DESIGNING PUBLIC SPACES: INSPIRING MEMORIES
Since ancient times, the images of banyan trees, wells, communal courtyards, village gates, village markets, communal houses, assembly halls have been engraved in the memory of generations of Hanoi people. According to researchers, it is the public spaces that play an important role in community life. From these spaces, the connection among the people is gradually built, becoming a typical cultural feature.
The village well – the ancient public space still exists to this day. Photo: Nguyen The Hung
Teacher Dang Thiem this year has passed the age of eighty. Born and raised in Hoang Xa village, Hoa Dinh commune, Son Lang canton, Son Minh district, Ung Thien district (now in Van Dinh town, Ung Hoa district, Hanoi), Mr. Thiem still remembers the old story of the market at Hoang Xa communal house. He said that it was the second largest market of the Ha Dong province, the other is Do market. In the past, the market ran along the village, from the beginning of the communal house to the temple gate at the end of the village, about 300m long and 20m wide. Market had been opened 18 times a month; day 1 and day 6 specialized in selling agricultural products; day 2 and day 7 specialized in trading buffaloes and cows; day 3 and day 8 were the main fairs. The market was like a “department store” with all kinds of goods. In addition to the permanent store, the market also had hawker stalls serving customers. In particular, at the end and the beginning of the year, single men and women often invited each other to join Đình cắt đúm market (joining the market to pray for a good chance in love).
Although the old market doesn’t exist anymore, the public space of the village market is still a memory that teacher Thiem brought with him. Not just a place to buy and sell, the old market is also a cultural space that reflects the lifestyle of each area and community.
The village market, the wells, the communal yard, the village gate, the temple were the public space that was built by our forefathers for connecting the people. With the role of a center for cultural activities of community, the communal house is not only a place not only to preserve traditional cultural values but also organize cultural activities. Today, though many new cultural institutions are formed, people still organize the community events, especially the festivals here.
Yen Giang folklore researcher, when talking about Yen Lo village by the Hat Giang river (Yen Nghia commune, Hoai Duc district, now Yen Nghia ward, Ha Dong district) still can’t forget childhood memories. He bathed in ca tru, cheo, tuong at Yen Lo communal house. Those memories are still existing in the poem titled “ Mái đình làng Yên (The communal house of Yen village)”what he wrote about the place where he was born.
In the book “Custom and rules of Thang Long – Hanoi”, author Bui Du wrote about the old custom of Giap Nhi village (Thinh Liet ward, Hoang Mai district) which was respecting the long life of the elderly associated with Ong Tho temple (Tho Ong Tu) built in 1780 (the year of the Rat). The temple is roofed with tiles, built in the east of the village, next to the Set River. In front of the temple is a round pond, with a giant Bombax ceiba which is luxuriant branches and flowers blooming in late spring. Ong Tho Temple is a place to honor the elder in the village. Experiencing the war, the temple and altar were destroyed. In 1996, the temple was rebuilt and the worship and honoring of the elderly continued to be maintained according to the traditional rites.
In the villages of the Northern Delta in general and Hanoi capital in particular, there are still traces of ancient wells, including wells dating back hundreds of years. Like Dai Phung village, Dan Phuong district has 3 large wells dating back more than 100 years: Chua well, Xu well (Thu) and Cay Sung well. The village history also recorded “the diameter of the well is about a few dozen meters, surrounded by a brick wall about 1 meter high, with steps built for people to come down to get water”.
In the past, when there was no source of tap water or drilled wells, village wells were the main source supplying for the people in the village to serving many generations. Because of that, the village well has become a place for community activities, “listening” to the daily rhythm of life. People went to the well to take water for cooking, bathing, even come there to meet each other – talking or dating; the well yard also was the playground of the children in the village.
It can be said that ancient public spaces associated with wells, communal courtyards, village gates, village markets, temples, assembly halls not only create an aesthetic impression but also play an important role in social life. They are places to store memories, create a connection between residents and villages. In the current context of integration and development, especially when Hanoi is joining the program of building a creative city, preserving and promoting the value of ancient public spaces is extremely necessary. As a modern and innovative city, the soul of the civilized capital is still created the vestiges in old streets and old villages. Recalling the beautiful memories of the old public spaces may inspire the new public space designs of Hanoi today, so that such memories can be creatively recreated on the basis of continuation and develop.