Xa Temple

Xa Temple

Xa Temple (Thuong An 2 village, Song An commune, An Khe town) belongs to Tay Son Thuong Dao Special National Monument Complex. Through many historical changes, the temple with many thrilling legends is still preserved by the people. Every year, on holidays and Tet, people in the area hold offerings to pray for gods to bless them with a peaceful, prosperous, and happy life. In the middle of a large plot of land, the Snake Temple is nestled under a row of ancient trees. On the left of the temple, there is a stele inscribed: Xa Temple belongs to the Tay Son Thuong Dao relic complex, the early base of the Tay Son peasant movement (1771-1773); This is where Nguyen Nhac cut a snake to take blood to sacrifice to the flag when sending his troops to the plain. Over the past 250 years, people in the Tay Son Thuong region have still passed down many thrilling stories related to Mieu Xa, the snake god. Legend has it that after a period of preparing strong soldiers and generals in Tay Son Thuong, in the year of the Snake (1773), the three Tay Son brothers (Nguyen Nhac, Nguyen Hue, Nguyen Lu) marched down to the plain. The army reached the beginning of Mang Pass (An Khe Pass), when a very large snake jumped from a tree to block the road. Among the generals, there were people who thought this was a bad omen and suggested withdrawing troops. Nguyen Nhac determined not to retreat but to move forward, draw his sword, cut off the snake's head, and use his blood to sacrifice to the flag. Down in the plain, the insurgents surrounded and defeated Quy Nhon citadel. After this victory, Nguyen Nhac had his soldiers build a temple to worship the snake god at the top of Mang pass. Contrary to the snake-slaying anecdote, folklore also holds that in 1773, Nguyen Hue commanded an army from the Upper Path to the Lower Path. At the beginning of An Khe pass, I saw a pair of ebony snakes lying in the middle of the road. Seeing that, Nguyen Hue immediately got off his horse and clasped his hands in prayer. As soon as his prayer ended, two snakes raised their heads and slithered forward. After walking a while, a snake crawled into the bushes along the road. When it came back, it held a dragon sword in its mouth and gave it to Nguyen Hue. Whenever going into battle, King Quang Trung-Nguyen Hue often used dragon swords to fight the enemy, winning many famous victories such as Rach Gam-Xoai Mut, Ngoc Hoi-Dong Da. To commemorate the snake god's gratitude, the king ordered people to build a temple at the top of Mang pass. In the past, the Snake Temple was built of bamboo leaves, surrounded by old forests. In 1957, people held a ceremony to ask the snake god for permission to move the temple to its current location to facilitate care and incense. “During the years of resistance against the French colonialists and American imperialists, many times, Mieu Xa was burned down by the enemy. But later, people immediately rebuilt it to have a place to worship the snake god. On February 20 and August 20 of the lunar calendar, people in the area and the Temple Management Board organize offerings to Quy Spring and Quy Thu according to traditional rituals; Every month, worship on the full moon and the first day of the year to pray for favorable weather, good crops, prosperous people's lives, and the local socio-economic development. Source: Gia Lai Electronic Newspaper

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Rating : National monument

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