One of the ancient communal houses in Xu Doai
Xu Doai is famous for its hundreds of years old communal houses with unique architectural features that are rarely found anywhere else. Currently, in the old Ha Tay land, there are still 4 famous ancient communal houses such as Mong Phu communal house (Son Tay town), Chu Quyen communal house and Tay Dang communal house (Ba Vi district), the closest to the center of the capital is So communal house or also known as Son Lo communal house.
In the book Son Tay province geography published in 1941, it is written: "Son Lo communal house was built in the Later Le dynasty, the 3rd year of Duong Duc (1674)". However, at So communal house, there are still 2 stone steles named "Tu sang hoa dinh bi" carved in the 3rd year of Duong Duc (1674) under the reign of King Le Gia Tong, which give more precise information about the age of the communal house: The communal house was renovated and embellished in the year Quy Mao (1663). Over hundreds of years, So communal house has been renovated many times; according to the stone stele "Dai dinh bi ky" carved in the 43rd year of Canh Hung (1782) under the reign of King Le Hien Tong, it is recorded about the construction of So communal house: "Now serving the construction of this communal house. On the thirteenth day of the following month, the good hour of the month of Giap Than, the year of Tan Suu (1781), the wood was broken. Accordingly, the construction started on the 20th of August. On the 7th day of the first month of the year Nham Dan (1782), the communal house pillars were placed. In March of the year, the work was completed. In May, the communal house was completed. According to the people of So village, the communal house was previously built in another location, then moved to its current location.
So Communal House was built on a mound of land over 1,000m² wide, facing the Northeast, facing the Day River in front, leaning against Rua Mountain in the back, leaning against Phuong Mountain on the right, leaning against Rong Mountain on the left. The prime location of So Communal House with the position of "mountains facing, water gathering" is similar to many relics that are considered to have an important role such as the National Ancestor Lac Long Quan Temple in the Hung Temple Historical Relic Area (Phu Tho); Thien Tho Lang - the tomb of King Gia Long.
The first famous landscape of Dinh Doai
The folklore of the Doai region has a saying: "So communal house is beautiful, Can communal house is big, Ngoc Than communal house is dirty, Phu My communal house is ruined, Yen Noi communal house is old" to talk about some famous communal houses in the Quoc Oai region. Not only does it have a favorable geographical location, So communal house also has a very unique architecture and is typical of a large communal house in the Doai region. The overall architecture of So communal house has a "inner public, outer private" layout including: In front is a crescent-shaped lake, next is the ceremonial gate, next is the main worshiping hall located in the center of the architecture, connecting the main worshiping hall and the rear palace in the back is a tube, from the ceremonial gate to the main hall and around the architecture are courtyards.
Nghi Mon So Dinh is also known as Ngu Mon, including the main gate with three large doors, the left gate and the right gate are two side doors. The main gate is built in the style of eight-roofed overlapping roofs, the architectural components of the Nghi Mon are decorated and carved with many different themes, extremely rich and meticulous such as the four sacred animals, the four seasons. Right at the main gate, there are two Nghe statues guarding the two side doors. From Nghi Mon, go through a brick-paved yard, up 5 steps to reach the Dai Dinh.
Located in the front is the Great Worship Hall with an architecture of 5 compartments, 2 wings and 2 side rooms. The middle room is the space for practicing worship and sacrifice rituals of local people on the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month and important festivals of the year. The side rooms are lined with planks, creating a high floor, where local people meet to discuss village work. Continuing the architecture is the tube, built higher than the Great Worship Hall's foundation, with three steps leading up, the tube lies along the middle room forming a sacred axis from the ceremonial gate to the Back Palace. The Back Palace is also known as the inner palace, this is the solemn place to worship the village's tutelary god of So village. On the architectural structures of the Great Worship Hall such as the roof trusses, armpit trusses, eaves, and the upper part... are all meticulously and delicately decorated with various themes, typically the four sacred animals, the longevity character... typical of the folk art of the Nguyen Dynasty.
Heritage for the homeland and people
At So communal house, there are still many precious relics that are hundreds of years old, carrying a lot of historical information and cultural values. In addition to the dragon images carved on wooden structures, the special dragon image of So communal house is also shown through the pair of stone dragons placed in front of the main hall. The pair of stone dragons at So communal house is typical of the dragon image of the Le Trung Hung period, 17th - 18th century. The dragons are created shorter, with larger bodies than those of the Ly - Tran period, with 4 claws on their feet, a big nose and especially the bottom of their feet is decorated with cloud patterns.
In the main hall, there is still a stone stele named “Tu sang hoa dinh bi” carved under the reign of King Le Gia Tong in the 3rd year of Duong Duc (1674) and on the outer porch of the rear palace, there is still a stone stele named “Dai dinh bi ky” carved under the reign of King Le Hien Tong in the 43rd year of Canh Hung (1782). The stone stele all record the process of restoration and embellishment of the communal house. At So communal house, there are also dozens of large and small column bases dating from the 18th - 19th centuries.
The stele engraved at So communal house also records information that the three tutelary gods are the three Generalissimos of the Cao family, namely Hien Ho, Thien Gia and Menh Gia. The three Generals had great merit in helping Dinh Tien Hoang Emperor establish Dai Co Viet. Later, remembering the merits of the three Dinh kings, he sent people to perform a sacrificial ceremony and bestowed the three Great Kings with the four beautiful titles "Cao thong, bac dat, tinh chinh, toi linh". After the three passed away, King Dinh Tien Hoang bestowed the title of "Dong Linh Thong, Hieu Nguyen Suy Dai Vuong" to Hien Ho, and bestowed the title of "Nguyen Suy Dai Vuong" to Thien Gia and Menh Gia.
To remember the village guardian spirits who have contributed to the country, helped the people have favorable weather and good harvests, the people of So village organize three major festivals every year. The first festival of the year is the main festival, which takes place from the 8th to the 10th of the second lunar month every year. The people here have a song to remind people to always remember the So village festival as follows: "A word to remind who / The village festival on the 8th of the second lunar month then return". The second important festival of the year takes place on the 10th of the 7th lunar month, this is the military feast. At the end of the year, the Sanctification ceremony is held on the 10th of the twelfth lunar month every year to commemorate the death anniversary of the generals.
Over hundreds of years of history, So communal house is a historical witness, witnessing the ups and downs of the country. Until now, the communal house still stands firmly as a monument of local history. So communal house has received 45 royal decrees and rare archival documents from 27 kings.
Heritage cuisine
So village vermicelli is a familiar dish of the people of the capital in particular and famous in the S-shaped strip of land in general. No one knows exactly when the name So village vermicelli appeared, according to word of mouth of the local people, this name is associated with So communal house, ancient and carrying the traditional beauty typical of the Doai region.
So village vermicelli is famous not only because it is associated with the ancient communal house of the village, but also because of the quality of the products of this land. So village vermicelli must be made entirely from arrowroot powder originating from the localities in the northern mountainous region such as: Dien Bien, Tuyen Quang, Son La, Bac Kan...
The arrowroot powder is processed and screened three times, then a portion of the powder is pumped and mixed with raw powder so that the raw powder does not settle. Once the powder is pre-processed and mixed well, it is steamed and made into cakes by the craftsman, then it is further dried in the fields under the sun and wind of the Xu Doai region for 90 - 180 minutes.
One of the important things that creates the So village vermicelli brand is the way to dry the vermicelli, the vermicelli is dried against the wind so that the cake dries faster and more evenly. After the vermicelli cake is dry, it is put into the cutting machine and soaked in water to soften. When the vermicelli has enough water, it is put into the machine to make it into strands and dried for about 180 minutes. From there, So village vermicelli is created with the following characteristics: White and clear color, tough and crispy strands; no additives or preservatives are used during the production process. When cooked, even if overcooked, the vermicelli strands will not become mushy, broken or sticky.
