Tu Kiet's death anniversary

Return to Tien Giang to visit Tu Kiet's mausoleum Every year on the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month, Cai Lay people gather here in large numbers to sweep the graves and hold a very solemn and respectful death anniversary to remember the four heroes. Located in the center of Cai Lay town, with a gate overlooking 30-4 street, Tu Kiet mausoleum has just been restored and rebuilt according to traditional architecture divided into two distinct areas: the main mausoleum and the tomb. The main altar is designed in a worship style with an altar, incense burner, pair of cranes..., in the middle there is a Certificate of National Historical - Cultural Relic recognition and a tablet to create a solemn look. Behind is the tomb with four symbolic tombs covered with glazed tiles quite decently. The grounds around the mausoleum were embellished and decorated with precious ornamental plants brought from other places, always carefully manicured. Tu Kiet is the people's respectful name for the four heroes who led the people against the French from 1868 - 1870. They are: Tran Cong Than, Nguyen Thanh Long, Ngo Tan Duoc and Truong Van Rong. After the French invaders defeated My Tho citadel and occupied the entire Dinh Tuong province (1861), the four men participated in the uprising initiated and led by Thien Ho Duong, contributing with the insurgents to create heroic victories. Dong Thap Muoi base was broken, the four men immediately returned to Cai Lay to recruit insurgents to continue raising the insurrection flag. Among the series of victories of the Tu Kiet insurgent army, there are two victories that are considered the most brilliant. That was the attack on My Tho citadel and the destruction of Cai Lay fort. After two years of operations causing a lot of damage to the enemy, Tu Kiet's uprising had to fail due to the siege and total suppression of the French expeditionary force. Four men and 150 insurgents were captured. They lured you with glory and wealth for many days without success. On February 14, 1871 (December 25, Canh Ngo year), the enemy took four men to the execution ground to be beheaded and beheaded at Cai Lay market to intimidate the people, then buried them at the river wharf next to the market. Family members only brought their bodies back to their hometown and attached fake heads made of clay to bury them. Feeling grateful to the four heroes, the people of Cai Lay secretly buried their heads and built graves with solemn incense and smoke. In My Trang village, Mr. Nhieu, a student of Dang Van Nguu, built a shrine in front of his house right in the area where the enemy's heads were placed. The temple was roofed with yin and yang tiles and to blind the colonial government, people called it Ong Pagoda (because in front there was an altar to Quan Cong symbolizing loyalty), and at the back was a tablet engraved with the four words "Four Spirits" painted in bright red and gilded red (so some people called it "Temple of the Soul"). Even so, everyone knows that it is a temple worshiping Tu Kiet. The storm in the year of the Dragon (1904) caused the temple to collapse. Mr. Nhieu moved the temple to Thanh Son village (formerly in Thanh Hoa commune, now Cai Lay town). Currently, the temple is located in Quarter 1, Cai Lay town, more than a hundred meters from the mausoleum. The tomb where the four heads were buried in 1871 is still covered with soil, surrounded by a fence made of white lime-painted areca. Nearby there is an ancient palm tree that provides shade, creating a sacred atmosphere. In 1998, the Department of Culture and Information of Tien Giang and the People's Committee of Cai Lay district completely restored Tu Kiet's tomb, commensurate with the stature and heroic spirit of the four men. On the 128th anniversary of the four men's sacrifice, the mausoleum was inaugurated. Since then, many people from all over come to visit and burn incense to commemorate the deceased. Visiting Tu Kiet's mausoleum, visitors will certainly understand more about the hearts of local people towards the four men - those who contributed to making the four golden words "Diet Linh Nhan Kiet" of Tien Giang always shine.