the dry season, the banyan trees provide shade for tourists and locals passing by to rest,” Mr. Tuan said and showed us the way to Ong Buom cliff. Climbing up the small road next to the ancient banyan trees, we walked briskly to conquer the sacred cliff. This season, there is a lot of rain, the forest trees are green, going deeper inside, the air is quiet, suddenly we hear the chirping of birds.
We thought that Ong Buom cliff was located near the road up the mountain, but unexpectedly we had to climb many steep sections, we had to walk until we were sweating and our feet were cold before we got there. Ong Buom cliff is about 480m high, leaning to the North. From here, visitors can see the whole view of the mountain town around Thuy Liem lake. In the rainy season, when the clouds are hazy, many "photographers" take advantage of this high place to capture beautiful photos on Cam mountain. In the book "Following the ancients" by Tran Huu Thanh, it is written that in the past, Ong Buom cliff also had another name, Ong Voi cliff. The word "Ong" is known as the Khmer surname, while "Butterfly - Voi" is a proper name.
There is an anecdote that, in the past, Ong Buom cliff was the most wild and remote on the top of Cam mountain. Under the rocks, Ong Buom cliff also had furnaces, pots, caves, and grottos, so Ong Buom and Ong Voi came here to practice and practice martial arts. Due to the instigation and support of Siam and a Cham army, these two men came to kill and rob the villagers of our country. Hearing the news, Quan Co Tran Van Thanh immediately led troops to suppress. After that, Ong Buom and Ong Voi were captured by Quan Co Tran Van Thanh. From then on, these two men went to Ong Buom cliff to become monks...
Tourists come on the big full moon day
Climbing up Ong Buom cliff on the full moon day, we encountered many tourists coming here to visit and worship. Nowadays, Ong Buom cliff area is considered a famous spiritual tourist destination on Cam mountain. We met Mr. Tran Van An (from Cho Moi district) leading a group of more than 20 tourists to climb Ong Buom cliff. Mr. An said that every year, on the full moon day, the villagers in the village rent cars to visit That Son area. “We arrived at Cam mountain early in the morning. Going early makes climbing the mountain less difficult. As soon as we set foot on Ong Buom cliff, the sky was already sunny. Ong Buom cliff is a famous tourist destination, we came to worship, then continued our journey to conquer the remaining cliffs and temples” - Mr. An said.
Looking around, we saw large and small rocks lying next to each other in an orderly manner, as if arranged by the hands of a supernatural being. Stepping up the giant rocks, then climbing to the top of Ong Buom cliff to see the whole scene. There was a rock that looked like the back of an elephant walking in the forest. On the top of Ong Buom cliff, there was a very large rock stacked on another rock, looking like a peach, very strange. Nearby, people placed a statue of Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara and an incense burner for people to come and worship. Sliding down under the big rock, looking inside the cave is a temple where people worship the Holy Mother.
Walking a few dozen meters, there are many rocks and ancient forest trees growing close together, looking very interesting. There are no houses in this area, it is very desolate. After a tour, we also saw a round stone hanging on two cliffs. Next to it, there is a banyan tree growing around to keep the stone from falling. In this area, people have built a few small temples to worship the Mountain God, the Holy Mother... Occasionally, tourists stop by to burn incense. Mr. Tuan said that his grandmother, who is 90 years old this year, was one of the first people to live on the mountain. She said that in the past, the area of Ong Buom cliff was very wild and few people visited.
Because the forest here is dense, in the past, many wild animals such as tigers, leopards, monkeys, lynxes, snakes, and centipedes frequently came to this area. Later, these rare animals disappeared. Currently, there are only many species of snakes living here. "There are still king cobras in this area, and even many very dangerous poisonous snakes. In addition, there are monkeys living in the Ong Buom area, sometimes they come to the temples to take cakes and fruits left by visitors to worship" - Mr. Tuan confided.
At noon, under the scorching sun, we left Ong Buom cliff and continued our journey to conquer the remaining cliffs and temples on the top of Cam mountain. Although Ong Buom cliff is still wild and has no houses, it is a quite attractive spiritual tourist destination for visitors from near and far.
LUU MY
Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/rao-buoc-len-vo-ong-buom-a421661.html
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