Lesson 2: The sacredness of Mother Goddess worship

The Mother Goddess is both present in present life and deeply ingrained in the hearts of every person when remembering their ancestors. Therefore, in our country in general, and the residents on both banks of the Red River in particular, the Mother Goddess worship has long been established, manifested not only in temples with clear shapes, but also in the consciousness and imagination of every person. This belief is formed from respect and awareness of remembering ancestors. Because the Mother Goddess teaches people to live a good life, have a pure heart, know how to behave, worship grandparents and ancestors, and be grateful to those who have contributed to the people and the country.

After many years of researching the Mother Goddess worship, Dr. Duong Tuan Nghia, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Lao Cai province, said: Along the Red River from Lao Cai to Thai Binh, there are many famous temples that many people come to visit and worship. For example, starting from Lao Cai, there are Trinh Tuong Mother Goddess Temple (Trinh Tuong commune, Bat Xat district), Mau Temple, Thuong Temple, Cam Temple, Doi Co Temple (Lao Cai city); in Yen Bai, there are Dong Cuong Temple (Dong Cuong commune, Van Yen district), Tuan Quan Temple (Yen Bai city); in Phu Tho, far from the Hung Temple complex (in Viet Tri city), is Au Co Mother Goddess Temple (Hien Luong commune, Ha Hoa district); in Nam Dinh, there is Phu Day (Kim Thai commune, Vu Ban district); in Thai Binh, there are Tran Temple, Tien La Mother Goddess Temple, Thanh Mau Temple, etc.

“Temples are not only places for people to practice the worship of Mother Goddesses, saints and gods, but also “spiritual cultural landmarks”. Especially in Lao Cai, Mother Goddess temples also contribute to marking national sovereignty in the border area” - Dr. Duong Tuan Nghia emphasized.

March - the season of red cotton flowers reflecting on the Red River is also the time of the Trinh Tuong Temple Festival in Bat Xat District. The temple is located right on the bank of the Red River and about 30m from border marker No. 94, guarding a very important spiritual position, which further strengthens the "spiritual milestone" that our ancestors built in the border area. During the resistance war against French colonialism, the ethnic people here organized to sink many French ships when marching to Trinh Tuong and since then, the majestic waterfall on the river has been called "Tay Waterfall".

According to the opinions of the elders and cultural researchers, in the Mother Goddess worship, Mother Goddess of the Upper Realm is the incarnation of the almighty Holy Mother, who looks after the mountainous areas - the habitat of many ethnic minorities. Trinh Tuong Mother Goddess Temple is the place to worship Mother Goddess of the Upper Realm. Mother Goddess has a full moon face, a gentle face, wears a blue shirt, and a green scarf. In the Four Palaces religion (the ruler of the Music Palace), Mother Goddess of the Upper Realm is the one who has great merit in providing resources, controlling natural disasters, and helping people in the mountainous border areas. The appearance and existence of Trinh Tuong Mother Goddess Temple in Bat Xat - Lao Cai aims to praise and honor the role and position of women in society. With the tradition of "remembering the source of water when drinking", today, Mother Goddess Temple is open to welcome visitors from all directions to offer incense to pray for blessings, wealth, and fortune.

Coming to the Mother Temple, everyone seems to return to the historical past, remembering the ancestors throughout four thousand years of building and defending the country. That is the concept, the spirituality, the patriotic ideology, the gratitude to those who have contributed to the country, to the homeland throughout history. At the same time, it is also the tradition of solidarity in building the homeland, building the Fatherland to be increasingly rich and beautiful, the source of spiritual life that creates the strength of the nation in all circumstances from the past until today.

From Trinh Tuong, more than thirty kilometers downstream of the Red River is the river junction (the Nam Thi River joins the Red River) with the image of an ancient temple over 300 years old - Mau Temple (in Lao Cai Ward, Lao Cai City). The temple is located at the border gateway, next to the trade route between Vietnam and China. After many renovations and embellishments, the temple space has become open, spacious and majestic. Mau Lieu Hanh - one of the "Four Immortals", the heroic mother in the folk subconscious of the Vietnamese people, resides in this temple. The process of forming the temple is associated with trade activities between Vietnam and China. The Lao Cai International Border Gate (Vietnam) - Ha Khau (China) has been a bustling place of trade since ancient times. Legend has it that in the 15th century, this place was often ravaged by wild animals and harassed by bandits. Mother Lieu Hanh appeared as a rice and water seller to save and bless the people, helping the royal court protect the border. To commemorate the merits of Mother Lieu Hanh, in the 18th century, the people in the area built a small temple by the Hong Ha and Nam Thi rivers. Mother Temple in Lao Cai was granted 3 royal decrees by the Nguyen Dynasty: Tu Duc year 6 (September 24, 1853), Tu Duc year 33 (November 24, 1880) and Khai Dinh year 9 (July 25, 1924). Currently, these royal decrees are still preserved at the temple. In 2011, Mother Temple was recognized as a national historical and cultural relic, becoming a cultural milestone at the border gateway.

Leaving Lao Cai, we went down the Red River for more than 100 km to Dong Cuong Temple located in Ben Den village, Dong Cuong commune, Van Yen district (Yen Bai province). This is the main place to worship the Second Mother Goddess of the Upper Realm in the Vietnamese tradition of worshiping the Mother Goddess of the Three Palaces, so for a long time, the temple has been famous as one of the sacred temples located along the Red River.

At Dong Cuong Temple, the image of Mau Thuong Ngan, who governs 81 forest gates, is a mixture and overlap of many legends from different eras. According to legend, this was originally a small temple worshiping mountain gods and forest gods. This temple became a communal house during the Le Dynasty and was changed to a temple during the Nguyen Dynasty.

According to Le Quy Don's records in "Kien Van Tieu Luc", this temple worships Princess Dong Quang, a famous hero who helped people establish villages and towns, taught people all kinds of arts, cured diseases, and saved people from hunger. During the reign of King Le Thai To, she was conferred the title of Le Mai Dai Vuong after she protected King Le in defeating the enemy. Dong Cuong Temple is also known as Than Ve Quoc Temple according to the decree of the Nguyen Dynasty.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Nam, Chairman of Dong Cuong Commune People's Committee, said: Dong Cuong Temple is considered by many folklore researchers to be the origin of Mau Thuong Ngan in the Vietnamese Mother worship system and has an extremely important position in the Mother worship system, considered the origin of Mau Thuong Ngan. Every year, starting from January to March of the lunar calendar and from August to the end of December of the lunar calendar, mediums from all over the country often come to Dong Cuong Temple to worship Mau and "set up a chair to serve the Saint".

Also in the Mother Goddess worship, Phu Day (in Vu Ban district, Nam Dinh province) worships Mother Goddess Lieu Hanh - the head of the Tam Phu, Tu Phu system in the Mother Goddess worship and is also one of the "Four Immortals" of Vietnam worshiped by many people. Across the country and in the provinces along the Red River, there are many places to worship the Holy Mother Goddess, but the most solemn and majestic place is Phu Day (Nam Dinh), built in the 17th century. This place is considered the center of the Mother Goddess worship practice. In 1975, the Ministry of Culture - Information (now the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) granted a certificate of national historical and cultural relic. Every year, millions of tourists from all over the country come to visit, burn incense to pay respect to Mother Goddess, pray for national peace and prosperity, pray for fortune, pray for wealth, pray for peace in life.

Meritorious artisan Tran Thi Hue, Head of Phu Day Temple, proudly shared: Since the practice of worshipping the Three Palaces of the Vietnamese people was recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2017, Phu Day has increasingly affirmed its position and become a spiritual tourism destination for domestic and international visitors.

Dr. Tran Huu Son, former Director of Lao Cai Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, former Vice President of Vietnam Folklore Association, commented: Throughout the history of the country, the worship of the Mother Goddesses of Tam Phu and Tu Phu has been formed and developed along with the residence of Vietnamese people along the Red River. The diversity of historical and cultural relics and scenic spots, especially the system of relics related to the worship of the Mother Goddess, has created a unique spiritual and cultural life for communities. This is also a favorable condition for localities to effectively develop spiritual and cultural tourism, an opportunity to "turn heritage into assets", helping to preserve and promote folk rituals and ceremonies.