Not only worshipping the Buddha, Cao Xa pagoda also retains special cultural and historical values.
26 hau stelae, unique heritage at Cao Xa pagoda
Cao Xa pagoda, also called Cao Linh pagoda, is part of the national historical relic complex of Cao Xa communal house, shrine, and pagoda in Cao An commune (Cam Giang, Hai Duong).
Not only worshipping the Buddha, the site also retains special cultural and historical values.
Pristine ancient features
The pagoda is situated on a high and airy parcel to the west of Cao Xa village and bordered on three sides by a river. The multilayered roof with curved roof corners of the pagoda gate is covered with moss, in the middle of which are three Chinese characters “Cao Linh Tu” (Cao Linh pagoda). At two sides of the gate are two large relief statues of ho phap (guardian deities). Surrounding the pagoda are green bamboo fences.
Cao Xa pagoda covers a total area of over 5,000 m2, including around 600 m2 of the inner pagoda area. The overall architecture of the pagoda consists of seven compartments of a front house, three tam bao compartments, five compartments of an ancestor house, three compartments of a stele house, and a mau (Mother Goddess) house area built in a traditional style. There are two big earthen kim cuong (ho phap) statues and an ancient bronze bell in the front house of the pagoda. All of them are valuable antiques dating back several hundred years.
The front house of the pagoda worships Nguyen Thi Phuong, mother of Saint Tam Quan, tutelary god of Cao Xa village, who was given credit for helping the 18th Hung King fight the enemy to save the country. She is the wife of Hung Thuan Cong, the 18th Hung King’s uncle. She helped people know the trades of growing cotton, beans, eggplants, weaving with a loom, etc. People always hold a hearty ceremony on every anniversary of her death (lunar February 4).
The row of houses of ancestors and Mother Goddesses behind the Tam Bao is where three progenitors, Mother Goddesses in Vietnamese people’s conception, and Saint Tran Hung Dao are worshipped. Four valuable wooden statues are still retained in the Mother Goddess house.
The pagoda has existed since the Later Le dynasty, according to elders in the village and the formation history of Cao Xa in ngoc pha (a book recording the life, career, etc. of respected, worshipped persons) of the communal house. The system of statues in the pagoda has been kept relatively intact since the construction. The precise age is yet to be confirmed; however, since the appearance of the pagoda, the statues have been repainted three times by the people, with an interval of about 100 years between each time. Especially, the pagoda has a statue of the Jade Emperor made of one-piece bronze, which is carried by up to 20 youngsters each time of painting, repair.
There are also 26 hau stelae in Cao Xa pagoda.
“The stelae were made in the building period of the pagoda, carved on which are the faces of Cao Xa’s 26 mothers who were virtuous, exemplary, kind-hearted, and lenient people, raised children growing up and successful with services rendered to the country, and contributed money, land to the construction of the pagoda,” said Do Van Son, Party Cell Secretary, Head of the Management Sub-unit of Cao Xa communal house and pagoda relic.
The 26 stelae are approximately 50 – 80 cm high, 40 – 50 cm wide and made of green stone. Despite heterogeneous sizes, carved on each stele surface is a woman wearing a traditional costume with sophisticated carved lines. Covered with moss, but all of the 26 hau stelae have been preserved intact. Each stele is a unique sculpture when it stands both independently and in a united block.
According to Son, the hau stele system of Cao Xa pagoda has been evaluated by researchers as one of unique heritages rarely seen at religious works in general and pagodas in particular. Apart from cultural, historical, and spiritual values, it also bears important educational meanings. Moral standards of women in feudal times can be clearly seen from the hau stele system. This was a very example for generations of women in the old days to consider themselves.
Cao Xa pagoda was ranked by the State as a national relic in 1995.
NGOC HUNG
Đăng ký: VietNam News