Temple of the Ho family ancestors in Vietnam

(Baonghean) -In the middle of the vast sky and earth, the temple rests against the mountain. And the name “Trang Bao Dot” keeps ringing in my ears, as a reminder that this is a sacred land, containing within it a whole layer of culture and history.

Trang Bao Dot is the ancient name of the land in Quynh Lam and Ngoc Son communes (Quynh Luu) today, where the first ancestor of the Ho family in Vietnam set foot to establish a village. The temple of the Ho family's ancestor is currently located in Ngoc Son commune, the restoration started about 10 years ago, but has hundreds of years of history.

According to historical records, the founder of the Ho family in Vietnam was Ho Hung Dat, the first-ranking mandarin in the reign of Emperor Hau Han An De (948 - 951). Ho Hung Dat went to work as the governor of Chau Dien for several years, when the 12 warlords' rebellion broke out. He went to Bao Dot village (now in the territory of Ngoc Son and Quynh Lam communes) to establish a career. After retiring from office, he returned to recruit people to establish villages, became a village chief in Bao Dot village, and was honored by the people as Thanh Hoang God, and was also the only founder of the Ho family in our country.



Temple in Ngoc Son commune (Quynh Luu - Nghe An).

During the Ho Dynasty, King Ho Quy Ly, after being king for a year, abdicated the throne to his son Ho Han Thuong, and then became the Supreme Emperor to take care of the country. In the year Quy Mui (1403), the first year of the Khai Dai era, King Ho Han Thuong followed the order of his father King Ho Quy Ly to return to Ngu Bau to "build a temple in Bau Dot village, Linh Nguyen prefecture, to worship his ancestors".

The temple is located on Thuong Dot hill, with its back against Dragon island, on the left is Ngoc mountain, on the right is Ret island. All three islands are located on the Y Sao mountain range, called the "long ngai" position. The temple is built in the style of internal public and external private, with a three-door gate, a large yard leading to the main hall with 5 rooms. Behind the main hall is a small yard, on both sides are the left and right wings, the central hall with 3 rooms and 2 wings, the back palace, the outer yard in the right corner has a temple to worship Princess Thai Duong... The entire Ho family temple complex with a grand scale on a sacred land of talented people has been built and existed for hundreds of years.

Later, the people in the area worshiped the two kings (King Ho Quy Ly and King Quang Trung), so they often called it King Ho Temple, but the correct name is the temple to worship the Ho family's ancestors. Trang Bao Dot in the past, also known as Bao Trach, gradually changed to Bao Giang, then Ngu Bau village (because it was divided into 5 villages: Ngoc Vien, Bao An, Bao Trung, Bao Ngoc, and Bao Hau).

Every year, a festival is held here on the 12th day of the 3rd lunar month, very solemn, grand, imbued with folk culture. The Great Festival is held once every 3 years, from 3 to 5 days. There are also 300 acres of public land divided among 5 villages of Ngu Bau, taking the profits and taking turns to hold the ceremony. The villages come to the Ho King temple to perform the ceremony, carrying the god through 5 villages, the well in the middle of the field, then returning to the temple. In addition to the ceremony, there are also festivals such as palanquin procession, human chess, card games, swinging, wrestling, cockfighting, cheo opera performances, the great festival night with fireworks...

According to legend, Ho Quy Ly took Trang Bao Dot as his ancestral land, then took advantage of the shape of the mountains and rivers to build Tieu Trang An, built palaces and warehouses, built bricks, stone dragons, had water channels and roads. He decided to dig the Thai River to the West to connect with the Hieu River, bringing a part of the Hieu River's water. When the canal was completed, it would be a meaningful project in terms of transportation and economy, bringing water to irrigate this land that was drought-stricken all year round, and also a northern moat to protect the strategic base of Bau Dot. However, the people's strength was not enough, while the Ming invaders suddenly invaded, so the project had to be abandoned.

Through the ups and downs of time, a large spiritual architectural work has also been left without a trace. Local people recount that, until 1971, the old foundation of the Ho King Temple was still there, with broken bricks and stones and two fang-shaped pillars in front. After the resistance war against the US, everything was leveled.

Regretting an ancient sacred work, and also from the moral of “when drinking water, remember its source”, the Ho family members nationwide are determined to restore the Ho family’s ancestral temple, as the spiritual temple of the Ho family in Vietnam on the old land. Although the whole work may not be completed immediately, it is still a place for descendants to return to every year.

Construction began in 2006 and to date, King Ho Temple has built a gate, surrounding walls, a stele roof, and completed the main hall. Since then, every spring, on the 10th and 11th of the first lunar month, this place celebrates the Ho family's Vietnam Ancestor Worship Day, welcoming descendants from all over the world to return to their roots.

And not only the descendants of the Ho family, every full moon and new moon day, more and more people come here to burn incense, worship, and show their respect to the gods worshiped in the temple.

Mr. Ho Duc Lap, Vice Chairman of Ngoc Son Commune People's Committee proudly said: "The restored King Ho Temple has great significance for the people in the commune as well as neighboring areas, becoming a spiritual support, a sacred place in the cultural and spiritual life. Therefore, since the temple was rebuilt, the people have been very excited..."!.

Lake Lai