Ben Tre Snake Temple

Ben Tre Snake Temple

Snake Temple in Mo Cay, Ben Tre has long been a sacred place, because this place is associated with many legends about the snake god protecting people. Not only that, Dinh Ran is also the place where Hero of the Armed Forces Nguyen Thi Dinh - aka female general Ba Dinh - started the Dong Khoi movement. There is an anecdote that said that when Ms. Ba Dinh was pointed out by Viet traitors, it was the snake god in Dinh Ran who "protected" Ms. Ba, helping her escape from the enemy's vicious gun barrels... Snake Communal House, also known as Dinh Nhon Communal House, is located in Dinh Thuy commune, Mo Cay district, now Mo Cay Nam, Ben Tre province. Snake Communal House is located on a small, isolated road, with spindly eucalyptus trees planted on both sides of the road. According to the people here, in the early 18th century, the four families Nguyen, Phan, Trinh, and Vo were considered the ones who explored this land. This place used to be deserted, with few people and many wild animals. So, when they arrived in this land, the elders built a small temple to worship Mr. Ho. Not long after the temple was established, more and more residents in the area came to admire and worship. The village elders here recently asked to establish a village and named it Dinh Phuoc village. The small temple was built into Snake Communal House. It is called Snake Communal House because in the past there were many high mounds here where many snakes lived. Every time the day comes to worship the temple, the snake appears and disappears for a moment. The offering is left behind after the offering, then the snake comes and takes it away. Since then, the lives of people in the area have become better, crops have always been bountiful, and villagers have been healthy. In the past, in front of the communal house gate, there was a pair of big snakes. That pair of snakes did not harm the people in the area but only ate the meat of beasts, lobsters, and leopards. People in the area call it "Mr. and Mrs. Snake". After the day of national unification, that pair of snakes was no longer seen. In early 1960, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Dinh, known to coconut people as Ms. Ba Dinh, secretly together with the leaders of the Ben Tre Provincial Party Committee, went to Snake communal house to have a meeting to discuss Dong Khoi day. The news leaked out and reached the ears of the Republic of Vietnam regime. The Ngo family immediately sent an army led by a security lieutenant to ambush the Snake temple to capture the revolutionary soldiers. Many soldiers were afraid of the "Snake God" and did not dare to go. A bit confused, the Lieutenant carried a lot of grenades with him so that when he encountered the giant "Mr. and Mrs. Snake" he would blow them up. "My soul is broken", when I was almost able to capture Ms. Ba Dinh, suddenly a soldier screamed wildly, thinking he had seen "Mr. and Mrs. Snake". The soldier pulled out the grenade pin, intending to throw it to "Mr. and Mrs. Snake", but for some reason, he threw it back at his comrades. The soldiers were excited that the other soldier must have been possessed by the "Snake God". The Lieutenant Commander was also seriously injured and a few days later was bitten by a poisonous snake and died. Puppet soldiers attempted to sabotage Snake communal house. But because they were afraid to go near the communal house, they used bombs and grenades to destroy the sacred communal house. Although desolate and dilapidated, Snake Communal House is still a sacred land that surrounded revolutionary soldiers during the years of bloody and horrifying resistance. In 1993, the Ministry of Culture and Information recognized Snake communal house as a national historical and cultural relic. Source: Compilation of People's Electronic Newspaper

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