A sacred land

(Baonghean) - In the late autumn days, the capricious passing rain turns out to be a catalyst, stirring up surprises before the magnificent beauty of the golden border season. Chau Kim land (Que Phong) - Muong Ton and Muong Ca regions of the past glowed in the vastness of fragrant rice, fragrant sunshine, mixed with the brilliant green color like the natural crown of Pu Quai mountain, highlighting the beauty that is both fresh and mysterious of a sacred mountain realm...

Nine-room Temple.

I have visited Que Phong many times, and each time I have to secretly admit that this land of high passes and cliffs attracts visitors strangely! Except for hurried business trips, associated with programs and projects to raise the prospects of the village, if you go with a leisurely mind, you cannot forget to visit a few famous places that have become the "representative faces" of this wonderful land. The rolling beauty of Sao Va waterfall, Pa Tang waterfall... the four-season majesty of Pha Ca Tun range or the nightly silence of the highland town all make the souls of strangers immersed in a world of ecstasy. However, Que land is not only radiantly beautiful, its beauty also lies in the depths and mysteries of countless legends that sparkle in the minds of the Thai ethnic people throughout the nine villages and ten muongs, and without knowing when, it has also secretly permeated the souls of expatriates.

I have traveled many times throughout the Chau Kim region - a land that is part of the famous Muong Ton region, stopping to bathe in the water by the immense Nam Giai river and wandering about countless mysteries whispering from the past. Then remember a flickering fire, an ancient stilt house, about frosty nights in the mountainous region, fathers, sons, grandfathers, grandchildren sitting together, breaking roasted cassava in half and whispering stories of the past... The story goes, the Thai people have a sacred path - the path to heaven! The path to heaven is for ghosts seeking the upper world, the starting point of the journey to eternity with their ancestors. The path is not far from us, the path is very close, it is the deep Nine-room temple in the middle of the forest - the connecting point of space and time in the cycle of reincarnation of this world, of human life. That mysterious and murmuring story was later recorded in many official and unofficial history books, and was also chronicled with important information from the time: The Nine-room Temple was built during the Ming Dynasty (1407-1427) on Pu Quai Mountain (Buffalo Mountain), in Chau Kim Commune. After many centuries of exposure to the sun and rain, the temple with its original simple architecture was restored by the people.

In the year of Dinh Mao (1927), the Quy Chau district chief, Mr. Sam Van Vien - a Thai man from Muong Ton, ordered the people in the area to go into the forest to exploit lim wood and bring it to Pieng Pan wharf (now Chau Thang commune, Quy Chau district), forming rafts, and moving along Nam Giai river to Ta Tao wharf to upgrade the temple. Many village elders still remember that after being restored, the temple had 4 rows of tall lim wood columns placed on stone blocks, and the stairs were built with bricks. In 1929, the people held the festival and it was not reopened until 1947. During the 59-year silence (1947 - 2006), nearly a lifetime, the Nine-Room Temple Festival was completely interrupted, remaining only in the memories of the elderly. In 2004, the People's Committee of Que Phong district undertook the restoration, and in 2006, the temple was inaugurated and the festival was joyfully reopened...

Today, the majestic Nine-room Temple is located on the top of Pu Quai, surrounded by many mysterious legends. Even the name of the temple, associated with the sacred number 9, radiates stories about the power of Heaven, about the symbolic meaning of "nine Muongs on earth". Many documents also claim that the land of Chau Kim - Muong Ton - the former resting place of the Nine-room Temple is the ancestral land of the Thai people in the Western part of Nghe An. There are still many conflicting views on this matter, but I think that the most important thing is the direction of each person's thoughts. Everywhere is home, the land of ancestors, and is it true that just bowing respectfully before the symbol of history and tradition, preserving the traditions in every action of daily life, is the most beautiful gratitude!

Looking into the official history of the nation, it is clear that the sacred ancestral land has radiated to posterity the tradition of patriotism and indomitable national defense. The sacred Chau Kim region shines brightly in the history of the land and people of the border region with the traces of glorious battles of the nation. The book Nghe An Ky by the famous Bui Duong Lich, recorded Cam Cong - a tribal chief in Muong Ton who joined the Lam Son insurgents with his militia, contributing a lot to the victory of "Bo Dang thunder and lightning", opening the way for the army to advance from Thanh Hoa to Nghe An. In the long history of national defense, there is still the milestone of 1884, the time when the Nguyen Dynasty signed the Patenot Treaty, "accepting" the protection of French colonialism on Vietnamese land. Not willing to lose the country and become slaves, together with the people of the whole country, the people of Phu Quy region, notably the people of Chau Kim, made every effort to respond to the Van Than - Can Vuong movement against French colonialism and feudal lackeys. Names like Lang Van Cang, also known as Quan Thu, took the lead, calling on people to contribute money and labor, persistently protecting Thanh Nga fort (Chau Nga, Quy Chau) and heroically sacrificed on their homeland.

The thoughts about a sacred land kept lingering... The land and people of Chau Kim, I thought, were no longer new to me. However, this time returning to Chau Kim, I had plenty of time to enjoy the pleasure of field trips to the sacred land in the minds of the Thai people, and on the other hand, I also took advantage of the invitation from many old people to visit Khoang village - the former home of the Nine-room Temple. The old people of Khoang village, blessed by Heaven, are still very clear-minded and knowledgeable! Elder Luong Quang Vinh, this year is almost 90 years old. "This age is a gift from Heaven!" - He drawled, raising both hands to greet warmly in accordance with the tradition of his people. Elder Vinh is now a prestigious village elder of the village, and at the same time, was once an official of the Provincial Agricultural Committee, so his conciseness in conversation and citation is impeccable.

The old man said that the village now has 69 households and 321 people, and all of them maintain a civilized and cultural lifestyle. They do not smoke or gamble, only open jars of rice wine on holidays and New Year's Eve. The husband and wife and children are in harmony, and life is not necessarily well-off but somewhat more stable than usual. After rambling on about happy stories, the old man suddenly lowered his voice and confided about the wishes of the villagers today. The reason is, the people of Khoang village are wishing to build the village into a Resistance Village, or some other model to mark the achievements and sacrifices of a generation of compatriots for the nation's resistance war against the US. "The old people still remember the stories, but the young people have forgotten a lot. We want to have a memorial stele erected at the beginning of the village, erected at the former relic sites, to serve as historical evidence to educate future generations." - Elder Luong Quang Vinh confided thoughtfully.

And according to the memory of old Vinh, I searched for documents and records about the heroic fighting of the people of Khoang village (Chau Kim) in the indomitable resistance of the country. Countless children of the village took up arms to fight, providing rice and grain to feed the army. How can I tell all the blood and bones lost, dyeing the red flag fluttering on the day of total victory. In particular, there was an event that directly impacted every inch of land and river of Khoang village, leaving a strong impression in the minds of many generations of villagers, and fortunately, I found it stored in the Report of Que Phong District Party Committee in 1969 (File 23, page 4): On the evening of July 20, 1967, the Que Phong District Party Committee was preparing for the 3rd Party Congress. But before the Congress could take place as planned, a series of fierce bombs dropped by American planes left the people of Khoang village unable to react. 27 houses were completely burned down, 2 people died and many others were seriously injured. Mr. Luong Van Binh - the captain of Chau Kim commune at that time sacrificed his life while overcoming danger, supporting the rescue of people and property of the people...

Old Vinh took me to stand on the bank of Nam Giai, pointing to the middle of the stream. Over there, there were massive rocks weighing easily tens of tons, towering across, with large cracks on the rock bodies. “Those were traces of American bombs in the past, I still remember clearly, flares spread across the area, bombs and rockets exploded loudly, our people hurriedly cleaned up, protected the resistance facilities and materials, and helped each other hide in the tunnels and trenches surrounding the village”. - Old Vinh recounted with a trembling voice. In Khoang village now, many new stilt houses have been built among a few old wooden stilt houses, so it is understandable that the changes of time have also buried many traces of the resistance in the past. Apart from a few large rocks in the middle of Nam Giai stream, there is only an A-shaped tunnel mouth left, right outside the dense bamboo grove. Standing here and looking up, one can still vaguely see the shadow of the Nine-room Temple, and the green forest of Pu Quai peak framing the Chau Kim - Muong Ton sky, with an unusually mysterious look. It turns out that, despite the many times the stars have moved and things have changed, the sacred Pu Quai peak still radiates throughout the traditional realm of the Thai people, their love and respect for their ancestors and homeland. Goodbye Vinh old man, hello Khoang village, hello Chau Kim, I - a stranger - would like to carry the sacred and lingering sound of the Nine-room Temple gong in my heart!

Article and photos:Phuong Chi