Tham Temple

Tham Temple

Tham Temple is located in Cho Moi district, Bac Kan province with many myths and legends that have entered the minds of mountain residents here. The temple is located right next to the gravel road leading to Quang Chu commune, less than 4km from Highway 3 and 45km south of Bac Kan city. The temple worships a female general named Tham - who had great contributions in the fight against the Black Flag invaders in the second half of the 19th century. Previously, the temple was a place to worship the Mountain God and the Water God to pray for boats and ships to travel safely. By the end of the 19th century, the temple was renovated to worship the female general who had great merit in fighting the Black Flag invaders, Ms. Tham. The story goes that there was an old father and son who fished for a living on the Trang Co river. A year of natural disasters, floods, and fierce waters swept away the poor old man's boat and nets. After the water receded, the old man brought the fishing net to the river. By dusk, he was able to put away a heavy batch, but sadly it was just a rock. The next time, only that rock went into the net. He moved to another part of the river, still lifting up that strange rock. He was about to throw it away when a voice echoed from within the rock: "Old man, take me home." Feeling strange, he brought the talking rock home. When he arrived, he was exhausted and threw the rock to the ground. It hit another rock and broke. Strangely, there is a yellow glow in the rock's belly. Those were gold bars. Thinking that Giang (God) had given the village to compensate for the flood disaster, he divided the gold among the people around the area. There is gold, but the old man and his son still work hard to make a living by the Trang Co river. Grateful, the people here built a temple to worship two stones, the Mountain God and the Water God, so that boats and ships can travel safely. Ms. Tham, the daughter of an old fisherman, was gentle and beautiful, and had a reputation. Boys from both the upper and lower villages dreamed of marrying her. When she was young, she was taken by God's power to be his wife. She lived in a golden situation but was humiliated in every way, especially when the Black Flag invaders came to harass them, and the Lord Muong not only did not fight the invaders but also became their henchman. She tried every way to escape from the Muong Lord's house and gathered poor people to rise up to fight the enemy. The Muong Lord was angry and wanted to gain merit, so he led the enemy to fight. The female general stubbornly fought back. At the Trang Co river, a fierce battle took place, blood flowed into rivers, but Co Tham's soldiers remained undeterred. Unfortunately, the female general was hit by a poisoned arrow and died. The angry soldiers decided to fight to avenge her. The enemy was terrified and fled in disarray, the Lord Muong was captured alive and executed as a sacrifice to his general. To commemorate the courageous female general, people built a temple to worship Ms. Tham. Tham temple complex includes the main temple, Ms. Tham temple and Son Than temple. The main temple is divided into three compartments, worshiping: Five Venerable Gods, Bach Linh, Saint Tran Hung Dao, Mother Thuong Thien, and Avalokiteśvara Buddha. The shrine to Ms. Tham is located right next to the main temple, on the left side there is a domed concrete structure, on the altar is a statue of Ms. Tham wearing a blue shirt, under the pedestal there are a pair of phoenix birds carved in stone. Every year, tourists from all over come to Tham temple to worship and pray in large numbers, especially on the first and second occasions. After many years of construction and repair, in 2012 the temple was ranked at the provincial level as a historical-cultural relic, a place for cultural and religious activities of the people. Source: Vietnam National Tourism Administration

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