The Dragon Slayer Hero and the Sacred Temple of Ban Canh

(Baonghean.vn) – Located about 3 km from Muong Xen town (Ky Son), there is a temple filled with incense smoke all year round, located on the majestic Nam Mo river. That is the temple to worship Mr. Duc Khanh (Canh village, Ta Ca commune), a hero who contributed to the establishment of the village.

We met Mr. Vi Van Van (Canh village), who is nearly 85 years old this year. Although he is old, Mr. Van is still clear-minded and clearly told us the legendary story of Mr. Duc Khanh. According to Mr. Van, who has been protecting this temple for over 20 years, Mr. Duc Khanh is a hero who built the village and defeated many forces that encroached and disturbed the lives of the people.

Duc Khanh Temple (Canh village, Ta Ca, Ky Son).

According to legend, Mr. Duc Khanh came here to live around the 17th century. At that time, this place was still wild, densely forested, and had countless wild animals. He married Phanh, a beautiful and talented woman, but had no children. At that time, Ta Ca land was a prosperous place with a dense population, so it was being watched and invaded by many outside forces. Mr. Duc Khanh led the people to defeat these forces one by one to keep the village peaceful.

Once upon a time, Chau Pha (King of Heaven) had a daughter who was extremely beautiful, known far and near. Not only was she beautiful, but she was also talented in weaving and spinning silk. Her talent and beauty reached the ears of two evil blue dragons on the other side of Thailand. They came to capture her and make her their wife. When she was captured, she let go of the thread she was weaving so that everyone could follow and rescue her.

Hearing that her daughter was captured, Chau Pha mobilized people to follow the traces she left behind. When they reached the last point, Chau Pha dug deeper and saw two dragons wrapped around her. Everyone used knives to cut the dragon into two pieces. The longer half turned into two other dragons that flew out and continued to harass the innocent people. As for Chau Pha's daughter, she could not be brought back to life.

At that time, in Ta Ca area, there was also a big red dragon. But this dragon specialized in doing good deeds to help the villagers, so he was loved by the villagers. He married a beautiful wife, Hung. Hung had a shirt that emitted a magical light day and night. When hung on a high tree, the light of the shirt could be seen within 10 miles. The two green dragons found out and came to challenge him with the condition: if the green dragon lost, everyone would do whatever they wanted, but if the red dragon lost, he would lose his wife.

Mr. Duc Khanh's footprints are still imprinted on the stone slab when he fought the green dragon.

Worried, the red dragon transformed into a human and went down the mountain to ask Mr. Duc Khanh to cooperate in destroying the evil dragon. Mr. Duc Khanh was afraid that the good dragon would lose and affect the life of the village, so he agreed. On the day of the fight, the red dragon transformed into a wind and took Mr. Duc Khanh up to the mountain cave with crossbows ready. When the three dragons rushed at each other, Mr. Duc Khanh stepped forward and carried a large mountain block to use as a shield to block the arrows. When he saw the distance was close, he aimed and saw two green dragon heads sticking out, he raised his crossbow and shot. As a result, the two evil dragons were destroyed, their souls flying high.

Since then, the people of Ta Ca village have lived in peace. Mr. Duc Khanh passed away at the age of 100. The people set up an altar for him right next to the Nam Mo River to commemorate the hero of the village. Legend has it that when he passed away, Ms. Phanh saw a banyan tree growing next to the temple and took good care of it. Since then, this banyan tree has always cast shade around the temple and intertwined with each other, creating a rare beauty.

The banyan tree system surrounding the temple creates a unique beauty.

Mr. Vi Van Van added that Duc Khanh temple is very sacred. During the years when the Americans invaded and bombed the North, there were many soldiers stationed and storing food in this Canh village area. However, the American bombs only hit the other side of the river and the surrounding area, but not a single piece of shrapnel hit Canh village, where Duc Khanh temple is located.

Nowadays, Duc Khanh Temple has been renovated to be more spacious. However, the road from Muong Xen is still very difficult. That is also a limitation for promoting the cultural potential of this land.

Dao Tho