Interesting things at Ba Chua Xu Temple in Sam Mountain in An Giang

Story about the temple and statue of Ba

Leading reporters to visit the Ba Chua Xu Temple of Sam Mountain, Mr. Trinh Minh Hai - Head of the Office Group, Sam Mountain Temple Management Board said that the temple was originally built simply with bamboo and leaves, located on the low-lying land northwest of Sam Mountain, with its back facing the cliff, the main hall overlooking the road and village fields.

Ba Chua Xu Temple in Sam Mountain ward, Chau Doc city ( An Giang ) is the largest temple in Vietnam.

In 1870, the temple was rebuilt with bricks and mortar. In 1962, the temple was renovated with stone blocks and roofed with yin-yang tiles. In 1965, the Association of Priests expanded the guest house and built a fence for the main hall of the temple.

In 1972, the temple was extensively rebuilt and completed in 1976, creating its current appearance, and the designers were two architects Huynh Kim Mang and Nguyen Ba Lang.

At that time, the temple architecture had the shape of the letter "Quoc", the shape of a tower in the shape of a blooming lotus, a three-story roof, covered with large blue tubular tiles, the roof corners rising high like the bow of a boat gliding on the waves. Inside the temple there was a martial arts hall, the main hall, a living room, a room for the Board of Nobility...

"After this restoration, the temple has remained intact and has not undergone any further restoration. However, to create a working space, the Board has rebuilt the kitchen, office and traditional house," said Mr. Hai.

Mr. Hai added that the patterns on the main hall's neck clearly show Indian art. Above, strong and beautiful statues of gods support the rafters with their arms outstretched.

The statue of Lady is also recognized by the Vietnam Record Book Center as the oldest and largest sandstone statue of Lady in Vietnam.

The frames and doors are all carved, engraved, and elaborately painted, and many parallel sentences and horizontal lacquered boards here are also resplendent in gold. In particular, the wall behind the statue of the Lady and the four ancient pillars in front of the main hall are almost completely preserved.

"With its history of development and current grandeur, the Ba Chua Xu Temple on Sam Mountain was recognized by the Vietnam Book of Records Center as the largest temple in Vietnam on May 25, 2008, with an area of ​​about 3,000 square meters," Mr. Hai informed.

According to Mr. Hai, in the past, the statue of the Lady was located on the top of Sam Mountain, near the Fortress. The proof of this is that the stone pedestal where the Lady sat still exists.

The stone pedestal is 1.60m wide, 0.3m long and has a square hole in the middle with a side of 0.34m. The sedimentary rock is dark green, fine-grained, and not found locally.

Many records were set at Ba Chua Xu Temple on Sam Mountain.

According to French archaeologist Malleret who came to study in 1941, the statue of Lady of Sam Mountain belongs to the Vishnu statue type, carved in a thoughtful, noble figure, with high artistic value, carved in the late 6th century from red stone.

"Around the statue of the Lady (placed in the middle of the main hall), there are also the Council altar (in front), the Former and Later Saints (on both sides), the Co altar (on the right, there is a small wooden statue of a goddess), the Cau altar (on the left, there is a very large stone Linga, about 1.2m high)...", Mr. Hai said.

Along with the Lady Temple, the Lady statue is also recognized by the Vietnam Book of Records Center as the oldest and largest sandstone statue of the Lady in Vietnam...

Destination for tourists near and far

Present at the Ba Chua Xu Temple on Sam Mountain these days, Giao Thong Newspaper reporters recorded a large number of tourists coming to see the artifacts on display at the temple. At the same time, with the attraction of spiritual tourism , tourists choose to come here to worship and pray for peace.

Tourists from near and far come to visit and worship.

Ms. Phan Le Thuy (50 years old, living in Ho Chi Minh City) said: "Every year I come here to pray for peace and health for my family. Every time I visit the temple of Ba Chua Xu in Sam mountain, I feel lighter and happier."

As for businessmen like Mr. Vu Van Quyen (35 years old, living in Binh Duong province), the lucky talisman last year helped his family business to be more successful.

"Last year, I also stopped by during the festival days of the Lady of Sam Mountain to ask for a lucky divination. This year, I also stopped by to return the favor and pray for everything to go smoothly in the year," Quyen shared.

Many gold plaques and gold plaques that people brought to worship the Lady are displayed at the Lady of the Land Temple on Sam Mountain.

Mr. Trinh Minh Hai said that every year, Ba Chua Xu Temple on Sam Mountain welcomes many visitors from inside and outside the province to visit and pray for health, peace and happiness.

In 2023, this place will welcome about 5.3 million visitors, with revenue of over 196 billion VND. Since the beginning of the year, the Sam Mountain Lady Temple has welcomed about 3.3 million visitors, with revenue of 126 billion VND.

"When there are many tourists, there are also many offerings to the Lady. All the offerings to the Lady are displayed in the grounds of the Sam Mountain Lady Temple for tourists to visit and learn about," said Mr. Hai.

The house displays many artifacts brought by people to worship the Lady.

The most people brought to worship the Lady were robes and crowns, with 10,000 sets. Next were the golden plaques and golden bells, with about 1,000 items, and golden and silver cups and various types of necklaces.

Most special is the Sam Mountain Lady necklace weighing 162 taels of 24k gold, with 187 beads, crafted by a group of craftsmen from the Ho Chi Minh City Gold, Silver and Gemstone Enterprise in 2014.

The house displaying artifacts that people bring to worship the Lady is a place for many tourists to visit and learn.

Among them, there is a main bead of 50 taels of gold carved in the shape of a phoenix, spraying small pearls that spread in many directions, implying that the Lady of the Land blesses everyone in the world. The remaining beads are carved in the shape of peonies, symbolizing nobility, luxury and kindness.

Gold and silver cups and rosaries that people used to worship the Lady are on display at the exhibition house.

"This treasure is not displayed in the showroom because it is very valuable. The necklace is only worn on the statue of the Lady on her festival days, Lunar New Year and big full moon days of the year," Mr. Hai added.

This year's Ba Chua Xu Sam Mountain Festival will take place from May 22 to June 3 (April 15 to 27 of the lunar calendar). From May 29 to June 3 (April 22 to 27 of the lunar calendar), the festival will take place with traditional rituals, such as: the procession of the Lady's statue (April 22 of the lunar calendar), the procession of the Lady's statue from the stone pedestal on the top of Sam Mountain and ending at the stage of the Lady's temple.
Bathing ceremony of the Lady (at 24:00 on the 23rd day of the 4th lunar month); Ceremony to invite the royal decree of Thoai Ngoc Hau from the tomb to the Lady's temple (25th day of the 4th lunar month); Ceremony to pay homage and build the altar (at 24:00 on the 25th day of the 4th lunar month); Main ceremony (27th day of the 4th lunar month) and the ceremony to return the royal decree of Thoai Ngoc Hau from the Lady's temple to the tomb (27th day of the 4th lunar month).

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/nhung-dieu-thu-vi-tai-mieu-ba-chua-xu-nui-sam-o-an-giang-192240524184028626.htm