Preserving the pinnacle of carving art heritage
Since the Lunar New Year of At Ty, the atmosphere at Dai Phung communal house in Dan Phuong commune has always been bustling as the government and people are busy preparing for the important event of the locality. That is the ceremony to receive the Certificate of ranking Dai Phung communal house as a special national relic on February 15, i.e. January 18.
Dai Phung Temple seen from above.
Talking to Kinh te & Do thi, Mr. Bui Vinh Thuy - the keeper of Dai Phung communal house said that the communal house has been around since the 17th century, worshiping the angel Tich Lich Hoa Quang, that is Phap Dien, and was worshiped by the whole Phung commune as Thanh Hoang and worshiped General Vu Hung (human god) - the general who had the merit of defeating the enemy during the reign of King Tran Nghe Tong. He was posthumously awarded the title of Tran Trieu Trung Quan Nga Bon, Vu Hung Dai Vuong by the Tran Dynasty. Dai Phung village is where he was stationed. In gratitude to him, the villagers built a temple, taking the 18th day of the first lunar month as the death anniversary of Thanh Hoang of Dai Phung village.
Dai Phung Communal House is a unique work of cultural architecture, filled with valuable relics of both tangible and intangible culture. The relic site is located in the center of Dai Phung village, on a campus of 2,542 square meters. Dai Phung Communal House architecture consists of three main items: the front hall, the main worship hall and the rear hall; at the right gable is an ancient well, a source of clear laterite water all year round.
Unique carvings at Dai Phung communal house.
Head of the Department of Culture and Information of Dan Phuong district, Nguyen Thi Quynh Lam, said that Dai Phung communal house is a particularly unique relic in that the entire original structure is made of xoan wood with a large, low roof, suitable for both space, climate and circumstances, showing that this is a creation of local residents. The structure of the communal house is in the style of "stacked beams - gong price - lower ke" with 6 rows of legs, the entire communal house has 64 columns, the largest column diameter is over 0.6m.
The greatest value of Dai Phung communal house is that it still retains dense carvings with nearly 1,000 motifs reaching a very high artistic level, rarely seen in our country in general, and the 17th century in particular. Here, artisans skillfully performed techniques in the form of carvings with many vivid themes and compositions, reflecting the social life of the time. Typical images include "Vinh quy bai to", "Ma tang ham rong", "Tien bam dam sen", "Dau tong"...
Dan Phuong people offer sacrifices at Dai Phung communal house.
The unique feature of this communal house is that no two details are the same, from the continuous stripe patterns of the four corners, the continuous stripe patterns of the seven main rafters, to the upper and lower ends, the upper beams, the stacked beams, the supporting bowls, the first beams... all are masterpieces of art.
Among the carvings preserved at Dai Phung communal house today are scenes of the mortal world and the fairy world, reflecting that humans and nature are one. In addition, there are countless carvings of animals, from sacred animals such as dragons, unicorns, turtles, and phoenixes, to animals associated with warriors such as war horses and war elephants; animals close to humans such as buffaloes, cats, birds, fish, geckos, etc., are all vividly carved on the pillars, beams, and levers of the communal house's interior.
The most talked about is the "Cat biting fish" carving with meticulous carvings down to each whisker, the cat's ear, and each scale and fin of the fish. The playful "Dragon and lizard" carving is said to represent the ancient concept of lizards (geckos) as fire-keeping mascots similar to dragons.
Dai Phung Communal House is marked with a plaque commemorating the 1000th anniversary of Thang Long - Hanoi.
“It can be said that the delicate carvings have expressed ideas and content of high artistic value, rich in genre and focused on exploiting the themes of folk cultural and spiritual activities, expressing the aspirations of the people. The system of carvings of Dai Phung communal house, under the hands of folk artisans, has been arranged and integrated into the architectural structures, creating a lively artistic whole” – Ms. Nguyen Thi Quynh Lam shared.
In addition, Dai Phung communal house is also a repository and storehouse of a rich collection of relics such as thrones, tablets, incense bowls, altars, robes, votive doors, eight treasures, palanquins... along with a number of valuable worship objects dating from the 17th to the 19th century.
Promoting heritage values
Dan Phuong commune was once a prosperous land with bustling merchant ships, when the Hat River (Hat Giang) was still open connecting the Day River with the Red River through the Hat Mon estuary (this area has now been filled in). The spacious, majestic, and ancient Dai Phung communal house is located at the head of the village, facing the Northwest towards the ancient Day River and Tan Vien Mountain. The convenient trade with Thang Long allowed this rural area to access the high level of culture, architecture, and art of that time and produced many talented people in both education, examinations, and business.
Rehearsal for the ceremony in preparation for Dai Phung communal house festival.
Talking to Kinh te & Do thi, former Vice Chairman of Dan Phuong District People's Committee Bui Xuan Sach said that not only does Dai Phung communal house have unique architectural art, it is also a rare place with a carving of a Dan day - a musical instrument of Ca Tru art. This shows that the Ca Tru art form appeared in Dan Phuong quite early.
Not only that, on December 9, 1966, Prime Minister Pham Van Dong attended and directed the conference summarizing the work of specialized irrigation cadres in the whole North held at Dai Phung communal house. When visiting the relic, seeing that Dai Phung communal house was a cultural heritage of special value but was deteriorating, the Prime Minister requested funding for urgent restoration.
In 2010, Dai Phung communal house was renovated and embellished. Some of the xoan wooden pillars were replaced with ironwood, but the special and rare motifs of Dai Phung communal house were still preserved with their original value. Also in 2010, Dai Phung communal house was given a plaque as a project commemorating the 1000th anniversary of Thang Long - Hanoi.
Decorating village roads and alleys in Dai Phung village.
On the occasion of January 18, the whole Dai Phung village bustled into the main festival. Before the Lunar New Year, households in the village joined hands to decorate the village streets with lantern clusters, Party flags, national flags, and colorful pennants. People also joined forces to clean the environment, making the village look spacious and clean to welcome the big festival.
Head of Dai Phung village Cu Dinh Lich said that the village has 815 households and more than 3,400 people. “Although Dai Phung communal house was recognized as a special national relic in 2019, for many reasons, this year the locality has just organized to receive the ranking certificate. This year is also the year of the big festival held once every 5 years with many unique activities and rituals, so people are very excited,” Mr. Cu Dinh Lich shared.
Dai Phung village chief Cu Dinh Lich shared with Kinh te & Do thi reporter.
In the years of the big festival, Dai Phung village invites other villages in the commune such as Dong Khe, Doai Khe, Phuong Tri... to participate in the procession. The palanquin procession of the villages is magnificent, with flags flying high in the sky and drums and gongs playing loudly. Men, women, the elderly, and children from all groups join the festival. The majestic and heroic atmosphere of the procession simulates the historical scene of General Vu Hung defeating the Cao barbarians and regaining peace for the country.
The ceremonies and festivals at Dai Phung communal house are harmonious. While solemn and respectful sacrificial ceremonies are held inside the communal house according to traditional rituals, many exciting and bustling activities take place outside the communal house. Dai Phung communal house festival is an occasion to express gratitude to ancestors who have contributed to the village and the country, to pray for "people's health - prosperity" and at the same time to enrich the cultural life of the local community.
On February 15, 2025 (ie January 18 of the Lunar calendar), Dan Phuong district held a ceremony to receive the certificate of ranking as a special national relic of Dai Phung communal house, Dan Phuong commune. The program was organized in 2 parts: the ceremony to receive the special national relic of Dai Phung communal house and the festival with many special activities such as organizing photo exhibitions, performing traditional costumes, Dan Phuong cultural specialty market, banh te making contest, rice cooking contest, folk games...
Source: https://kinhtedothi.vn/dinh-dai-phung-di-san-van-hoa-kien-truc-doc-dao-xu-doai.html
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