Bình Thủy Communal House

Bình Thủy Communal House, with the formal name Long Tuyền Cổ Miếu, is a đình (village communal house) located in Cần Thơ City. This is a structure of value in terms of the traditional architectural art of the Vietnamese people during the period of reclaiming the southwestern region of the Mekong Delta.

Bình Thủy Communal House is situated at a site now belonging to Bình Thủy Ward, Bình Thủy District, Cần Thơ City. The đình is adjacent to a residential area, surrounded by a quadrilateral fence: to the north, about 200 metres from the bank of the Hậu River; to the east, bordered by the Bình Thủy canal; and to the south, adjacent to Lê Hồng Phong Street. From the centre of Cần Thơ City, if you follow Nguyễn Trãi Street through Cách mạng Tháng Tám and Lê Hồng Phong for 5 km, you will reach Bình Thủy Communal House.

The đình was erected in the year Giáp Thìn (1844), initially to worship the Thành hoàng (tutelary deity) of Bình Hưng Village, Định Thới Canton, Vĩnh Định District, Ba Xuyên Prefecture, An Giang Province.

In 1852, Provincial Governor Huỳnh Mẫn Đạt, while on an inspection tour aboard a sea vessel, encountered a violent storm, but thanks to timely shelter at the mouth of the Bình Hưng canal, he was unharmed. After escaping danger, Huỳnh Mẫn Đạt organised a celebratory feast with the local people and renamed the canal and the land "Bình Thủy". At the same time, he submitted a memorial to Emperor Tự Đức, requesting an imperial decree conferring the title of tutelary deity upon the village's Thành hoàng. From then on, the village had the new name Bình Thủy, and the communal house was also called Bình Thủy Communal House by the people.

At the beginning of the 20th century (around 1908), Bình Thủy Village was renamed Long Tuyền Village (as the Bình Thủy canal resembles a lying dragon), so locals also called the communal house Long Tuyền Communal House or Long Tuyền Cổ Miếu.

Later, Long Tuyền Commune was divided into three administrative units: Bình Thủy Ward, An Thới Ward, and Long Tuyền Commune, and the đình lies within Bình Thủy Ward. Therefore, Long Tuyền Communal House or Long Tuyền đình reverted to its original name, Bình Thủy Communal House, and this name has been maintained to the present day.

In the year Giáp Thìn (1844), due to severe storms and floods ravaging Long Tuyền Village, houses and fields were destroyed, and the people suffered from hunger and cold. After this natural disaster, the people returned to the village in increasing numbers and built a communal house from bamboo and wood, roofed with leaves at the arch of the Bình Thủy canal, to pray for the deities' protection for favourable weather and peace for the villagers.

In the fifth year of Emperor Tự Đức (1852), the royal commissioner Huỳnh Mẫn Đạt was on an inspection tour aboard a sea vessel. When the boat neared Cồn Linh at the mouth of the Bình Thủy canal, it encountered a great storm, causing everyone on board to panic. At that moment, the commissioner ordered the boat to take shelter immediately at the mouth of the Bình Thủy canal and they were safe. Following this event, the official held a three-day celebration with the villagers. On this occasion, he renamed the islet Bình Thủy. Upon returning to the court, the commissioner reported to Emperor Tự Đức and requested an imperial decree conferring the title of tutelary deity upon Bình Thủy Village. Afterwards, the emperor issued a decree conferring the title of Bổn Cảnh Thành Hoàng on 29 November 1852 (the year Nhâm Tý).

After receiving the imperial decree, the local people rebuilt the communal house for the second time (1853). This time, the front of the đình was roofed with tiles, and an additional võ ca house (usually used as an opera house, with a small, low wooden stage for performing troupes to entertain the villagers) was constructed. According to the book "Cần Thơ xưa và nay" (Cần Thơ Past and Present) by Huỳnh Minh, this đình also worships Princess Trầm Hương and Princess Huệ Cơ, though there are no legends about them. Later, the people also included those who had rendered service to the country in the worship, such as Đinh Công Tráng, Nguyễn Trung Trực, Bùi Hữu Nghĩa, Võ Huy Tập...

This time, Bình Thủy Communal House was completely rebuilt anew.

In 1904, District Chief Nguyễn Đức Nhuận saw that the đình was about to collapse and proposed rebuilding it at the crossroads on the village's land, an area of 2.9 hectares. Mr. La Xuân Thanh, a landowner, provided financial support and supervised the construction. Unfortunately, the district chief passed away and the work was delayed. In 1909, Mr. Nguyễn Doãn Cung and his in-law, a landowner, both agreed to rebuild the communal house for the third time at the old site (the mouth of Bình Thủy canal) with a joint fund of 5,823 Indochinese piastres. Construction began on 12 July 1909 and was completed in 1910. The work proceeded smoothly under the design of Mr. Huỳnh Trung Trinh.

Bình Thủy Communal House now stands on a plot of land over 4,000 m². The architectural style of this đình differs greatly from that of the North. The đình is built on a high, dry foundation and has depth; both the front and rear buildings are square, so each side has six rows of columns, with large, round bases that slightly splay outwards, making the structure even more solid.

Regarding exterior decoration, looking at the roof, the front building has two overlapping roofs, while the main sanctuary at the back has three overlapping roofs in the "upper storey, lower veranda" architectural style. On the roof are statues of people, kylins, and fish transforming into dragons. On the left side of the roof is a cement decorative panel with a scroll (similar to the scrolls displayed at communal houses in the North), next to which are a bamboo basket and a flower vase. The edge of the lowest roof is adorned with dark green mango leaves, and the roof tiles are capped with green-glazed ceramic. The front of the building features cement columns decorated with exquisitely embossed floral motifs.

Inside the đình, the altars are arranged as follows: In the tiền đường (front hall) is the Nghi Hạ altar, with the Nghi Trung altar in the central bay. In the small square house is the Nghi Thượng altar, used for the main ceremonies during festivals.

In the main sanctuary: in the centre is the principal altar; to the left, near the outer wall, is the Hương chức Tiên Giác altar, and further in is the Hậu tiền altar. Opposite, near the right wall, are the Tiên Giác dignitaries' altar and the Tiền Hiền altar. Against the innermost wall in the central bay is the Hậu thần altar, with the Hữu Bang and Tả Bang altars on either side. Outside the đình are two large miếu (shrines) worshipping the God of Agriculture and the Tiger God; near the gate are two miếu dedicated to the Forest God and the God who opened the irrigation canal.

Bình Thủy Communal House is a structure of great architectural and artistic value. Although built in the early 20th century, the đình's architecture retains many traditional elements of the nation's architecture. The đình still preserves carved panels and decorative motifs closely linked to national art. The woodcarving art here is extremely sophisticated and lively. Beneath the roof of this đình lies not only the ancestral history of an ancient southern village but also a repository of the finest values of the riverine and orchard culture and civilisation of Cần Thơ in particular and the southwestern region in general.

Along with other cultural activities, Bình Thủy Communal House has created a unique identity for the village đình in a newly reclaimed land. Today, Bình Thủy Communal House is still well preserved, restored, and protected.

Every year, the local people organise the Thượng điền and Hạ điền festivals, which are very lively. The festival has the bustling, joyful atmosphere of a village festival, with folk games such as duck catching, tug of war, hát bội (classical opera), hát tiều (folk singing), women's handicrafts, etc., which have been richly maintained from the past to the present. This is a cultural festival that attracts thousands of people from all over, deeply imbued with the wet rice civilisation (praying for national peace, favourable weather, and family well-being). The Bình Thủy Communal House Festival is one of the three largest đình festivals in the southwest.

The Thượng điền Festival – Worship of Bổn Cảnh Thành Hoàng (also known as the village's tutelary deity, the earth god who guards the land) is held after the harvest. This is a festival for peace, worship, and a procession of the deity on a dragon-and-phoenix carriage, with the imperial decree carried on a raft made of three boats lavishly decorated, and three nights of hát bội performances: from the 12th to the 14th day of the 4th lunar month each year. The Kỳ Yên Festival of Bình Thủy Communal House was included in the List of National Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism under Decision No. 266/QĐ-BVHTTDL dated 30/01/2018.

The Hạ điền Festival is held on the 14th and 15th days of the twelfth lunar month.

Southern Vietnamese village communal houses (Đình làng Nam Bộ)