Long Thanh Communal House

Long Thanh Communal House, also known as Long Thanh Miếu Vũ (Chinese characters: 龍清廟宇), is currently located on the banks of the Long Hồ River, in Hamlet 4, Thanh Đức Ward, Vĩnh Long Province (Vietnam); about 3 km from the centre of Vĩnh Long City. This đình (communal house; a traditional Vietnamese village meeting and worship hall) was recognised as a national historical and cultural monument on 25 March 1991.

After people from the five families of Mai, Hồ, Mạc, Võ, Đoàn and many other migrants came to this area to reclaim the land and established Long Thanh Village, Long Thanh Communal House was built to worship the village's tutelary deity. This was around the year 1754. Initially, the communal house was constructed from wood and leaves at Vàm Bùng Binh, in Hưng Long Hamlet.

In 1844, Nguyễn Văn Khiêm, a philanthropist in the village, saw that the location of the communal house was not favourable, so he donated a plot of land about 2 hectares in size on the banks of the Long Hồ River (the current location) to relocate the communal house here. This time, the building was also made of timber, bricks and tiles, although it was somewhat larger than the previous one.

On the 19th day of the 11th lunar month, 5th year of Tự Đức (1852), the tutelary deity of Long Thanh Village was conferred a royal decree by the Huế court as: Bổn cảnh Thành Hoàng chi Thần, with the honorifics: Quảng hậu, Chánh trực, Hựu thiện, Đôn ngưng chi Thần. This royal decree is currently kept at the house of Hồ Bình Thảo, a descendant of the Hồ family.

In 1913, thanks to the great contribution of Nguyễn Thị Mai, Long Thanh Communal House was completely rebuilt in brick and tile, and officially renamed Long Thanh Miếu Vũ.

Long Thanh Communal House is structured with five pyramid-shaped compartments, built in the style of trùng thiềm điệp ốc (overlapping roofs, interconnected buildings), including: at the front are the võ quy and võ ca (ceremonial halls), the central compartment is the main sanctuary, at the rear is the guest house, and to the left is the kitchen.

The main sanctuary is built in the tứ trụ (four-pillar) style, with eight main beams and eight secondary beams. The principal deity worshipped here is the village tutelary god (Thành hoàng bổn cảnh). In addition, the site also venerates the National Ancestor Hùng Vương, the Left and Right Honourable Officials, and the deity Bạch Mã Thái Giám. The rear sanctuary honours the village founders and contributors who helped build and develop the village. In front of the communal house courtyard is an altar to the God of Agriculture (Thần Nông), and two shrines to the White Tiger deity (Bạch Hổ) and the Five Element Goddesses (Ngũ Hành Nương Nương).

The interior of the communal house is decorated with many bao lam (carved wooden screens), horizontal lacquered boards, parallel sentences, dragon pillars, etc., all intricately carved and splendidly gilded. The incense tables, worship bells, ritual vessels are similarly ornate. Especially notable is a horizontal board in the central hall inscribed with the four characters "Long Thanh miếu võ", which was once exhibited and won a bronze medal at the Colonial Exhibition in 1922 in Marseille (France).

Every year, Long Thanh Communal House holds two major festivals: the Hạ Điền (Lower Field) Festival on the 14th and 15th days of the 3rd lunar month, and the Thượng Điền (Upper Field) Festival on the 16th and 17th days of the 10th lunar month.

Long Thanh Communal House in the book Historical and Cultural Monuments of Vĩnh Long Province (electronic version: [1])