Story of famous general Dao Nha and Dong communal house relic

Dong communal house relic

Dong communal house relic is associated with the worship of famous general Dao Nha.

According to documents compiled by Nguyen Binh in the 1st Hong Phuc year (1572), under the reign of King Tran Nhan Tong (1279 - 1293), a Dao family in Thinh Liet estate, Que Duong district, Thuan An phu (an intermediary administrative unit between a province and a district), Kinh Bac province, gave birth to a boy named Dao Nha. At the age of 16, Dao Nha was both a scholar and a warrior.

Suddenly that year, Omar and Fanji led naval and land forces to invade Vietnam. The king sent his courtiers everywhere to find talents to help the country. Dao Nha was appointed as Thong Che Thuy Dao Tuong Quan (Waterway Marshal) patroling and defending the East and the North.

The night fell as soon as Dao Nha arrived in Hai Duong, so he let his troops be stationed in Dong Xa estate, Lac Thien commune, Phi Gia district (now Dong Cam commune, Kim Thanh district) and build a big post to fight the Yuan army.

Dao Nha ceaselessly gathered and trained regional militia in martial arts with reputation increasingly spreading throughout a vast area.

Later, he was ordered by Tran Quoc Tuan to combine with other wings to fight the enemy on the Bach Dang river. Thanks to a favorable formation and a determination to fight and to win, the Tran army won the Bach Dang battle.

Unfortunately, on the way to the capital, he was shipwreaked and died.

The king deeply mourned, ordered people to build a temple, and conferred the title Duong Canh Thanh Hoang (Tutelary God) on Dao Nha for helping the king defend the country and people, deserving to be a middle-ranking god.

On every 10th day of the 1st lunar month, locals hold a festival to commemorate the merit of famous general Dao Nha.

During the festival, a palanquin is taken around the village and across the gates of a Catholic church, Bui and Hung Long pagodas to the communal house to organize a sacrifice ceremony and festive activities.

From 1946 to 1954, the relic was an election place of the first National Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the organization site of literacy classes, etc.

During the resistance war against US aggressors, the communal house was the headquarters of the commune People's Committee as well as a venue to see hundreds of locals off to the Southern battlefield as reinforcements.

With such historical and cultural value, Dong communal house was classified as a historical relic by the provincial People's Committee in 2010.

DANG THU THOM