Temple of Ba Chua Xu Mountain Sam – Anecdotes mysterious sacred place

Ba Chua Xu Temple is a famous spiritual tourist destination

Ba Chua Xu Temple is located at the foot of Sam mountain in Sam mountain ward, Chau Doc city, An Giang province. Ba Chua Xu Temple has many mysterious legends surrounding the birth situation of the temple, which has been passed down from generation to generation.

Ba Chua Xu Temple is located at the foot of Sam mountain

With the sacredness and fulfillment, the bridge is expected to make the Ba Temple annually attract millions of visitors to visit and worship, especially on each occasion of Tet and Spring, contributing to the development of An Giang tourism industry.

Panoramic view of Ba Chua Xu Temple

According to legend, about 200 years ago, local people in Chau Doc discovered the statue of Ba at the top of Sam mountain and wanted to bring it down. However, dozens of strong young men tried to carry the statue of Mrs. but could not. Then through her mouth “Miss Dong” said that only 9 virgin girls needed to be carried up and down. But at the foot of the mountain, the statue of Grandmother suddenly became heavy and could not walk anymore. People thought She chose this place to settle down here and built a shrine to worship.

Temple of Ba Chua Xu Nui Sam is famous for its sacredness and fulfillment

Another legend related to this temple is about the merits of Mr. Thoai Ngoc Hau. When he went to fight foreign invaders at the border, Ms. Chau Thi Te prayed to Ba Chua Xu to help him calm the enemy and keep the village peaceful. To give thanks for the effective things, Mr. Thoi Ngoc Hau invited her from the top of Sam mountain to build a spacious temple at the foot of the mountain and chose April 24 as the day to worship her.

Panoramic view of Ba Chua Xu Temple

In the past, Ba Temple was simply built of bamboo and leaves, facing the northwest, the back is turned to the cliff, and the main hall overlooks the road and village fields. In 1870, the temple was rebuilt by people with bricks from Ho Duoc lake. In 4 years from 1972 to 1976, Ba Temple was rebuilt by two architects, Huynh Kim Mang and Nguyen Ba Lang, creating its present appearance.

Triple gate

Mieu Ba has a layout of the letter “National”, a tower shaped like a blooming lotus, a three-storey three-storey roof, tiled with blue pipes, and the corner of the roof soars like the bow of a surfing boat. The patterns in the ancient hall of the main hall show bold artistic expression.

The Ba Temple has the layout of the “Quoc” font.

Roofing with big blue pipes

Above, healthy and beautiful idols spread their arms to support the trusses. The frames and doors are all carved, engraved, exquisitely decorated and decorated with many splendid frames. In particular, the statue behind the statue of Ba, the four ancient pillars in front of the main hall are almost kept the same.

The angle of the roof soars as high as the bow of a surfing boat

The architectural complex of the temple has the main hall (where the statue of Ba is worshiped), martial arts, a living room and a chamber of the nobles.

Main power

Inside the temple, it is designed and decorated with bold Indian art. The temple doors are carved and sculpted by artisans. In particular, many diadems and diaphragms here are also inlaid with brilliant gilded vermilion.

Space inside the temple

The statue of Ba is placed in the middle of the main hall, surrounded by the Council altar in front, Tien Hien and Hau Hien are placed on both sides. The Uncle altar is on the left side, there is a very large stone Linga, about 1.2m high, and the Co altar is on the right side, which worships a small wooden goddess statue, …

Magnificent and gracious lady statue

There are many different legends about the origin of Ba Chua Xu statue. According to folklore, in the years 1820 – 1825, the Siamese army came to harass our country and chased the people to the top of Sam mountain when they met the statue of Mrs. They tried to carry the statue but could not lift it, one of them got angry and broke her arm and he was immediately punished. Since then, people called Ba Chua Xu and set up a shrine to let Ba Chua bless the rain and wind, good crops, avoid robbers, and get rid of epidemics.

Ba Temple attracts millions of visitors every year

According to French archaeologist Malleret, researched in 1941, the statue of Ba Chua Xu Nui Sam belongs to the type of Vishnu (male god). Carving a thoughtful, noble, quality figure with vermilion stone, with high artistic value. The statue was carved at the end of the 6th century and this is most likely one of the remaining ancient artifacts of the ancient Oc Eo culture. In 2009, the statue of Ba was recorded in the An Giang Book of Records as the oldest sandstone statue in Vietnam and with the most worshiping clothes.

Ba Temple at night

On each New Year’s occasion, Ba Chua Xu Temple attracts a large number of locals and tourists from all over the world. They come to burn incense and pray for a happy and prosperous new year. The Temple of the Goddess of Sam Mountain clearly shows the Vietnamese belief in Mother Goddess worship. It is no coincidence that Ba Chua Xu Temple every year attracts more than 3 million Buddhists from all over the world flocking to pilgrimage, worship and pray for peace, luck and fortune. There are tourists who say that when they do business, they have no luck and good times. That person worshiped everywhere, later heard rumors, he took the effort from Da Nang to fly to the South and visit Ba Chua Xu Temple. And from then on, the luck he pulled back could not be better. Since then, every year, he went to the South to pay the ceremony of Ba Chua Xu Temple.

Ba Temple in the festive season – Photo: Son Binh Pham

The campus is extremely spacious and airy with ancient trees shady and many beautifully shaped scenes. The highlight of the space is the brilliant flower color. In the evening, when the lights are on, the space of the ancient temple is more sparkling. Visiting the pagoda, lighting incense to pray for good peace and good things for yourself and your family, you can climb to the high floor of the temple, admire the scenery from above, take your eyes to the distance, you can You can see a whole corner of the city.

The campus is extremely spacious

From January to April of the lunar calendar every year, Ba Temple is always full of people to visit. Because this is the time of the festival of Via Ba Chua Xu Nui Sam (24-27.4 lunar calendar). The Ba Chua Xu Festival officially takes place from the 24th to the 27th of the fourth lunar month every year, in which the main day is the 25th.  In 2015, the Ba Chua Xu Festival was organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Tourism is recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage.

During the festival season in the evening, there are still crowds of people to visit regardless of day and night

During the festival season, millions of people from all regions of the country, most notably the Mekong Delta, Ho Chi Minh City, and the Southeast region come here to attend the Ba statue bathing ceremony, the incense offering ceremony to pray for blessings. … and participate in games such as singing, martial arts, five-syllable music, lion dance, chess…

The Ba Chua Xu Festival officially takes place from the 24th to the 27th of the fourth lunar month every year

Ba Chua Xu Temple is famous throughout the region not only for its spirituality but also for its great historical significance. From physical relics to anecdotes passed down from generation to generation, they are all associated with heroic historical events of the nation. You also do not forget to enjoy delicious Chau Doc dishes sold along the road and right at the temple such as jaggery juice, vegetarian fried rice, jaggery beef cake…Let’s travel to An Giang, come to Chau Doc and visit Ba Temple to feel Get this spiritual beauty and historical significance.