Phu Tay Ho Temple

Crowded house

Phu Tay ho Temple is one of Hanoi’s most popular religious sites but on ritual days the crowds and surrounding businesses are getting out of control.

On a small peninsula off West Lake, the Tay ho Temple is dedicated to the Mother Goddess Lieu Hanh, one of Vietnam’s four immortal spirits, and the daughter of the Jade Emperor, the Lord of Heaven. After breaking a vase belonging to her father she was exiled from heaven and so she lived amongst the hoi polloi in a small hamlet in Nam Dinh province.

Eventually, after she had served her time, she returned to Heaven, but she had grown to love the small hamlet where she had lived and frequently she would return to assist the locals or help them avert disaster. She also liked to travel through the countryside to admire the beautiful scenery everywhere. One day she came across a small but beautiful peninsular, and decided to open up a small inn selling alcohol there.

As fate would have it, she met Phung Khac Khoan, known as Trang Bung, a noted 16th-century Vietnamese military strategist, politician, diplomat and poet who served under the Le Dynasty. Along with two scholar friends of his, Trang Bung and Lieu Hanh whiled away the hours drinking, reciting poetry and playing music. Months later, Khoan returned to the spot where he had met Lieu Hanh, but she had long since disappeared. Saddened, but also inspired, he built a temple to honour her.

Crowding out the temple
On the first or the 15th day of the lunar month, people often visit the Tay ho Temple in Hanoi to pray for good luck and prosperity. But as it has become one of the most popular temples in the city, often it feels like you are heading into a market on these ritual days. Aggressive traders flog incense, flowers and votive offerings. Plenty of families come to the temple so you can also find made-in-China toys. As people come here to pray for luck and prosperity, the lottery ticket sellers outside cash in on people’s fresh burst of optimism.

A large sign outside states, “No motorbikes must enter the temple”, yet a string of motorists sally forth regardless. Outside the temple walls a man sitting at a small table in between stacks of beer and snacks scribbles down the names and birthdays of temple goers and their family members in Han Script. These scrolls are then placed on the altar inside the temple. As the scroll goes up in flames the gods will hear your prayers and bless your family accordingly. The calligrapher lifts his head and charges a customer VND15,000 for two scrolls. Traditionally, the fee for this service was entirely up to the generosity of the customer.

Now people wander down the street, looking for the best price. But who is to know what the man has written, unless you read Chinese. A woman selling incense sticks nearby whispers that the man actually knows very little Han script. When the customer clutching his scroll comes our way, she asks to see it then shakes her head. “You know I don’t think he has even written your name correctly,” she says. Phan Van Ngu, a 62 year old civil servant, is waiting for his wife and daughter, who are listening to a fortune-teller.

“I don’t believe in what those fortune-tellers say. They tell everybody the same thing probably,” he says. “And I don’t understand why it’s like a market here now. Ten years ago there were only a few shops around. They were selling nothing but incense and votive objects.” Inside a group of boisterous youngsters maraud around the temple grounds, a young couple smooches and giggles by the wall, on the far side a group of fishermen are casting their rods out.

Ngu is flabbergasted. “Why don’t they feel ashamed? Is it possible that they don’t know where they are now?” he asks aloud. A representative from the temple’s management board says that most of the shops and stalls around the temple are run by locals. He is dismisses complaints that the shops have created a mess. As far as he concerned these businesses help feed families. “Anyway we are only responsible for ensuring order in the area from inside the gates of the temple,” he says.

“The inhabitants can do business outside and whether social order is maintained out there is a matter for the Quang An commune people’s committee.”

( Source : Timeout )

Tag: Hanoi , Travel , Vietnam , Vietnamese

Crowded house

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