Coming to Can Tho, many people enjoy visiting the temples of the Khmer, Chinese… In particular, there is Hoa Duc pagoda in the middle of the city that does not worship Buddha but worships… “Ba Hoa”.
Called a pagoda but does not worship Buddha
Normally, temples or pagodas will worship Buddha or gods, but in the heart of Soc Trang city (currently merged to Can Tho City), there is a rather large pagoda that only worships “Ba Hoa” (Vietnamese: Bà Hỏa; means Lady God of Fire) with the name Hoa Duc Pagoda.
Hoa Duc is a small temple located next to the root of an ancient banyan tree (also known as tamarind) that is over a hundred years old, located right at the intersection of Nguyen Dinh Chieu – Phan Dinh Phung Street, Ward 4, Soc Trang City, Soc Trang Province (currently Phu Loi Ward, Can Tho City). Local people often call Ba Hoa temple – place associated with Fire worship.
Ba Hoa temple in Can Tho.
Local people say that more than 100 years ago, at the ancient banyan tree, on dark nights, they often saw sparks flying up from the top of the tree, so they thought that “Ba Hoa” (Lady God of Fire) had appeared. From then on, people built a small temple to worship.
At first, the temple was built very small, but later on, more and more people from different places came to worship, so the temple was gradually renovated. Around 1973, Mr. Truong Van Nguon (a local resident) initiated and called on everyone to contribute to expand the temple area, with walls and roof covered with corrugated iron, partly meeting the spiritual needs of local people.
After April 30, 1975, the “Ba Hoa” temple temporarily stopped operating. In 1978, after many petitions, the temple was allowed by the State to operate again with the name Hoa Duc Pagoda but did not worship Buddha.
Fire worship and local cultural preservation at Ba Hoa Temple
In 1990, the temple was restored with solid materials on an area of 218 m², including 3 floors: The ground floor is the worshiping hall; the first floor is the place to keep the objects brought by people to worship and worship the souls of people who have contributed a lot of merit to the temple; the second floor is a place for other worship.
inside Ba Hoa temple.
Right in front of the shrine, occupying a spacious space, is the place to worship Lady God of Fire with colorful lights and flowers and a splendid statue of her in her robes and crown that is changed once a month on the 24th day of the lunar calendar.
According to local people, praying for the “God of Fire” to bring spiritual peace is a belief that reflects practical needs from ancient times to the present, so people built a temple to worship the God as a place to come to worship and pray for the “God of Fire” not to cause disaster.
The altar of Ba Hoa.
Every year, many Chinese, Kinh and Khmer people come to visit the Lady God of Fire on the 24th day of the third lunar month. This time is the peak of the dry season in Can Tho, which is also the time when fires are likely to occur. Therefore, coming to worship at the “Ba Hoa” temple is also a reminder for everyone to always pay attention to fire prevention and fighting in daily life.
a hundred year old tree is dressed in clothes at the temple.
Fire worship is present in many cultures around the world. In Vietnam, this custom is influenced by the Five Elements worship, which originated from China. The Vietnamese people have popularized the Five Elements worship, separating it into separate elements such as Water, Fire, Wood… in separate cultural conditions to practice this belief. In the South Vietnam, the worship of Lady God of Fire is quite rare in the Vietnamese community, mainly among the Chinese.
Worshiping altar of “Ba Hoa” relic.
It is worth noting that, not only is it a place of worship, for many years, the “Ba Hoa” temple has also been a prestigious charity facility in Can Tho City that help many disadvantaged students, poor people and other local emergency charity work.
Source: collected by An
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