Looking back through history, the land of Hue was once made up of villages. Vietnamese villages have existed here since the early 14th century. Two of the earliest villages established in that period are still remembered by name today, namely An Cuu and Phu Xuan (also known as Thuy Loi). As successive feudal dynasties consolidated and expanded the territory, more prosperous villages took shape here, each carrying the imprint of Vietnamese cultural identity.
According to historical records from the Nguyen Dynasty, in the early 19th century, when Emperor Gia Long ordered the construction of Hue Imperial Capital on the bank of the Huong River, residents of eight villages, including Phu Xuan, Van Xuan, Dien Phai, An Van, An Hoa, An My, An Bao, and The Lai, had to be relocated. The eight villages were granted land in compensation to settle into new lives and re-establish their communal institutions of communal houses, pagodas, and shrines, etc. As for Phu Xuan Village, the oldest and largest village in the area, was granted a special exception by the Emperor to keep its communal house within the Citadel, with the Ministry of Ceremonies tasked to conduct its annual ceremonies and villagers gathering there each year to take part in the ceremonies.
The town of Hue was established by royal edict of Emperor Thanh Thai in 1898, and officially upgraded to a city in 1929. Urbanization has continued ever since. Yet, one thing is clear: village culture has not easily disappeared. Communal houses have been preserved, and new ones have even been established on the grounds of the former villages. These places are where the founders and pioneers who first reclaimed and developed the land are worshipped, along with the thap nhi ton phai - the 12 founding clans credited with reclaiming land, establishing settlements, and building and developing a village. As long as the communal house remains, village culture continues to live on.
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| Kim Long Village Communal House, which preserves numerous ceremonies that have existed for hundreds of years. Photo: QT |
Today, as Hue has become a centrally-governed municipality, many communal houses bearing the names of villages once renowned in history, including: An Cuu, Phu Xuan, Kim Long, The Lai, and Lai The, etc., can still be found in the city’s urban core. These houses preserve many ceremonies practiced by villages that existed for hundreds of years, such as the Spring offering ceremony, the Autumn offering ceremony, as well as memorial ceremonies for the village’s founding ancestors, and the bon tho than hoang… The continued existence of these communal houses has also enabled the 12 clans of each former village to come together to manage the affairs of clans and villages, and to revive the old village regulations in forms suited to modern urban life. These clan ties have also given rise to a range of meaningful community activities, notably the programs encouraging education and nurturing talent among the younger generations of the clans.
Village culture serves as a thread connecting the past and the present, nurturing the spirit of ‘drinking water, remembering its source’, and ‘leaving the homeland but never abandoning it’ among those who work or live far from home. They return for the village festivals at the communal house with the joy of returning to their roots, and are willing to contribute to preserving and promoting these fundamental cultural values.
August in Hue, as the air turns toward autumn, is when communal houses begin preparing for the year’s largest festival: the Autumn offering ceremony. And the elderly men in my neighborhood have probably already been eagerly and proudly preparing for this ‘village and community affair’.