The wandering old man was worshiped in a temple.

(Baonghean.vn) - He used to be a wandering farmer, working as a hired hand to make a living. He had no name, no relatives, and died under a tree. However, when he died, the locals pooled money to build a spacious temple and sculpt a bronze statue to worship him. The locals called this the Co temple.

The temple was built with contributions from the people.

Located about 500m from National Highway 1A, the Co Temple was built spaciously, with a spacious campus in Block 9, Cau Giat Town (Quynh Luu District, Nghe An Province). No one knows the name of the tomb owner, how old he is, where he is from, but according to the oldest people in the area, when they grew up, they heard the old people say that they saw the tomb there.

The bronze statue of the old man is placed right in the middle of the shrine.

Ms. Dang Thi Thach, a member of the committee that looks after the Co temple, said that no one in the village knows the whereabouts of Co. When I was young, I often heard that he was a poor old farmer who worked as a hired hand in the Cau Giat area to make a living, and his only asset was a hoe he used for work.

Having no relatives or home, every night after a day of work, he would return to the base of an ancient banyan tree to rest. One day, when people did not see him go to work, they went to the base of the tree and found him dead. The villagers felt sorry for him and bought a mat to wrap around him and buried him right next to the banyan tree. After he died for a while, the banyan tree gradually withered and died.

Around the temple there is also a rockery.

At that time, the grave of the old man was just a mound of earth, located next to a banyan tree, with overgrown grass and fields all around. People passing by felt sorry for him because there was no one to burn incense, so they often took handfuls of earth and stones and placed them on top, gradually forming a large grave. People believed that the grave was very sacred, when they lost their cattle or encountered misfortune, they often came to pray and found it effective.

According to Ms. Thach, in the 90s, this village had many groups of people working in lime cooking. Mr. Bui Van A in the village also built a lime kiln, but both times the first batch was undercooked. Mr. A went to Co's grave to pray for the next batch of lime to be ripe so that he could use that lime to build a tomb for Co. Sure enough, the third batch of lime was ripe as he wished. Mr. A called his children and grandchildren to build a wall around Co's grave. After that, Mr. A continued to call on people everywhere to contribute to build a mausoleum for Co.

Gate to Co Temple.

After 3 constructions, with the efforts and money donated by the people, in 2005 the Co Temple was completed. The top of the tomb is paved with red bricks, high and clean. On top is a statue depicting the Co's portrait according to the simulation of the elderly. Underneath the tiled floor, there is also a large mat for people to come and burn incense and pray. With an area of ​​500m2, the Co Temple space becomes airy and peaceful.

Hearing about the sacredness of Co Temple, people from everywhere came to burn incense, pray for peace and fortune. Some people also came because they sympathized with the unfortunate man who died of hunger and cold, with no one to worship him. Every full moon and new moon day, hundreds of people from everywhere from Quynh Luu, Hoang Mai, Dien Chau, Yen Thanh, Vinh City came to burn incense. In early 2016, some people contributed money to cast a bronze statue for him.

Visitors often come to Co temple to burn incense and pray.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong in Dien My commune shared: “On the 15th and 1st of every month, I often go to Co Temple to burn incense and pray for peace for my family. Whether the temple is sacred or not depends on each person’s spiritual beliefs, but every time I come here, I feel my heart is light and peaceful. Many people come to the temple not only to burn incense but also because they are curious about why a poor old farmer has a magnificent shrine built by the people.”

Currently, Block 9 of Cau Giap Town has established a committee to look after the Co Temple. The committee members are responsible for protecting, cleaning and burning incense.

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