Located at Thach Nham Village, Hoa Nhon Commune, Hoa Vang Suburban District, Da Nang, Thach Nham Communal house was recognized as a city-level historical and cultural relic on Jan 8, 2007.

The communal house is not only place for cultural and religious activities of the Thach Nham villagers but also serves as a place to preserve their local historical and cultural heritage, along with their local architectural, and artistic values, displaying perspectives of life and the universe, as well as desires of life and the aspirations of the soul and breath of the times.

A Tam quan (a style of traditional gateway symbolic of Vietnamese Buddhism) of Thach Nham Communal House. It has three aisles (traditionally, the middle aisle is the largest and the two side aisles are smaller). Photo: D.G.H

Thach Nham Village currently consists of two small villages, namely Thach Nham Dong and Thach Nham Tay, stretching from East to West. Thach Nham is one of the places that Vietnamese immigrants explored early compared to some other villages of Hoa Nhon commune, which was founded in the second half of the 16^th century.

According to records in the family genealogies, the founders of this village is the ancestors namely Nguyen Van Thua, Tran Cong Ve, and Le Viet Viet from the Nguyen, Tran, and Le clans. There has been more and more clans moving to Thach Nham to settle down over time after this village was founded by these ancestors. Currently, there are about 30 clans residing in the Thach Nham Village.

The exact time of initial construction of the Thach Nham Communal House remains unknown. It was a bamboo thatched house built in Nong Lach hamlet which was nestled in the north of the village. After a while, due to being "moved", the villagers conducted rituals to move their communal house to the Giang hamlet in the south of the village, on the left bank of the Tuy Loan River.

The second construction took place in August of the year At Dau (1885), and there is still a stone monument in the communal house recognizing the contributions of the elders and residents of the village at that time. (We can identify the above time based on the locality conditions at that time, and local historical and social situations as a whole.)

Given that the year's lowest 1945 cannot occur in the year of At Dau in this instance. The highest bound may be 1825 or 1765, but these dates appear improbable.

Not only was the location altered, but the communal house's architectural scale was also totally adjusted. The magnificent communal house with traditional Quang Regional house architecture took the place of the bamboo thatched common house. Jackfruit and merawan giaza wood were only used to frame the house. There is a myth that the villagers lived affluent lives, and their children and grandkids did well in school when the communal house relocated here.

However, the communal house in this new location was constantly under threat of flooding from the Tuy Loan River during the rainy season. As a result, the residents of the Thach Nham Village once more decided to relocate the communal house to its current position in the year of Canh Tuat under King Duy Tan of the Nguyen Dynasty (1910). The purlin noted the occurrence that "Duy Tan Canh Tuat Dinh Hoi Mau Tuat Giap Thin Ben Commune Dong Thien Hau Cuc Chi". The original architecture largely survived this move, although some timber structures damaged by the flood undergoing modifications.

In 1934, the Thach Nham villagers worked together to build a wall fence around their communal home and its Tam Quan gate or three-entrance gate, Many offerings were given to the communal house by the locals, including Nguyen clan dignitaries during this refurbishment, and some are still visible there.

The communal house also served as a secret shelter for local revolutionary army units during the past two resistance wars.

On the architectural plan, Thach Nham Communal House is arranged according to the principle of a single line, with the gates and screens leading to the main communal house all located on the main axis, producing symmetry for the communal house and therefore making it more serious.

The communal house's main architecture is in the shape of the word "Nhat," implying that there is only one enormous communal house that serves as the major area for worship and sacrifice. The big communal house is a three-compartment structure with two single wings, four sets of rafters, and five rows of columns on each side. The roof of the common home is made of yin and yang tiles, and is supported by rafters and wooden beams.

Only the back roof of the common home was replaced with corrugated iron in 2002 since the tiles had decayed and leaked over the years. The communal house's top, as well as its ridges and heads, are adorned with dragon and phoenix mascots. The joiner uses delicate and skilled ceramic mosaic techniques on all of them.

In addition, there are other works like a village temple, and a place of worship dedicated to the founding ancestors of the village which are situated in the site of the communal house. These works feature modest scale, straightforward architecture, and the majority have since had repairs or new constructions made.

The Thach Nham villagers annually conduct rituals at their communal house in Spring and Autumn seasons, and their big festivals. The major ritual that is conducted on the 14^th and 15^th days of the third lunar month is especially significant. This is a true village cultural festival which features folk performances and worship ceremonies, drawing massive crowds.

Currently, a stone monument is still stored at the communal house in order to commemorate the efforts of the elders and residents of the village during the communal building's construction. Two words in Chinese characters were worshipped at the communal house in the 10^th year under the reign of Emperor Bao Dai in 1934 by the Nguyen clan. These things are useful and valuable to researchers who want to learn about the construction and development of the Thach Nham Village, and Da Nang as a whole.

Reporting by D.G.HUY - Translating by T. AN