Dinh Bang - heritage of a famous village (part 1)

Part 1: The strangeness of a village

Vietnam is not short of famous villages, but there are few villages as strange, unique, glorious, and filled with so many interesting things as Dinh Bang village...

"When the banyan forest runs out of trees/ When Cao Khe runs out of water, Ly will return" - a folk song about an ancient tree in Dinh Bang village that moved King Ly Thai To to choose this forest as a forbidden place: the banyan tree.

However, nearly 100 years ago, this tree in Dinh Bang was cut down, leaving most people who have lived there since then not knowing what it looks like.

We met Mr. Nguyen Phu Tuan (70 years old) in the yard of Dinh Bang communal house. After a cup of tea, he explained: “It is true that our village used to be next to a dense forest of cassia trees, so it was popularly called Bang village, and the word name Dich Bang, then Dinh Bang until today. Later, for many reasons, the cassia forest gradually disappeared. It was only recently that it was replanted.”

The person who replanted the sapodilla tree in 2012 was also a native of Dinh Bang, that was Doctor of Science , Major General Nguyen Quang Bac, son of the late National Assembly Chairman Le Quang Dao (birth name Nguyen Duc Nguyen).

Dinh Bang communal house relic.

Mr. Tuan led me to the front of the village communal house and pointed to a banyan tree. I looked at it and touched its trunk, suddenly remembering the story: “Chau returns to Hop Pho”.

Folklore here also circulates the song: "Dinh Bang has Tieu Tuong river/ To develop merchants, to develop kings, to develop emperors". But now, around Dinh Bang there are only ponds.

It turns out that there was indeed a river flowing through Dinh Bang village and many other Kinh Bac villages. It is known that the Tieu Tuong river flows through here, carrying the folk song of Truong Chi as in the song: "Once upon a time there was a man named Truong Chi/ He was very ugly, but he sang very well". The fairy tale love story has entered poetry, music and painting, like the famous song about the sad and tormented fate of "Truong Chi" by musician Van Cao. The Truong Chi folk tale belongs to the whole country, but for some reason the origin of the story is assumed to be from the Tieu Tuong river of Kinh Bac, famous for the romantic Bac Ninh Quan Ho, and not somewhere else.

But Tieu Tuong is not a mere product of folk imagination, it once clearly existed. According to the book “Dai Nam Nhat Thong Chi”: “The old Tieu Tuong River in Tu Son prefecture, originates from a large pond in Phu Luu commune, Dong Ngan district, flows from the west to the north of Tieu Son commune, Yen Phong district, turns into the territory of Tien Du and Que Phong districts, and enters Thien Duc river”. Later in the 15th century, because the Ho dynasty dredged the Duong river to straighten the flow, Tieu Tuong lost its water source and was gradually buried, leaving only sections of river or ponds.

I silently looked at the water surface and dreamily thought about reviving the Tieu Tuong River so that Truong Chi's singing could spread across the river on bright moonlit nights...

The banyan tree (behind a Dinh Bang resident), in front of the village communal house yard.

Coming to Dinh Bang, you will hear not only many thrilling legends but also true stories that shine with human love in times of danger and misery.

Teacher Nguyen Duc Thin recalled folk memories: “I heard that at that time, the Ming invaders invaded our country. They were extremely brutal, burning down villages, killing people, and robbing property. Our ancestors could not bear it and had to find a way to escape to another place. Finally, people came to Dong Nguyen village in Thien Duc district, now northeast of Tu Son. The people here not only took care of them, fed them, and clothed them, but also did their best to hide them. When the invaders were defeated, the Dinh Bang people returned to their homeland and were given rice and bamboo seeds by the Dong Nguyen people to replant in the village. That favor was immeasurable.

A long time later, Dong Nguyen village was in trouble, the whole village was almost burned down, houses and rice were lost, people were left homeless, food and shelter were scarce, and life was extremely difficult. When hearing the bad news, the people of Dinh Bang, without telling anyone, young and old, men and women, immediately went to help the other village with food, rebuilt houses, and worked together in the fields, which meant that they considered it their own family work. Moved by the deep affection, the two villages held a ceremony to form a bond of brotherhood that has lasted until today.

I was silent before the story of the village with deep gratitude, looking outside, the whole Kinh Bac countryside was golden in the sun...

(To be continued)

Part 2: Do Temple and the legend of Ly Cong Uan

Pham Xuan Dung

Source: https://baodaklak.vn/van-hoa-du-lich-van-hoc-nghe-thuat/202509/dinh-bang-di-san-mot-danh-huong-ky-1-da01561/