The custom of fighting Hop bandits in Phu Nghia

Phu Nghia village, a coastal village, now belongs to Quynh Nghia commune (Quynh Luu district, Nghe An province), in the past, every 12 years until the full moon of February in the year of the Rat (lunar calendar), the villagers held a festival to celebrate and reenact the battle against Hop bandits. After the August Revolution in 1945, entering the resistance war against the French, this custom was abolished.

This custom was initiated by My Quan Cong named Truong Dac Phu, who lived during the Later Le Dynasty (the Later Le Dynasty, also known as the time of King Le and Lord Trinh), from Phu Nghia. Truong Dac Phu and his two younger brothers Truong Dac Luyen and Truong Dac Luong all went to support Le to destroy Mac, had great achievements and were all awarded the title of Quan Cong. When My Quan Cong was old and retired, his loyalty and heroic spirit were still enthusiastic. At that time, in Ca Hop village (Nam Dinh?), bandits rose up to harass the people. The generals of the court sent to suppress the rebellion all failed. The king immediately summoned him to take charge of suppressing the bandits. Although he was old and weak, he still had a strong heart for the country and the people, so he obeyed the order to lead the army to suppress the bandits. Seeing that the bandits were in full swing, he devised a plan to make peace, slaughtered buffaloes and cows to reward the soldiers, held a grand festival, organized Cheo singing, performed the stories "Scholars, farmers, workers, merchants" and "Fishermen, woodcutters, watch, the eyes". People from near and far came to watch, the enemy soldiers also left their barracks, flocked to watch, the defense was lax and negligent. He used spies to bribe some enemy soldiers to steal weapons and bring them down to the royal army camp by boat. When he had collected many weapons, and while the enemy soldiers were still engrossed in watching the opera, at midnight he led his troops to rob the camp, taking down the enemy fort. Being attacked unexpectedly, the enemy generals and soldiers ran away in panic. He urged his troops to chase and block them into a large lake, causing some of the enemy soldiers to trample on each other, some to fall into the lake and die, there were thousands of them. That lake was later named Ho Gioi, implying that the enemy died like maggots. After defeating the enemy, being rewarded by the king, he returned to his hometown to recuperate.

Wanting to recall his great achievements, every year on the full moon of the second lunar month, he would spend money and let the villagers of Phu Nghia hold a commemorative ceremony, reenacting the victory over the Ca Hop invaders, setting up battle formations, the royal side and the enemy side, soldiers in full formation, swords, horses, elephants, flags, drums, majestic orders, advancing and retreating like a real battle in the past. Later, it became a tradition that every 12 years until the year of the Rat, the villagers would hold a festival to perform the play "Fighting the Hop invaders". Currently, there is a temple to worship him in Phu Nghia village, in the temple still remains the royal decree appointing him as Deputy King, Duc Long reign, Hau Le dynasty.(*)
---------------
(*) Based on the stories of the elderly in Quynh Luu and documents in the book Geography of Nghe An by teacher Dao Dang Hy, published before 1945.

Teacher Hoang Ky