Legend of the multi-village

So I started talking about the banyan tree in my village.

In the past, Vinh Tuy, my hometown, was a peaceful and poetic village, considered a village with many typical features of the Vietnamese countryside, with "banyan trees, ferry, communal house yard" and in my childhood memories, every afternoon the bell of Van Son pagoda leisurely rang out as if it were being raised from the curved roof of the communal house, from the leaves of the towering village banyan tree located not far from the pagoda... However, those "objects of the countryside soul", following the ups and downs of time, have gradually gone into the distant past for decades, as if they had never existed in my beloved Vinh village.

Banyan tree in Tru Thach village (Ly Thanh, Yen Thanh). Illustrative photo, source: Nghe An Newspaper.

Like communal houses, pagodas, shrines, wells, etc., the image of the village banyan tree always evokes in me very familiar emotions about my homeland. Because, when I grew up and recognized it, the banyan tree was already standing tall in the southwest corner of the sandbank, nearly a dozen houses away from the back of the village. Usually, in the countryside of the Northern or North Central regions, banyan trees are planted in prime, airy places, in front, at the beginning or in the middle of the village, or in places where holy gods reside, such as next to communal houses, temples, and shrines, and are revered by villagers for their invisible power to bless their descendants with peace in business and life. But I don’t understand why the banyan tree in my village is located so “far away” from the village?

Perhaps it was because in the past (during the Ly Dynasty and before that) my village's ancestors settled on the northern slopes of the two mountains Lang and Le after moving from the caves on the bluffs (at that time the village was called Vinh Hung), the banyan tree was located in front and in the middle of the village, next to the road to the Pagoda and the Pagoda well. During the Tran Dynasty, after receiving the advice of Thuong Quoc Cong Tran Quoc Khang and the first-ranking scholar Bach Lieu (around 1270), the village was moved to the southern slopes of those mountains, the village was named Ke Vinh (and later Vinh Tuy) and had the location it has today. The houses could be moved, but the banyan tree could not, because it was probably quite tall and luxuriant at that time.

Ancient banyan tree in hamlet 10, My Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district. Illustration photo: Huy Thu

When we grew up, we saw "Cử Đa Làng" as a strong man, his body silvered with time, with two large branches like two strong arms, proudly spread out in the west-east direction, the third branch (middle) pointing up to the blue sky like "a strong man's head" looking up to the north where there is the ancient Van Son pagoda.

The “old tree” is about twenty meters high, with a trunk that is about two people’s embrace, and has no secondary roots. The largest western branch “spreads its arms” toward the path leading to the pagoda as if to provide shade for passersby. Each branch has many small branches. The elders of my village believe that the banyan tree has three branches. According to feng shui, the banyan tree symbolizes Heaven’s time, Earth’s advantage, and Human harmony.

The banyan tree in my village is a red-budded banyan tree with large, thick, oval-shaped leaves, pointed at the top, and a green, hairless upper surface. The underside is lighter in color and has a thin, smooth layer of hair. According to ancient beliefs, the red-budded banyan tree is not only a symbol of tenacious vitality and longevity; a symbol of human spirituality and divine power, but is also easy to grow, easy to live, has a wide shade, and has beautiful colors, so many villages choose this type of banyan tree to plant to "bring blessings" to their children and grandchildren. Like pine trees and cypress trees, the banyan tree does not lose its leaves in winter. It can withstand all harsh weather conditions to stay green all year round.

No one in the village knows exactly when the banyan tree was built. According to my grandmother (born in 1888), the banyan tree was built since the time of... our ancestors. That is, it has been built for a long time, when she was born and grew up, she saw a tall, sturdy banyan tree standing there. Also according to my grandmother, according to the old people's story: "In the past, there was a flock of parrots living in the trees near Van Son pagoda, with green feathers, red beaks, and gray legs. Every day they went out to find food, carrying ripe banyan seeds from other regions, flying over our village to perch on the trees near Mo Phuong, accidentally dropping the seeds on the ground, the seeds of love for the land and the countryside took root and sprouted into an ancient banyan tree that still exists today". Some people also say that the banyan tree was planted by the ancestors of the village to provide shade and create a landscape for the village. Others say that the banyan tree was planted by a monk in charge of Van Son pagoda...

Under the shade of the village banyan tree. Photo: Huy Thu

The ancients attached great importance to planting banyan trees, because the banyan tree was a symbol of the village, not only that, it also provided a place for the gods to reside, and a place for people to rest and enjoy the cool breeze, so planting banyan trees was considered an important task, so people chose old people, dignitaries, and prestigious people.

Almost all village banyan trees in any place on the S-shaped strip of land are sacred to the Vietnamese people and around those banyan trees, people have many legends about them and believe that banyan trees are where gods live. The ancients also believed that: Because the ancient banyan tree accumulates the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, the village spirit, the country spirit, it is very sacred and has its own life.

My villagers told me that once the eastern branch fell down, and the village dignitary ordered someone to cut off the banyan branch to prevent future disasters. Strangely enough, whoever climbed up to cut the branch had to slide down to the base out of fear. They all told the same story about the old man with white hair and beard grabbing his shirt and dragging him down, with a voice ringing in their ears: “Whoever cuts the banyan branch will be ruined for three generations.” In the end, no one dared to cut the banyan branch, and it continued to grow strong until the day it was destroyed.

Banyan trees, wells, and communal houses have long been familiar images of Nghe An villages. In the photo: Tru Phap communal house (Yen Thanh). Photo courtesy: Huy Thu

When I was growing up, Vinh village was still very poor, every house had thatched roofs and mud walls. On top of that, every summer there was a fire, sometimes several houses next to each other burned down. At that time, the villagers said that "Co Bo" set it on fire. "Co Bo" lived at the base of a banyan tree. "Co" traveled like the Monkey King. Not every house was burned, "Co Bo" only burned houses for a reason that only "Co" knew. "Co" burned very cunningly, the house started to burn from the roof down, from the inside out, from the strips tied between the straw and bamboo tubes, very difficult to fix. That's why, if we had a chance to go out alone, we didn't dare to go to the banyan tree, because when we were young, we would believe it when we heard adults say that. Only when I grew up did I realize that "Co Bo" was a legendary character, not real.

I still remember, when I was in high school at the district school, almost every morning I had to walk alone past the village banyan tree, past the sandbank, the pagoda, the pagoda well, down to Hao Kiet village, through Van Dien and then to Yen Nhan, across Dinh bridge to get to school. Many days it was drizzling and windy, so in order to be on time for school, I had to leave early when the sky was still dark. One time, wearing a "Trang Ke" leaf hat and carrying a raincoat, just reaching the banyan tree, in the cold wind blowing, I suddenly heard a "thud", as if someone had fallen right under the banyan tree. My back was cold, my heart was pounding. I ran all the way to the small fishing ditch behind the pagoda pond before daring to slow down. After a while, in the dim light under the drizzling rain, I "tremblingly" turned back but fortunately there was no "ghost" chasing me. That night, I came home and told my father. My father said: there are no ghosts. If there were, the banyan tree is where the gods live. Ghosts and demons would not dare to live in the banyan tree. And my father said to reassure me: "The spirit of the banyan tree, the ghost of the kapok tree."

Now, every time I return to my hometown, when I pass by the old banyan tree (currently the house of Mr. Hoan, son of Mr. Bao Cuoi), I stand there in a daze, hoping to find the silhouette of the banyan tree from my childhood. Then so many memories come flooding back as if it were just yesterday… Thinking about the village banyan tree, my heart suddenly aches, something aches deep in my heart…

However, that banyan tree no longer exists, it has been lost forever in the village. The old village banyan tree only exists in the memories of the old generation.

Oh, my village banyan tree!