Temple of the princess of Laos

Thuong Thai Son Temple worships the princess of Laos with the name Nhim Hoa princess. The temple is located on the top of the hill Temple in Thai Son village, Son Lai commune, Nho Quan district, Ninh Binh province.

Son Lai is an ancient land: In the 10th century, this place was the western gateway of "Hoa Lu four towns", during the Tran Dynasty (in 1226), this land belonged to Thien Quan town. In the Late Le Dynasty, Son Lai belonged to Thien Quan, Thanh Hoa. Especially "In the second year of the Thuan Thanh era, Ho Han Thuong (the year of the Horse, ie 1402), in March, the road from Tay Do (ie Thanh Hoa) to Hoa Chau was repaired and rebuilt, along the way to Streets can transmit letters, so it is called Thien Ly street.” Son Lai is located on this Thuong Dao street.

During the period of fighting against the northern enemy, the Lao brothers united wholeheartedly to help and support our country. According to Dai Viet historical records: "...the 2nd year of Tan Mao (year 1471) (the 7th Minh Thanh Hoa)... The governor of Tran Ninh government, Cam Cong, sent the head to pay homage to and present products. Thuan Binh was the second Taoist association. Then the king came to Thuan Hoa, Tri Chau was Dao Nhi and I was the Dong religion, and more than 100 people brought elephants to give gifts…”

According to local legends and existing documents at the relic, Thuong Temple worships the princess of Laos, Nhoi Hoa. Under the reign of King Le Thanh Tong (under the name Hong Duc (1460-1497)), she was assigned by her father the responsibility of bringing and training a herd of elephants for Dai Viet. When the elephants were delivered, on the way back, unfortunately, the princess fell ill. The soldiers who followed had to set up camp and build two strongholds at Temple hill and Dam hill to take care of her. After a period of treatment, the princess was taken care of by the medical doctors, wholeheartedly saved but her condition did not improve, the princess died at the camp on Temple hill. The messenger informed the court of Dai Viet, King Le Thanh Tong sent his army to perform the ceremony, buried in the Temple hill area, built a mausoleum and built a temple for the princess right there. After that, the king sent people to Laos to report the news. The Lao court immediately carved the princess's image on wood and brought it to the place where she died to pay a visit and also to commemorate the solidarity between Vietnam and Laos. This legend fits very well with the history of that time.

Thuong Thai Son Temple is located on the top of the hill. The temple is in the middle of a peaceful village with majestic mountains: in the west is the tomb of the princess, in the south is Hoe Vung mountain, in the east is Mo Phuong mountain, in the north is Chon mountain. Chicken. Temple facing the South, built in the Later Le dynasty and restored many times, now the relic consists of 3 buildings, the Trung Duong building and the harem still retain the architecture of "Tien Dao Hau Dou", roofed with slate tiles. , the door is made according to the turning foot, the latch, the wooden step is 30cm high. Supported forever by a system of 4 female columns and 12 military columns, all made of ironwood, carved wooden carvings of dragon, leaf culture at the maze board, the first sentence is still original in the Nguyen Dynasty.

In addition, the relic still preserves the altar with the image of the princess carved on wood and many valuable worship items, especially 04 ordinations of the Nguyen Dynasty, including the ordination on January 12, the 6th year of Tu Duc. (1852) conferred on her the beauty title "Linh Quang Huyen Cam Diem Quyen Nhan Uyen chi god". Ordained on July 25, the 9th year of Khai Dinh (1924) She was conferred the title of Superior deity.

During the resistance war against the French colonialists and the American imperialists, Thuong temple became a place to manufacture weapons for the battlefield, a place where the military school of Military Region 3 was stationed, and the location of activities of the Economic Department, Ninh Binh province. Binh, is the place to focus on sending off Thai Son's children to the southern battlefield.

Every year, at the relic, a traditional festival takes place on the 3rd day of the third lunar month. In addition to the palanquin procession around the village, there are also many folk games such as cockfighting, wrestling, tug of war, human chess. ... Especially there is dancing and singing to the Cham Pa (traditional dance and singing of Laos) to commemorate the merits of Princess Nhio Hoa and preserve and honor the fine traditions of the two ethnic groups Vietnam - Laos. On the full moon and first day of the year, people in the area clean up the temple grounds and burn incense and worship.

With these good meanings, the relic of Thuong Thai Son temple together with Chang temple, Chang village, Son Lai commune also worships Nhoi Hoa Princess which was recognized by Ninh Binh Provincial People's Committee as a provincial relic in 2007. The relic has always been recognized by the government. rights and people in the area to look after, protect, restore and embellish, moreover, Thuong Thai Son Temple is now located in the Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex - a world cultural and natural heritage. Hopefully in the future the relic will be a destination for tourists from near and far as well as in the list of Ninh Binh tours, especially with a real proof of the solidarity between the two ethnic groups of Vietnam - Laos. get more attention from the government, local people and scientists to better promote the inherent values.

Source: http://trangandanhthang.vn