The old communal house is a lasting village feature.

(Baonghean) - In the minds of Vietnamese people since ancient times, "banyan tree, ferry, communal house yard" are still intact images that evoke so much familiarity. Coming to the land of 5 Nam (Nam Dan) on the left bank of Lam river, it is like getting lost in a legendary land that has left its mark for hundreds of years on the silent communal house roofs.

Trung Can communal house gate (Nam Trung, Nam Dan)

I don't know if it's because of the sacred air of the ancient Ham Hoan land, or Nam Dan today, or because it's brought into the floating atmosphere of "on the wharf, under the boat" of the lower Lam river, that this land still preserves so many ancient communal houses. The climate here is such that in the past, the Imperial Doctor Bui Huy Bich wrote "Thap nguyet giang hoan lao/ Trung cuu cuc vi hoa" (In October, the river is still flooded/On September 9, the chrysanthemums have not yet bloomed).

With 16 communal houses, Nam Dan is still considered as the place that preserves the most communal houses in Nghe An. Crossing the Yen Xuan bridge stretching across the Lam river, to the 5 Nam region "dry before the sun, flooded before the rain", many villages still have 1-2 communal houses, respectfully preserved by the people to become spiritual places to return to. And not only the communal houses, in each small hamlet with "winding bamboo alleys" as nostalgic in Nam Tan, Khanh Son, Nam Trung, Nam Phuc... there are solemn family temples in the shade of ancient trees.

The roof of Thanh Dam communal house (Nam Tan, Nam Dan)

In the past, Lam Giang was also called Long Vy, Thanh Long. Is it true that the "green dragon's tail" has been wriggling softly in the place where the ancient Vietnamese territory was built, flowing passionately along the vast white reed banks, with white hair pondering throughout a river's life, when flowing downstream to send to the people's shores, the ancient land of Ham Hoan, its silence and contemplation. And then, the communal life of the village under the communal house roof in this land just like that, settling down like the alluvium tirelessly building up millions of layers, thousands of levels?

Coming here, when looking up to see the time-worn features on the majestic Trung Can communal house gate (Nam Trung), quietly touching the ancient carvings of Hoanh Son communal house (Khanh Son), admiring the graceful curved roof of Thanh Dam pagoda (Nam Tan), or immersing in the thoughtful trees and leaves around Dong Chau communal house, suddenly a feeling of nostalgia arises in the moonlit night legend, the communal house yard is bustling with the melody of the fabric guild's duet. That communal house yard has endured the rain and sun, recording the chronicle of a village.

Carvings of Dong Chau communal house (Nam Trung, Nam Dan).

Coming to Nam Dan, a sacred land, one can see clearly the village communal house roof, which is very familiar to Vietnamese villages, where the ancient villagers solemnly commemorate the tutelary gods, those who contributed to the founding of villages, those who achieved high academic achievements, those who developed professions to help the people; it is also a place where the values ​​of village community life converge.

Carrying the soul of the countryside, each group of craftsmen, when showing all their talents and taking care of their village communal house, also brought the breath of rustic life, the agricultural scene into each carving. If the relief of Dinh Trung Can depicts the scene of an old man sitting in the cool breeze, the scene of a teacher teaching, and the scene of returning home to pay respect to his ancestors... then in Hoanh Son communal house there is a relief of planting rice, plowing, catching fish, carrying firewood across the bridge. Walking in the space of the ancient communal house in the 5th land, seeing a pigeon coop next to a grapefruit tree laden with golden fruit leaning against the wall of Dong Chau communal house, warm yellow straw trees next to a row of areca trees casting shade towards Thanh Dam communal house, a row of banana trees in the garden hiding in the shade of a row of ancient acacia trees in Trung Can communal house... evokes the close, symbiotic relationship of the communal house and the rhythm of village life, of posterity and ancestors...

Moss on Trung Can communal house (Nam Trung, Nam Dan).

The communal house roof - a piece of the soul of the countryside, a deep cultural beauty of the past and present of the Vietnamese countryside - has been imprinted in the hearts of every simple person. How many things have changed, the village communal house has also gone through ups and downs. But the soul and spirit of the old communal house are still there, anchoring the soul of the countryside? That is why a region in the 5 South of Nam Dan land is bustling with a social movement, restoring communal house roofs to connect the values ​​of the sacred cultural source that flows forever in the hearts of the people.

Tran Hai