VietNamNet Bridge – The village of Hoi Ky in Hai Lang District in Quang Tri Province is home to about 50 old wooden houses. They are the pride of the local people.

According to the village’s elderly residents, their village was established in the 15th century. The remaining nha ruong houses have been well preserved since then.

They are built in traditional style, with three compartments. The middle compartment is for worshipping ancestors and two others are for living.

The houses are built with several kinds of wood such as jackfruit, kien kien and ten mat, with pillars of 20-30 cm in diameter, roofed by tiles.

The house of Mr. Duong Van Ngoc is nearly 200 years old and has been well preserved.

The antique house of local resident Duong Van Khanh Manh, called Tich Khanh Duong, was built in 1889 during the reign of King Thanh Thai. The home is now 121 years old and Mr. Manh is part of the fourth generation to live in the house and carry on the tradition of ancestor worship.

The house has a width of 12.3 meters, a length of 9.5 meters, and is divided into three sections built in a T- shape. A total of 18 doors are also divided into groups of three to create balance in the home. In addition, there are four alternating tiled roofs and nine graded ones comprising over 10 thousand tiles. The house is supported by 48 pillars made of jackfruit wood (forest jack), with each pillar measuring 30cm in diameter.

In the center of the home is an altar, complete with a horizontal lacquered board inscribed with the words “Tich Khanh Duong” in Chinese characters. Antique fixtures such as bronze urns, incense bowls, candlesticks and flower vases adorn the worshipping area, and on either side of the altar there are four scrolls of Han characters intended to educate future generations.

Roughly translated, the scrolls convey a message of hope for descendants to live a life of piety, develop good virtues and be worthy of carrying on the family name into eternity.

Dan Tri