Xa Tac Temple is located at the Soay Nguon confluence of the Ka Long River, a border river between Vietnam and China, within Mong Cai City. The temple has become a border cultural landmark with many spiritual and religious characteristics of the Vietnamese people.
Xa Tac Temple – Sacred temple at the nation's frontier
History of Xa Tac Temple
Many visitors come to pay homage at the temple. Photo: Quang Ninh Newspaper.
Xa Tac Temple was built during the Tran Dynasty, around the beginning of the 13th century. Some documents suggest that: "Xa" is where rituals are performed to sacrifice to the Earth God; "Tac" is the place to sacrifice to the God of Agriculture. According to this explanation, Xa Tac Temple is a place to worship the Earth God and the God of Agriculture, two deities symbolizing wet rice agriculture.
Xa Tac Temple today. Photo: Van Hoa Newspaper.
Other documents suggest that this temple worships a deity named Xa Tac Dai Vuong, and is therefore also called Xa Tac Dai Vuong Shrine. Perhaps the deity Xa Tac Dai Vuong is precisely the tutelary god of this land, which in ancient times was known as Mong Cai prefecture.
The temple stands like a border milestone. Photo: Quang Ninh Newspaper.
In the mindset of the Vietnamese people, the tutelary god plays an important role in establishing the village and safeguarding the land. The tutelary god has always been regarded as a deity with the power to protect and bless the villagers. The existence of the temple to worship the tutelary god is just like the existence of all other tutelary temples across the country.
The temple is similar to other temples in Vietnam. Photo: Quang Ninh Newspaper.
In the past, the elders often used the phrase "son ha xa tac" when referring to the nation. Therefore, "xa tac" can be understood in a broader sense as the country and its land. Mong Cai has many flat and convenient locations, yet no traces of temples or altars have been found there. Yet, the temple is situated right at the frontier post adjacent to the border line.
The temple is made of ironwood. Photo: Quang Ninh Newspaper.
The meaning of the name Xa Tac Temple is perhaps not merely limited to being a place of worship for the Earth God and the God of Agriculture, or the tutelary god of Mong Cai alone, but is the place to worship the deity safeguarding the nation's land. And Xa Tac Temple is not merely an ordinary spiritual and religious site, but also a sacred landmark guarding the frontier of the Fatherland.
Statue of Xa Tac Dai Vuong. Photo: Quang Ninh Newspaper.
Currently, the temple worships Xa Tac Dai Vuong, Hung Nhuong Dai Vuong Tran Quoc Tang, Cao Son Dai Vuong, the Dragon Deity and Earth Deity of the village, and the founding ancestors of the clans who contributed to reclaiming this land.
The temple also worships Hung Nhuong Dai Vuong Tran Quoc Tang. Photo: Quang Ninh Newspaper.
Xa Tac Temple Festival
In 2020, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism classified Xa Tac Temple as a national historical relic. Since 2018, Mong Cai City has restored and maintained the organization of the ancient Xa Tac Temple Festival.
Photo: Dan Toc Newspaper.
The Xa Tac Temple Festival is held over two days, March 2 and 3, each year. The main ceremonial part includes the water-fetching ritual, the statue-bathing ritual, the deity-welcoming ritual (procession of deities for a spring outing), the Xa Tac sacrifice ceremony, the offering presentation ritual, and the concluding ceremony. The festive part features traditional folk games: blindfolded pot smashing, tug-of-war, stick pushing, walking across a bridge, and calligraphy writing.
Photo: Dan Toc Newspaper.
Photo: Dan Toc Newspaper.
During the festival, there is an activity of fetching water from the Ka Long River, storing it in an earthenware jar, and having six strong young men carry it back on a palanquin. The significance of the water-fetching procession ritual to worship the Deities is to pray for their blessings so that the local people always enjoy good fortune, bountiful harvests, and good health.
Xa Tac Temple Festival. Photo: Mong Cai City.
Photo: Mong Cai City.
In addition to common offerings such as pigs, chickens, ducks, and seafood, there are also specialties of the Mong Cai region, such as square sticky rice cakes (banh chung) and five-color sticky rice, prepared and decorated by local residents in the Mong Cai area to offer at the temple during the festival.
Festival activities. Photo: Mong Cai City.
Following the rituals held inside the temple, the procession carries the spirit tablets of Xa Tac Dai Vuong and Hung Nhuong Dai Vuong Tran Quoc Tang along the road running along the Ka Long River. Residents on both sides of the street set up feast trays right in front of their doors to welcome the sacred palanquin as it passes by.
Performing rituals at the Xa Tac Altar. Photo: Huu Viet.
Photo: Quang Ninh Newspaper.
Xa Tac Temple and the annual Xa Tac Temple Festival play an important role in the religious and spiritual life of the people of Quang Ninh, and have also become a landmark guarding the borders, quietly protecting the sacred territorial sovereignty of the land of the "descendants of the Dragon and Fairy".
