In Phuc Tho district, Hat Mon commune is known for its special national historical relic, Hat Mon temple worshiping Hai Ba Trung and Hat Mon temple traditional festival recognized as the National Intangible Cultural Heritage. Few people know that this locality is the cradle of spiritual culture of local people and tourists, owning 4 ranked monuments preserved and promoted. In particular, the local government of the commune always pays attention to and attaches great importance to the task of preserving relics, contributing to building the cultural features of Doai in the community of ethnic groups in Vietnam.
Hat Mon Temple (Hat Mon commune, Phuc Tho district) is more than 3ha wide, located on an ancient land with dragon and tiger, Con Rua mount in front and the Hat River flowing from the right to the left. According to the book “Linh Nam Chich Quai”, the temple was built after Hai Ba Trung incarnated into the immortal realm, so it is the oldest temple in Hai Ba Trung temple system. In the temple, there are many valuable antiques with historical value and style of the engraved art of Le – Nguyen dynasty.
Hat Mon Temple.
In Hat Mon, there are currently 4 ranked monuments, including Hat Mon temple worshiping Hai Ba Trung, palace worshiping Quan Cong Nguyen Ngoc Tri, Duc Thanh Thuy temple and Bao Lam pagoda. In particular, in addition to the special national relic, Hat Mon Temple, the palace worshiping Quan Cong Nguyen Ngoc Tri was ranked a national historical monument in 2016. At the Hat Mon Temple Traditional Festival in 2017, 2 relics of Bao Lam pagoda and Duc Thanh Thuy Temple are honored to be recognized as provincial and city-level historic sites.
For many years, the Party Committee – People’s Committee of Hat Mon commune always attaches great importance to the task of promoting and preserving historical values in the area. The Commune People’s Committee has directed the establishment of a relic management board with the structure according to the specific characteristics of each relic. In particular, the role of the People’s Committee, Fatherland Front Committee, cultural and social officials, the elders, representatives of the families participating in the Management Board is emphasized. In particular, the operation of monuments is subject to the strict management and supervision of the Commune People’s Committee, always strictly comply with the operating regulations set by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
The people of Hat Mon are proud of that this sacred land was chosen by Hai Ba Trung and the insurgent army as the place to set up the flag of insurrection and where Hai Ba Trung killed themselves on the Hat River. Because of that unique feature, Hat Mon is a special village in Vietnam with up to 3 major festivals in a year. On the 6th of March every year, the temple opens for incensing to worship. The September 4th festival commemorates the day Hai Ba Trung treat their army when withdrawing troops from Tay Ho. Through the time and space of history, the government and people of Hat Mon commune always pay respect and worship to the national heroes and the saints who have made merit to fight the enemy and save the country, taught the people in making money and bless the nation’s peace and prosperity forever and ever.
In addition to the above four relics, in Hat Mon, there are 2 spiritual places of worshiping Thanh Hoang Lang, also known as two worshiping points for Duc Ong and Ca. Currently, the People’s Committee of the commune has also restored the Van Chi relic where the names of talented people of the homeland are registered.
Customs of bringing Troi cakes to Hai Ba Trung at the Hat Mon Temple Festival.
It can be seen that, in Phuc Tho district, no locality has more relics and festivals and incense offerings than Hat Mon commune. With the results in preserving and promoting the heritage values, the government and people of Hat Mon commune have been contributing to promoting the heroic Phuc Tho land to international friends and Vietnamese people towards building this place into a spiritual tourist area of the thousand-year-old cultural capital.
Hoang Thoan