About Dinh Hiep Luc festival, listen to the legendary story of famous general Le Do

At Hiep Luc Communal House Festival, listen to the legendary story of famous general Le Do. (Video: Huu Danh)

On the morning of September 24, at Hiep Luc communal house, An Khe commune, Quynh Phu district, Thai Binh province, the opening ceremony of Hiep Luc communal house festival took place. This is a traditional festival of An Khe commune people, to commemorate the famous general Le Do - a heroic male general under the reign of Hai Ba Trung.

Legend has it that the famous general Le Do was the son of Mr. Le Duong - the district magistrate of Phu Phuong. However, when his wife died early, Mr. Le Duong resigned from his position and returned to his hometown to practice medicine and married a village girl named Tran Thi A Nuong from Dong Trang Luc village, Ung Hoa district (now An Khe commune).

Hiep Luc Communal House in An Khe Commune, Quynh Phu District, Thai Binh Province worships famous general Le Do and his mother. (Photo: Nguyen Duc)

Le Do inherited intelligence, studiousness and respect for etiquette from his parents. To this day, people in the area still talk about the legend of Le Do who was very good at studying at the age of 7 and was proficient in military books and martial arts at the age of 12.

Later, Le Do opened a martial arts school and recruited soldiers to assist the Trung Sisters in repelling the Southern Han army.

According to Mr. Chu Dang Tam (An Khe village, Quynh Phu district, Thai Binh), who held the position of head of Hiep Luc communal house: “According to historical records, at the age of 15, General Le Do recruited soldiers and people from Kien Xuong, Ha Giang, Ninh Giang, Phu Duc... came to join his army. There were times when the place where General Le Do taught martial arts had up to 100,000 soldiers. Today, the place where General Le Do taught martial arts still has relics, called Truong Vo mountain”.

Some royal decrees, inscriptions and scrolls are still preserved at Hiep Luc communal house. (Photo: Nguyen Duc)

According to Mr. Tam, General Le Do brought his soldiers under the command of the Trung Sisters, determined to defeat the Southern Han army. General Le Do made a great contribution in helping the Trung Sisters regain 63 citadels such as Giao Chi, Cuu Chan, Nhat Nam, Hop Pho, Thuong Ngo, Uat Lam, Nam Hai...

Reclaiming the country from the enemy, the Trung Sisters proclaimed themselves kings. Le Do was given the title of General of the Country, and given the title Thiet Thanh. General Le Do's estate was set as Dong Trang Luc, where his mother was living.

Mr. Chu Dang Tam - the original paper of Dinh Hiep Luc. (Photo: Nguyen Duc)

“The Trung Sisters assigned Le Do to guard Nghe An land in Cuu Chan district. However, at this time his mother was old and weak, so General Le Do decided to resign and return to his hometown to fulfill his filial duty.

During his time in the countryside taking care of his mother, General Le Do taught people how to plow, grow mulberry trees and raise silkworms. He became the pride of the local people because he was a man of both literature and martial arts, with humanity, righteousness, filial piety and courtesy," said Mr. Tam.

The palanquin procession at Hiep Luc Communal House Festival. (Photo: Nguyen Duc)

Around 43 AD, General Le Do's mother died of a serious illness. He buried her and decided to send troops to rescue the Trung Sisters, who were besieged at Cam Khe.

However, when Le Do led his army to arrive, he heard that the Trung Sisters had drowned themselves in the Hat River. Wanting to keep the army and its subjects intact, Le Do also drowned himself in this fateful river.

Moved by the talent, virtue and loyalty of the General, the people of An Khe built a temple to worship General Le Do. Every year, on General Le Do's birthday (August 10th of the lunar calendar), the village temple holds a festival for 3 days to commemorate the rare male general under the reign of the Trung Sisters.

The legend of the Great General of the Country does not end here. The legend of the communal house was passed down until the 6th century when King Ly Bi led his troops to fight against the Liang army and passed by the communal house and spent the night at Truong Vo mountain.

That night, he dreamed of the Generalissimo of the country giving him a plan to defeat the enemy. Indeed, King Ly Bi was successful in the battle and bestowed on the temple a large plaque: Linh Duc Trung Vuong, Am Phu Ly De (translation: While alive, he assisted Trung Vuong, after death, he still protected King Ly).

Not only that, legend also tells the story of the heroic spirit of the General of the Nation who assisted King Tran Nhan Tong in fighting the O Ma Nhi invaders in the 13th century. Thanks to that, the communal house continued to be granted a large decree to confer the title of General Le Do as Dong Trang Hien Thanh. Up to now, the communal house still preserves 5 decrees bearing the name of General Le Do from different dynasties.

After nearly 2,000 years, Hiep Luc Communal House was recognized as a National Historical Relic in 1990.

The Hiep Luc Communal House Festival is held annually to promote and preserve the traditional cultural beauty of the locality. (Photo: Nguyen Duc)

To date, Hiep Luc Communal House has become a place of worship for both General Le Do and his mother. People of An Khe commune in particular and Quynh Phu district in general often hold festivals with special rules on the following days:

August 10th of the Lunar calendar: The birthday of General Le Do has a chicken custom. This is a festival to honor the achievements of the talented and loyal general, who was once awarded the great title "Chi Trung Dai Nghia".

December 2: The death anniversary of General Le Do with grilled fish and sticky rice. This is a day to commemorate the great contributions and humanity of General Le Do during his lifetime when he always cared for the lives of the people.

January 4th of the Lunar calendar: The death anniversary of General Le Do's mother. This is the day of making banh day and banh chung, expressing the desire of the indigenous people for a peaceful, independent, and prosperous life.

February 6th of the Lunar calendar: The birthday of the mother of General Le Do, who had a pig custom. This is a holiday to honor the sacrifice of the General’s mother, to commemorate the story of her wholehearted devotion to a great cause, willing to slaughter a pig to treat the army, helping her children to be steadfast in their fight against the enemy. Her kindness is shown through the main letter with the words “Kham Anh Phong”.

Thus, Hiep Luc communal house festival is not only a historical "witness" to the legends of the heroic general Le Do but also a cultural beauty expressing the morality of remembering the source of water, loyalty to the king and patriotism of the people of An Khe, Quynh Phu, Thai Binh.

An Nguyen

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