Mother Goddess - the first mother of the Vietnamese people.

Statue of Mother Dragon Goddess in the middle with princes and princesses.

The faint scent of incense and the light smoke of incense wafting through the harem seem to take us back to the beginning. The quiet and solemn space is now more bustling as thousands of people come here to commemorate the death anniversary of the First Mother of the Nation. She was the Queen of King Kinh Duong Vuong, the mother and nurturer of King Lac Long Quan, and the grandmother of the Hung Kings in the sac of a hundred eggs. Tien Temple is a precious and prominent relic in the relic complex of the capital of Van Lang State.

The temple has a large campus, in front of National Highway 2, outside the dike is Thao River flowing to Bach Hac junction, where 3 big rivers converge: Hong River, Da River, Lo River. The temple has a favorable geographical position in terms of feng shui, in front is the river, behind is the mountain, converging enough mountain and river spirit to bestow forever to the descendants of Vietnam.

Mother Goddess - the first mother of the Vietnamese people.

The male and female worshiping teams on the Mother Goddess's death anniversary on the 10th day of the 10th lunar month.

Legend has it that, having loved beautiful scenery, during one of his travels, when the dragon boat reached Dongting Lake, King Kinh Duong Vuong suddenly saw a beautiful girl with rosy cheeks and a wasp waist appear, calling herself Than Long, daughter of Dongting Lord. The king thought this was a sign from heaven and immediately welcomed her into the dragon boat and took her back to Phong Chau.

One year later, Jade Goddess Dragon gave birth to Lac Long Quan, so King Kinh Duong Vuong appointed her as the queen and built Tien Cat Palace for her to reside in. After Lac Long Quan was given the throne by his father, Mother Goddess Dragon thought that she had fulfilled her motherly duties, so she transformed and was welcomed to heaven by her two sworn sisters, Thuy Tinh Ngoc Nu and Bach Hoa Ngoc Nu.

Lac Long Quan remembered his mother's merits and ordered the people to build a temple right at Tien Cat Palace to worship the Dragon Jade Goddess, the Water Jade Goddess, and the White Flower Jade Goddess. He also ordered three princes in a hundred-egg sac, Cu Linh Than Tuong, At Linh Lang, and Linh Thong Thuy, to rule the river head, preserve the mausoleum, and entrust the local people to look after the mausoleum and worship. The Dinh, Le, Ly, Tran, Hau Le, and Nguyen dynasties all followed the good tradition of blood, food, and incense being passed down to the Tien Temple for generations.

Mother Goddess - the first mother of the Vietnamese people.

Local people and tourists from all over the world light incense to commemorate the first mother of the Vietnamese people.

Through many ups and downs, for thousands of generations, the people of the Ancestral Land have still passed down incense to express their respect and deep gratitude to the Jade Goddess Long, worthy of the Queen's position, and awarded Tien Cat Palace at the sacred land of Phong Chau Dai Bao. This is the special reason why, for thousands of years, our people, especially the people of Tien Cat village, have sacrificed their lives and property to protect and preserve the sacred Tien Cat temple whenever there were invaders.

During the war, Tien Temple was heavily damaged by the enemy, leaving only the ground. In February 2000, the temple was rebuilt by donations from the people, 500m from the old ground. The temple has a T-shaped architecture including the Great Worship House and the Back Palace, built of stone, with a roof covered with fish-tail tiles and a floor paved with baked red bricks, showing its ancient beauty, with many precious artifacts inside.

The harem consists of three compartments, on the altar there are six gilded statues. In the middle is the statue of Mother Dragon, the two statues on either side are Thuy Tinh and Bach Hoa; the altar below has three statues of Cu Linh, At Linh, Thong Thuy, the eldest brother in the middle holds a card showing the authority and bravery to protect the ancestral temple.

The altar is embossed, on both sides of the gable are the four sacred animals: Dragon, Unicorn, Turtle, Phoenix; surrounded by elaborately carved bronze drum motifs. Behind the Mother Goddess is a stone bas-relief depicting the picturesque landscape of mountains, rivers and water, symbolizing the five elements of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. In the temple, there is also a system of parallel sentences, all painted in red and gilded, to praise the Mother Goddess's virtues and to express the people's respect.

Mr. Nguyen Van Ngoc - the head of Tien Temple said: "In July 2003, Tien Temple was ranked as a historical and cultural relic by the People's Committee of Phu Tho province. Every year, on the occasion of the Mother's birthday (May 5th) and death anniversary (October 10th) of the Lunar calendar, the temple holds a solemn ceremony for people from all over to come and pay their respects." As a temple to worship the first mother of the Vietnamese people, Tien Temple is also a symbol of the Vietnamese people's eternal tradition of "When drinking water, remember its source".

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