Ga village is currently one of 15 villages and hamlets of Co Loa commune, Dong Anh district, Hanoi. Ga village is located in the northwest of the Inner Citadel and inside the Central Citadel, the southern gate of the village leads to the Central Citadel. Ga village borders Huong village to the east, Dong village to the north, Lan Tri village to the southeast, and the Central Citadel to the west and south. In the past, Ga village was surrounded on all four sides by deep moats and bamboo fences taller than a person, leading to the village with only two gates. Ga village slopes from north to south, the same as that of Co Loa commune. The surface of the village is relatively flat, covered with houses, gardens, roads and other civil architectural works.
The people of Ga village are always proud because this is the first gathering place of people on Co Loa land, the core of Phong Khe - ancient Co Loa. Legend has it that when King Chu - the common name of King An Duong Vuong came here to establish the capital, the village considered to be the origin was chased away to make way for King An Duong Vuong to build the citadel. Finally, the old village was deserted, only two sisters remained whose names were not mentioned in the legend. With no one left but them, the two sisters got married and had children. The people of Ga village later became the descendants of that blood-related couple.
In addition to the name Ga village, the village also has other names such as Phong Khe village or Quan Ke village. There are many explanations for the origin of these names. Legend has it that near Ga village there is Ba Dam bridge, where there is a shop used to sell water to people going to the fields. That shop has many chickens so it is called Quan Ke. Quan Ke used to be the center, the town of a region. Quan Ke is also called Quan Ga, or Ga street. The reason for the name Ga village is because according to folklore, Ga village was a gathering place for cockfighting during the An Duong Vuong - Thuc Phan period, or another explanation is that in the past this was a chicken selling street (Hang Ga street) of Co Loa urban area.
The first clan to come and establish the village together with the local people was the Nguyen Kim clan from Thuong Tin district, Son Nam town. According to the genealogy, this clan has lived here for 25 generations, with the number of households equal to two-thirds of the current population in the village. In the past, all clans had their own fields, the Nguyen Kim clan had the most. When there was a matter in the clan, contributions were distributed according to the number of men. The contributions were used for the following purposes: death anniversaries, visiting the elderly and sick in the clan, incense... Contributions were voluntary, not mandatory. Today, no clan has its own fields.
The organizational structure of Ga village in the past was in the form of Giap (faction), hamlet, and alley. Co Loa village was formerly divided into 4 hamlets: Dong Nhat, Dong Nhi, Dong Tam, and Doai Tu. Ga village belonged to Dong Tam hamlet. The factions were divided according to area, and there was no discord between the factions.
The head of a hamlet is called the head of the hamlet. People who are 50 years old or older can become the head of the hamlet. The term of office for the position of head of the hamlet is one year, but after one year if no one reaches the age of 50 to replace them, they must continue to serve until someone else takes their place. People who are 70 years old or older are called the Upper Elder (Thuong Nhat). To become the Upper Elder, a ceremony must be held for the whole village.
To join a faction, one must pay money to the faction, called buying the faction, then the faction will recognize them as members. If one does not pay money to join the faction, one will never be recognized as a member. Joining a faction is like being recognized as having "citizenship" rights, so everyone must try to join the faction. According to general regulations, one must be 18 years old or older to buy a faction, to join the group, but in reality, many wealthy people, their children are only a few years old or have just been born, they buy factions for their children, this phenomenon is called buying young factions. In the faction (group), there are general regulations that all members must follow. If they do not follow those general regulations, they will be immediately boycotted from the faction. In addition to the obligation to contribute, people in the group also enjoy certain benefits. After each year, the faction meets together, buys fields to raise funds, if there is a shortage, they must contribute more.
In addition to joining a faction (group), village members must also try to join a hamlet. To join a hamlet, one must buy a lot, also known as buying an alley. Like factions, hamlets also have general mandatory regulations and vice versa, participants also have certain rights. A person must fully participate in both the faction and hamlet to be considered a full citizen. For example, during festivals, people joining a faction will be given a large sticky rice cake, and those joining the whole hamlet will be given another one.
Below the village unit, Ga village is also divided into many alleys: Dong Trong alley (the section to Nhoi hamlet, here is the Dong alley), Dong Ngoai alley (near the alley), Tay alley, Tren alley, or Bac alley (north of the hamlet), Ba alley (the section at the three-way intersection, here is the Nga Ba alley). Thus, in the past, in addition to the communal alley of the whole village, all 5 alleys had their own alley. The alley alley usually had three rooms, and this was also the place where the people in the alley were located. Houses in the village who did not have sons, if they had a lot of fields, could send their children to the village alley, and if they had little fields, they could send their children to the alley alley. To be recognized as members of the alley, families had to buy a certain number of men for their children with money, called buying the alley, that money was used to treat the alley. After buying the alley, when there was something to eat or drink, they would receive a feast (usually sticky rice) divided by the alley.
The villages in the village have a custom of making friends with each other, every one or two years the villages that play with each other gather to have a banquet. The banquet is usually held very large, at the village's place. The party can last from the afternoon of the previous day until the next morning. Ga village "makes friends" with nearby villages: Lan Tri, Dong Tren, Dong Duoi. The time for the banquet is usually near Tet, but there are also opinions that the time to organize it is in January. During the party, there may be antiphonal singing and ca tru singing between the villages. Only those 18 years of age and older can participate in the banquet. If Ga village organizes a banquet to make friends with Lan Tri village, the young people of Lan Tri will go to Ga village to have a banquet and exchange. The elderly of Lan Tri village do not go. Ga village must send a group to bring a feast down to invite the elderly of Lan Tri.
In the hamlet, there are still typical religious architectural works such as: Ga village temple, Ga village temple, Nguyen Kim family church... Ga village temple is said to be the oldest temple in Co Loa. The year of its construction is also recorded on the upper beam as Binh Ty year, Tu Duc 29 (1876).
The Ga village temple is located in the south of the village, near the inn. Legend has it that the temple is a place to worship the river god and the dragon king. The temple faces west, is small, built of bricks, and is 30 cm long. Next to the temple, there is still an ancient well, with an outer diameter of 2.9 m and a mouth of 2.28 m. It used to be a communal well for the whole village, with very clear water and many pieces of jars at the bottom of the well. In the past, when there was a flood, Lan Tri hamlet often came here to get water.

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