Le Mat is a quite original village which has not only antique features but also modern ones. The village locates in the middle of National Street 1A and Nation Street 5, belonging to Viet Hung Ward, Gia Lam Province and is 7 kilometres far from Ha Noi's centre to the northern-east.
The appearance of this villages has been attached to the legend of subduing snake-shaped leviathan (sea monster) of a young man whose family name is Hoang living in Le Mat Village. The story tells that: In Ly Thai Tong Dynasty (1028 - 1054), one pretty princess often took a stroll on boat on Thien Đuc River (also known as Đuong River). Unfortunately, one day the boat sank and the Princess drowned. The King then commanded that someone fishing her dead body would be awarded lavishly and conferred a title. Although lots of mandarins, warriors, and villages' men participated in the search, no one found.
Based on his courage, swimming skill and seizing snakes profession, the young man called Hoang living in Le Mat has patiently investigated and fought bravely against that monster in the middle of the whirl pool in order to save the princess. After that, the king kept his promise, offered him a high position in the imperial palace and awarded him a great deal of gold, silver and silk. However, that hero denied all these and only asked the king for letting the poor inhabitants in Le Mat and neighbouring villages break the fresh ground to the west of Thang Long royal citadel to make their farmhouses.
Permitted and encouraged by the king, he lead the villagers to cross Nhi Ha River (i.e. Red River) to discover the western land far away from Thang Long. Gradually, that land became prosperous and was considered as a traditional farming area of the royal palace. After that, this place was widened into 13 horticultural gardens that the history has called "13 horticultural gardens region" (today belonging to Ba Đinh Province, Ha Noi).
After that man died, the local people in Le Mat established a temple worshipping him at the south of Le Mat Village, on the southern bank of Đuong River; that hero was honoured as The Deity. The temple was built according to the Nguyen Dynasty's architecture; until now it is still undamaged. At the front of the temple are a pond and a wide garden. On the temple's entrance, there are many parallel poetic sentences praising The Deity's merits. In the 3rd month of the lunar year, people from "13 horticultural gardens area" and tourists from many places usually visit, offer sacrifices and flowers and also enjoy the festivities of the village in order to commemorate that hero.
The festivity there has been organized meticulously with preparation from some weeks ago before the rites occur. The craftsmen have gathered and made the effigy of a giant snake symbolising for the sea monster. The most powerful men were chosen to act in the dancing team and the role of the young man Hoang either. A beautiful girl was appointed carefully to be a person playing the role of princess. On the major day of the festivity (23rd of the 3rd month, lunar calendar), in the temple and outside the village are decorated sparklingly with flags, fans, lights and candles as well as smoke from incense. They fished at the pond to catch fish for making a special dish and ladled water from the temple's well to offer for the saint.
After many solemn rituals during the most sacred time when The Deity is supposed to descend and confer luck and happiness for all people coming. Everyone will gather crowdedly around the temple's garden and eagerly watch the play "the hero Hoàng fight monster and save princess". Then, they will join in the contest of seizing big and strange snake pr the procession. They may sit around the aged ones showing how to arrest snake, raise snake, exploit its venom or cure people bitten by poisonous snakes.
According to their custom, the residents of Le Mat Village have preserved and developed firmly the profession of arresting and raising snakes. It can be said that the snake is the symbol of their village and that profession is their basic, or even only, occupation of many families here. This place has become the famous village of snake in Vietnam.
Nowadays, there are many restaurants serving dishes made from snakes in this village. Because that is the age-old profession, the people here are very familiar with the skills involving in snakes such as catching or processing food and products from them.
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