Nhoi village (Nhoi Tren and Nhoi Duoi) is currently one of 15 villages and hamlets of Co Loa commune, bordering:
- Bordering Dong village to the west.
- Bordering Huong village to the east.
- Bordering Chua village to the south.
- Bordering Thuong village to the north.
Nhoi village has the Chinese name Vien Loi, including two residential areas called Vien Loi Thuong and Vien Loi Ha. Regarding the name of Nhoi village, through local surveys, we see many different explanations. "Nhoi" means snail, evoking the story of the spiral-shaped ramparts of the ancient Co Loa citadel. Some people also explain the name of Nhoi village according to the change of historical phonetics. In the past, Nhoi village grew many Soi trees - a type of tree used in dyeing clothes, with a blue-black color, so it was called Soi hamlet, later the word "Soi" gradually changed sound to "Nhoi". Legend has it that this land was located behind the temple, behind the king's garden, so it also had the Chinese name Vien Loi.
The village is divided into two areas, Nhoi Tren and Nhoi Duoi. These are two independent administrative units, each with a village chief. The names Nhoi Tren and Nhoi Duoi probably originate from the relative location of the two villages: Nhoi Tren is in the north and Nhoi Duoi is in the south. The boundary between the two villages is a long pond, which is considered the drainage channel of Co Loa citadel, and is considered the remaining vestige of the moat in the inner citadel. No one remembers the time of this separation.
Similar to the separation of Dong village, the reason for the separation of Nhoi village was because they shared a village post at the current Nhoi Lower post. However, whenever the village had an event or meeting at the post, the elders in the Nhoi Lower area who lived nearby would come first and share all the offerings and feasts. In addition, due to the development of the clans, the increase in population... therefore, the elders in the upper area separated, forming Nhoi Tren village, and at the same time built a separate worship post (called Nhoi Tren post).
Nhoi Duoi Village is divided into 3 alleys, the alley names are named after the direction of the alley: North alley, East alley and West alley. Nhoi Tren Village has 3 alleys: East alley, West alley and Middle alley, however, this division is no longer clear. In the village there are alleys, headed by the elderly (the boss - 50 years old, the old - 60 years old, the upper - 70 years old) and dignitaries. They are the ones who decide the most important matters of the village.
The elders recounted that in the past, Nhoi Tren village was located in the West of Co Loa commune. The West had two factions, the West and the West. In Co Loa, there was a custom of buying factions, in the village, men entered the factions at the age of 18. Co Loa village was divided into 3 factions: Dong, Doai, Tu, and each faction had many factions. A faction could be a clan (like the Hoang clan), or sometimes many different clans, in which the smaller clans often followed the larger clans. The factions were responsible for helping their members in funerals, and the factions were also responsible for carrying offerings during festivals. These tasks were assigned to each faction. There was an opinion that if the faction was an organization of men, then the faction was understood as the whole family (including women and children). The head of the faction was the chief of the faction elected by the people of that faction, who were 50 years old or older and held a high position.
In addition to the armor and faction, in Co Loa there was also the Tu Van Association. To become a member of the Tu Van Association, one had to buy a Tu Van. Most of the people in the Tu Van Association were rich and knew Chinese characters.
Before, Nhoi village had a custom of making friends with some other villages in the same commune of Co Loa such as Ga village, Chua village and Dong Ha village (this custom used to be practiced in every village in the past). In August of the year, the villages took turns organizing meals and entertaining other villages (called eating and drinking), this meal lasted for a whole day in order. Initially, there was a greeting ceremony by giving a reward. Whoever gave a reward wrongly was punished by leaving halfway or tearing areca nuts to pay the fine. After everyone gave a reward, the children sat and tapped their chopsticks on the food tray. After the banquet, everyone enjoyed music and listened to the geisha sing.
The main clans in Nhoi Duoi village today are the Hoang clan (including two branches: Hoang Cong and Hoang Huu), the Nguyen clan, the Lai clan, the Truong clan, of which the Hoang Cong clan is the largest clan. The main clans in Nhoi Tren hamlet include the Chu, Hoang Gia, Hoang Van, Vu Van, Vu Cong, Nguyen, Chu... of which the two Chu clans (Chu Van and Chu Dinh) are the clans that have long lived in Co Loa, because according to the stele of the Upper Temple 300 years ago, the stele has engraved the names of the Chu clans. The clans' activities focus on the main ceremonies of the year. The clans in the village in general (except the Hoang Huu clan) gather a few days in advance to visit the graves on the 17th of December. The grave-sweeping is organized so early because on the 18th of December is the procession of the horse, from the procession of the horse until the end of the January festival, funeral activities are very taboo. Most of the clans in the village have their ancestors' death anniversary. In the past, when there were still clan fields, the fields were given to one of the clan to cultivate and a portion of the rice was given to them. They used that as a fund for expenses for the ancestors' death anniversary and other clan matters. The clan death anniversary ceremony usually used sticky rice and meat. The clans in the village now almost do not have ancestral temples, the incense burner to worship the ancestors is usually placed at the house of the clan leader. Since there are no more clan fields, the ancestral worship is not done for the whole clan, but the head of each branch of that clan prepares a feast and invites the brothers in his branch to come. There is no contribution to the death anniversary, the offerings are brought by everyone. If there is a big event in the clan (such as building a grave for the ancestor...), the clan leader and a committee established by the clan will discuss and then distribute it according to the number of people, at the same time calling for the kindness of all the sons and daughters in the clan, even if they are married or working far away...
Most of the families in the village do not have a scholarship fund, except for the Hoang Huu family which has a large fund to encourage and help students who are good at studying, and to hold longevity ceremonies for the elders in the family. This family only holds the 26th of January, which is both the family's twelfth day, the death anniversary of their ancestors, and the day to visit their ancestors' graves.
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