The story of the woman who transformed into a tiger to help the people

(Baonghean.vn) -The land of the Tho people in Giai Xuan (Tan Ky) can be said to be a sacred and poetic land. This place still preserves a unique thousand-year-old banyan tree in Vietnam next to a sacred temple. That is the temple to worship Da Dau (Mrs. Dau) -woman turned into a tiger to help people.

Located only about 12 km from the center of Giai Xuan commune, it took us more than 30 minutes to reach Ke Mui village (formerly called Ke Thai). The road to Ke Mui, although paved with stones, is still extremely difficult. This land is commonly called Dau land by the Tho people.

Legend has it that the mountain is where Da Dau lived and transformed into a tiger to help the people.

Next to the unique thousand-year-old banyan tree on the granite in the shape of a “chicken raspberry tray”, there is a temple that is filled with smoke day and night. That is the temple to worship Da Dau (Mrs. Dau) - the woman who transformed into a tiger in the legend of the Tho people. The temple was recently rebuilt by the people and philanthropists since the discovery of the banyan tree. This is the place where people worship the person who contributed to the expansion, discovery and protection of this land.

Mr. Truong Cong Tuan (Ke Mui village) recounted a legend that has been passed down from generation to generation in the village: Once upon a time, there was a family named Dinh who had 3 children, 2 girls and 1 boy. The eldest sister was Dau, the younger sister was Hong and the youngest son (name unknown). The youngest son got married and had children, and by the time of Mr. Dinh Xuan Tu (Tram village), the third generation, the lineage had ceased. The two daughters of the Dinh family were both extremely beautiful, and were considered fairies from heaven who came down to earth to wander.

Da Dau Temple is located behind a thousand-year-old banyan tree.

When she reached marriageable age, Dau was married to the son of Than Nhan (whose temple is still in Tan Hop commune), while Hong refused to marry. Her father gave her two lands to manage. Dau managed Giai Xuan land, and Hong managed Tan Hop land.

However, Dau and her husband's life was not as expected. After a period of living together, Than Nhan's son discovered that his wife had a tiger's tail. During the day, Dau lived with her husband as a beautiful girl, but at night she ran into the forest and transformed into a tiger.

Unable to bear the situation, he returned to Than Nhan's house. As for Dau, since her husband left, she also went to live in the forest and transformed into a tiger to protect the lives of the villagers under her control. The mountain where she transformed into a tiger is called Nang mountain, where there is a thousand-year-old banyan tree and below is Nha Da spring.

People in Dau land have a belief that this land is the sacred land of the Tho people. Mr. Truong Cong Tuan said that in the past, this place was still very wild, people who went to the forest or farm and passed by here had to be very respectful, no one dared to say a word that offended the gods or the mountains and forests. If one uttered a vulgar word, immediately a pack of tigers would appear to surround them.

The unique banyan tree with the "chicken raspberry" shape is located next to the shrine.

He also told the story that when Xuan Tien Cooperative was established (1964), many people gathered here to cultivate and reclaim wasteland. However, when they started working, there were continuous incidents of tigers coming at night to capture all the buffaloes, cows, and livestock. Everyone immediately thought of Dau blaming them for reclaiming the land without her permission. So Xuan Tien Cooperative prepared a ceremony to ask Da Dau for permission. From then on, work returned to stability, people felt secure in production, crops became more and more bountiful, and livestock grew rapidly.

The story Mr. Truong Cong Tuan told us was somewhat mysterious, but we believe that in the minds of Tho people like him, the respect for the founders of this land is real.

Dao Tho