The story of the indigenous woman who transformed into a tiger to help the people.

(Baonghean.vn) -The land of the Tho people in Giai Xuan (Tan Ky) can be said to be sacred and poetic. Here, a unique thousand-year-old banyan tree, the only one of its kind in Vietnam, is preserved beside a sacred temple. This is the temple dedicated to Da Dau (Lady Dau).The woman transformed into a tiger to help the people.

Although only about 12 km from the center of Giai Xuan commune, it took us more than 30 minutes to reach the area of ​​Ke Mui village (formerly known as Ke Thai). The road to Ke Mui, although paved with stones, was still extremely difficult. This area is collectively called Dau land by the Tho people.

Legend says that the mountain is where Dạ Đáu lived and transformed into a tiger to help the people.

Beside the unique thousand-year-old banyan tree perched on granite in a "rice cake and chicken" shape, stands a shrine where incense smoke rises day and night. This is the shrine of Dạ Đáu (Bà Đáu) - the woman who transformed into a tiger in the legend of the Thổ people. The shrine was recently rebuilt by the locals and benefactors after the banyan tree was discovered. This is where the people worship the person who contributed to developing, cultivating, and protecting this land.

Mr. Truong Cong Tuan (from Ke Mui village) recounts a legend passed down from generation to generation in the village: Once upon a time, there was a Dinh family with three children, two daughters and one son. The eldest was Dau, the younger sister was Hong, and the youngest son (whose name is unknown). The youngest son married and had children, but the lineage died out in the third generation, at the time of Mr. Dinh Xuan Tu (from Tram village). The two daughters of the Dinh family were both exceptionally beautiful, considered like fairies descended from heaven to wander on earth.

The Dạ Đáu shrine is located behind a thousand-year-old banyan tree.

Upon reaching marriageable age, Lady Đáu was married to the son of Thần Nhân (whose temple still exists in Tân Hợp commune), while Lady Hồng resolutely refused to marry. Their father gave them two different territories to govern. Lady Đáu governed the Giai Xuân region, and Lady Hồng governed the Tân Hợp region.

However, Lady Đáu's married life was not as she had hoped. After some time living together, the son of the God of Humanity discovered that his wife had a tiger's tail. During the day, Lady Đáu remained a stunningly beautiful girl with her husband, but at night she would run into the forest and transform into a tiger.

Unable to bear the sight, he left and returned to the home of the Divine Being. As for Lady Dau, after her husband left, she also completely abandoned her home and went into the forest to live, transforming into a tiger to protect the lives of the villagers in the area she governed. The mountainous region where she transformed into a tiger is called Mount Nang, home to a thousand-year-old banyan tree and below it is the Nha Da spring.

The people of Đáu region believe that this land is sacred to the Thổ people. Mr. Trương Công Tuân said that in the past, this place was very wild and untamed. People returning from the forest or fields had to be very respectful, and no one dared to utter a single word that would offend the spirits or the mountains and forests. If even a vulgar word was spoken, a pack of tigers would immediately appear and surround them.

A unique banyan tree with a "rice cake and chicken" shape stands beside the shrine.

He also recounted the story of the establishment of the Xuan Tien Cooperative (1964), when many people gathered there to cultivate and reclaim barren land. However, when they started working, tigers repeatedly came at night and stole all their buffaloes, cows, and livestock. Everyone immediately thought it was Lady Dau's reproach for reclaiming the land without her permission. So the Xuan Tien Cooperative held a ceremony to ask Lady Dau for permission. From then on, work returned to stability, the people felt secure in their production, the harvests became increasingly bountiful, and livestock grew rapidly.

The story Mr. Truong Cong Tuan told us may be somewhat mystical, but we believe that, in the minds of the indigenous people like him, the respect for the founders of this land is genuine.

Dao Tho