Xà Tón Pagoda

Xà Tón Pagoda, also known as Xvayton Pagoda, is located in Hamlet 3, Tri Tôn Commune, An Giang Province. This pagoda is a representative example of the stupa architectural art of the Khmer people in Southern Vietnam, is the oldest Khmer pagoda in the province, and is the place that preserves the largest number of palm-leaf scriptures in Vietnam.

According to legend, in the past this area was still wild and dense, and on the tall trees, troops of monkeys would cling to each other and swing from branch to branch. When more and more people came to live here and built the pagoda, they took this amusing and unusual scene as inspiration and named the pagoda Xvayton, with 'Xvay' meaning monkey, and 'ton' meaning to cling or to hold on... Over time, the name Xvayton was altered in pronunciation to Xà Tón for easier reading.

It is not known exactly when the pagoda was built; it is only heard from the monks that Xà Tón Pagoda has existed for over 200 years.

At first, the pagoda was simply constructed with leaves and mountain wood on a low-lying piece of land. In 1896, the pagoda and the local people worked together to dig a pond in front of the pagoda, covering an area of 0.150 hectares, to obtain earth to raise the pagoda's foundation. The foundation was raised to 1.8 metres high and built with green stone, lime, and ô dước (a type of local material). After that, the pagoda was solidly rebuilt with brick and tile, and columns made of căm xe wood; this construction took two years to complete and gave the pagoda its present appearance.

In 1933, Xà Tón Pagoda underwent a small repair: the beam at the back of the main hall was damaged, so Head Monk Tà Um had it replaced with a new beam and added two reinforced concrete columns for extra support.

Like other Khmer pagodas, Xà Tón Pagoda follows a unified layout and architectural style.

The main hall (chính điện) of Xà Tón Pagoda is located at the centre of the grounds, oriented east-west, with a pointed roof and two curved, overlapping eaves. On the main stupa roof is a structure of the Naga serpent deity lying along the ridge, symbolising strength and immortality.

The main hall's roof is tiled in three tiers, with red, green, and yellow tiles. Surrounding the main hall are small, beautiful stupas used to store the ashes of monks from the pagoda after cremation. At the tops of these small stupas are carvings of the four-faced Bayon deity, the god of creation.

Inside the spacious main hall are four rows of căm xe wood columns, each row with seven columns; the floor is paved with patterned tiles, and the walls are made of brick, lime, and ô dước.

All along the upper walls are many paintings depicting Buddhist legends and stories of the Buddha and his disciples. On one side of the main hall is a large cement statue of the Buddha seated in the lotus position on a high pedestal, and in front of it are many smaller statues made of silver and wood, which are quite distinctive.

Outside Xà Tón Pagoda, in front, is a large pond (dug to obtain earth for raising the pagoda's foundation) planted with lotuses and water lilies. Especially, to the left, besides rows of heavily laden coconut trees, there is a large statue of the Buddha meditating under the shade of a lâm vồ tree over 100 years old, with a trunk so large that about ten people are needed to encircle it, and a tall, luxuriant canopy.

According to tradition, the main hall of the pagoda is the place for ceremonies and sermons, while the monks' living and study quarters are in other buildings, smaller in size but also with two curved, overlapping eaves, pointed roofs, and Naga serpent deity motifs.

Xà Tón Pagoda holds regular annual festivals:

Festival: Chol Chnam Thmay – New Year celebration, on 13th, 14th, and 15th April (solar calendar).

Pisat bo chia Festival – Festival of Gratitude to the Buddha, commemorating the Buddha's birth, on the full moon day of the 4th lunar month.

Chôl Neasa Festival – Retreat Festival, during which monks are not allowed to leave the pagoda for three months, except in cases where their parents, teachers are ill, or if required by the authorities, but not for more than 7 days. The festival begins on the full moon day of the 6th lunar month and ends on the full moon day of the 9th lunar month.

Pha Chum Bênh Festival – also known as Đôn Ta Festival (Ancestor Festival, similar to the Thanh minh festival of the Kinh people). The festival lasts 15 days, from the 1st to the 15th of October (solar calendar). During these days, Khmer people bring bánh tét (sticky rice cakes), fruit, and cooked food to the pagoda as offerings, to express gratitude to the deceased and to pray for peace and blessings for their families...

Kà Thận Festival – Festival for providing robes for the monks, and items for the pagoda or the village school.

In addition to these, there are also other festivals not held on fixed dates...

With its traditional festivals, favourable geographical location, and historical and cultural value, Xà Tón Pagoda is one of the tourist attractions for many visitors to this area.

In the Mekong Delta and An Giang, Xà Tón Pagoda, like many other Khmer pagodas, is not only a place of Buddhist worship, but also a cultural centre, preserving traditional customs, practices, architecture, sculpture, and folk art; a place where Khmer youth and people come to study to become knowledgeable, virtuous, and industrious individuals.

In addition to these values, Xà Tón Pagoda, with its refined and distinctive structure, is also a famous scenic site of the province and is the place that preserves over 100 sets of scriptures written on talipot palm leaves (called SaTra books by the Khmer people).

On 12 December 1986, the pagoda was recognised by the Ministry of Culture under Decision No. 235/VH-QĐ as a National Artistic Architectural Monument.

At the beginning of 2006, the Vietnam Records Centre established the record for Xà Tón Pagoda as the pagoda preserving the largest number of palm-leaf scriptures in Vietnam.