By Tran My
Dinh Bang Village is in Tu Son District, Bac Ninh Province, 20km northeast of Hanoi. Dinh Bang Village Temple is one of the most well-known temples of the northern plain.
Together with pagodas in a village, temples were one of the social and cultural centers in the countryside of Vietnam. Pagodas were a typical place for religious practices while temples were where villagers discussed public affairs, organized festivals and ceremonies, praised and maintained good customs of the village.
Dinh Bang Village Temple began to be built in 1700 and construction lasted 36 years. The temple is now more than 300 years old, so it is a good place to study the architectural and artistic styles of Vietnam in the 18th century.
Like other Vietnamese temples, the most important areas of Dinh Bang Village Temple is the central part. It stands on a foundation with the height of two steps, and this foundation is surrounded by pieces of blue rock. It measures 25 meters by 14. The central part has seven main sections and two secondary sections, with six lines of pillars on square pieces of blue rock. There are 60 pillars altogether, each of which has a diameter of 60 centimeters.
The root of the temple is eight meters high. The four corners of the roots are bent upward and look beautiful. Their extension prevent sunlight from going straight into the temple and keeps the rain from wetting the foot of the pillars.
Dinh Bang Village Temple is an artistic construction with beautiful decoration. It was carved in different styles, with patterns such as flying clouds, sliding waves, dragons and phoenixes, apricots, chrysanthemums, and bamboo.
The temple worships three gods. These are Mountain God, Water God and Cultivation God, and six gods of human origin, who are the heads of six lineages that made contributions to setting up the village in 15th century.
In Dinh Bang Village, there is Dinh Bang Festival. It is organized annually in the third lunar month. On the festive days, there are cultural activities in the front yard of the temple such as playing chess, wrestling, cock fighting, and traditional opera singing.
Dinh Bang Village Temple is a proud example of the fine folk art typical of the Kinh Bac culture. With ancient beauty and grandeur, it is a place that attracts both locals and foreigners.
(from The Saigon Times Weekly, 2004)
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