A village hall honoring a goddess

Located in Di Linh commune, the Di Linh communal house stands out with its elegant three-tiered red-tiled roof, upturned finials, and intricately carved motifs of stylized dragons. Atop the roof sits a flaming pearl flanked by a pair of dragons, while most details are inlaid with porcelain shards in green, blue, yellow, and red tones.

Huynh Van Tai, 70, deputy head of the management board, said the communal house was founded in 1860. It began as a small shrine dedicated to the village’s tutelary god and the local earth deity under a centuries-old milkwood pine tree, whose massive 10-meter circumference trunk still shades the site today. Later, the shrine also honored the Cham goddess Thien Y A Na.

According to legend, Thien Y A Na governed lands from present-day Khanh Hoa to Dong Nai and was revered for her role in opening and managing new settlements. On March 18, 1917, King Khai Dinh issued three royal decrees conferring titles on these deities, ordering Di Linh villagers to venerate them. The old shrine was too small, so villagers exchanged seven strong buffaloes for 8,858 m² of farmland from local ethnic people to build a larger site.

The new hall, completed with earth floors, wooden walls, and corrugated roofs, had three worship chambers and was named Di Linh communal house. Over the years, it has undergone several renovations but retains its original architectural style.

Today, the main hall houses three altars: on the left for Duong god (the tutelary deity), on the right for Am god (Son Quan Linh Phu Chi Than - the mountain spirit), and in the center for Thien Y A Na. Additional side altars honor the founders and contributors who built and preserved the hall.

A ‘treasure’ opened only once a year

The communal house’s most precious artifacts are three royal decrees from King Khai Dinh, recognizing Thien Y A Na as a high-ranking goddess, the village’s tutelary god as a lower-ranking deity, and the mountain spirit as a recognized deity.

These decrees are kept in two red lacquered wooden boxes placed on the goddess’s altar. During wartime, villagers carefully hid them to avoid loss or damage. Remarkably, after more than a century, the documents remain intact with no yellowing, and the ink is still clear.

Because they are royal gifts kept in the main hall, few have ever seen the originals. The box is opened only once a year during the spring worship ceremony on the 15th day of the second lunar month. At midnight, senior and respected board members conduct a one-hour incense-offering ritual before carefully inspecting the decrees and returning them to their place. The purpose is to check their preservation and plan any needed restoration.

To share their heritage, the board has created framed replicas on display for visitors.

In earlier times, spring and autumn ceremonies drew large crowds. Offerings included flowers, fruit, and a live black pig, later replaced by prepared dishes due to scarcity. Despite multiple renovations, Di Linh communal house remains a striking example of Vietnamese communal architecture.

Ha Nguyen